CALDWELL, Idaho – Eastern Oregon University continued its trend of winning on Friday afternoon with a pair of 3-0 sweeps at the second set round of the College of Idaho pod series. The Mountaineers picked up sweeps over Warner Pacific University to remain undefeated on the year and two milestones were reached along the way.
 
For Head Coach Kaki McLean Morehead, with the two victories on Friday, she has now reached 300 career wins, all of which have come at the helm of Eastern Oregon. Also making history on Friday, was senior Kiley McMurtrey as she became the all-time career leader in digs for the Mountaineer Volleyball program at 1,885 surpassing the old mark of 1,856 set by Kaitlyn Duncan from 2009-2012.
 
Match 1 – Eastern Oregon 3, Warner Pacific 0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-10)
How it Happened
• A combination of defense and offense led EOU (7-0, 6-0 CCC) to its first sweep of the Knights (0-6, 0-6 CCC). The Mounties held WPU to just .036 hitting, while their offense posted a .358 mark for the match. The front line for EOU also had seven blocks in the win, while the Knights mustered just two.
• EOU wasted little time getting out early on WPU scoring the first five points of the opening set and eventually jumped out to a 11-4 lead. The Knights called a time out after trailing 13-6 and pieced together a 6-1 run to cut the Mountaineers' lead to 14-11.
• The Knights looked to steal a set from EOU, but each time they got within 2-3 points the Mountaineers had a response to stay in front. WPU managed to cut the EOU lead to two late, 19-17, before a 6-2 run by Eastern closed out the frame 25-19.
• The second set saw a bit more fight out of the Knights in the early going and they managed to grab a 10-7 lead over the Mounties. Maintaining composure, EOU then outscored the Knights 18-6 the rest of the way to go up 2-0.
•Helping EOU in that 18-7 offensive barrage was a 7-0 run when the team was trailing WPU 10-7. The scoring surge gave Eastern 14-10 lead before the Knight managed to get a point on the board. Helping EOU jump out 2-0 was thanks in part to a trio of players who found a solid rhythm on offense.
• Through the first two sets, Cambree Scott had eight kills for the Mountaineers. She had help as well as Madison Morgan and Breanna Shaffer also added six apiece to power the offense. The combined efforts of the trio complimented by solid passing from Madison Pilon and Alexis McMurtrey gave EOU a commanding edge.
• The Mountaineers made quick work of the Knights in set No. 3 and gave up just 10 points in the win. WPU looked to once again challenge early, but it was not enough. Leading 10-8 after giving up back-to-back points to the Knight, Eastern then scored seven unanswered to lead 17-8. The run was the difference maker as EOU cruised to the 25-10 set win and picked up the sweep.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Cambree Scott led the charge with 12 kills and hit .440. She also had three blocks to help the defense.
• Breanna Shaffer finished with double-digit kills totaling 10 on a .500 hitting percentage. She also chipped in two blocks on the front line.
• Jet Taylor led the defensive front row with four blocks and added three kills in the win.
• Madison Pilon tallied 23 assists in the match and added five digs on defense.
• Off the bench, Alexis McMurtrey had 12 assists and chipped in three digs.
• Kiley McMurtrey racked up 18 digs to lead the back row. She also had two service aces and tallied two assists.
 
For the Knights
• Grace Buchanan had a match-high 13 kills and picked up eight digs.
• Matalasi Keola had 24 assists and dug up five balls.
• Mercedes Massey tallied a match best 21 digs and had a service ace.
• 'Alohilani Keola chipped in eight kills to help the offense and had six digs.
 
Match 2 – Eastern Oregon 3, Warner Pacific 0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-5)
How it Happened
• The Mountaineers whistled the same two in match No. 2. Defense was stout and actually played better in the second match as EOU held the Knights to a negative hitting percentage at -.113. The Mountaineers only hit .256 in the second go around, but a 7-1 edge in service aces made things easier and they out blocked WPU 7-2.
• Set No. 1 saw EOU hold the Knights to just 12 points, nearly mirroring the third set from the first match. WPU led early 2-1, but a 7-1 run put EOU in the driver seat 8-3 and the Mounties never looked back. WPU managed to get within three, 9-6, but another scoring surge of 9-1 by EOU made it a double figure advantage at 18-7.
• The Knights mustered just five more points before the Mountaineers ultimately took them down by 13. Five Jet Taylor kills in the opening frame paced the EOU offense, while Cambree Scott and Sade Williams each added four to balance out the attack.
• The second set was the closest for the Knights as they fell 25-17 to the Mountaineers to go down 2-0. Like they had done in previous sets, the Knights came out strong early but were unable to maintain any level of consistency. WPU led 6-2 and 10-6 in the early onset before the Mountaineers responded.
• A 7-0 run by Eastern was all it took to give the team control. The run gave EOU a 14-10 lead before the Knights managed to answer back. The Knights cut the deficit to four, 16-12, but another 7-0 run was the backbreaker and put EOU up 23-12. The Knights tried to battle back but only added on five more points before falling in set No. 2.
• Four kills from Scott and three from Williams helped lead the way for EOU's offense. Multiple blocks from Preslee Jensen paced the defense in the second set as EOU was up 2-0 and in the third set, the Mountaineers handled the Knights.
• EOU routed the Knights in the third set, 25-5, scoring 11-straight at one point and it was too much for WPU to handle in the loss. EOU jumped out 4-0 before giving up a point. The Knights managed to make it an 8-3 game before an 11-0 run by the Mountaineers made it a 19-3 game in a blink of an eye.
• The Knights ended the run and scored back-to-back points to make it a 19-5 contest but it was too little and far too late. EOU then scored the next six to put the Knights away for good and secured the day one sweep to remain undefeated in conference play.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Sade Williams led the offense with 10 kills and added three blocks on defense to go along with four digs.
• Preslee Jensen has seven blocks to lead the front row and added eight kills on offense while hitting .438.
• Cambree Scott also had eight kills and hit .429 in the match.
• Madison Pilon dished out 27 assists in the sweep and tallied seven digs on defense. She also had three service aces in the win.
• Kiley McMurtrey led the back row with a match-high 19 digs and once again had a pair of service aces.
• Aspen Christiansen also finished with double-digit dogs tallying 13.
 
For the Knights
• Grace Buchanan had eight kills to lead WPU to go along with four digs and a block.
• Matalisa Laban had 10 assists and totaled four digs along with one block.
• Mercedes Massey dug up a match best 19 balls.
 
By the Numbers
300 – With two wins on Friday, Head Coach Kaki McLean Morehead now has 300 career wins at EOU.
1,885 – Kiley McMurtrey is now the all-time career leader in digs for the Mounties with 1,885 and counting.
39 – EOU finished with 39 kills in both wins over the Knights on Friday.
-.113 – The negative hitting percentage of -.113 EOU held WPU to in match No. 1 is a season low.
5 – The Mountaineers have now posted double-digit blocks in five consecutive matches and have won five matches in straight sets.
 
Up Next
• EOU is back in Caldwell tomorrow (Saturday) for another doubleheader matchup, this time against Bushnell University. The Mountaineers and Beacons will play against each other at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. PT.

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