CALDWELL, Idaho – Ninth-ranked Eastern Oregon University Volleyball once again showed its dominance on Saturday as they picked up another pair of 3-0 sweeps to finish up pod series play at College of Idaho. Falling victim to the Mountaineers this time were the Bushnell University Beacons.
 
Match 1 – Eastern Oregon 3, Bushnell 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-21)
How it Happened
• The defense for the Mountaineers (9-0, 8-0 CCC) was once again on point as they held the Beacons (4-4, 4-4 CCC) to just a .089 hitting percentage. On the flip side, EOU hit .248 for the match ed had a 42-31 edge in kills. Blocks also fell in the Mounties favor at 9-4, while Bushnell had the edge in service aces, 4-3.
• The Beacons never led in the opening set but had opportunities as they tied the Mountaineers multiple times in the early going. The two squads traded points for the good minutes before EOU managed to jump out to a 12-8 lead.
• The four-point lead was the catalyst for the Mountaineers. Bushnell managed to get a point back on a kill and make it 12-9, but then EOU went on a 6-1 run to grab an 18-10 lead and force a timeout. The stoppage in play did not slow the Mounties as they never allowed Bushnell to get any closer than six points the rest of the way and cruised to the 26-17 win in the opener.
• The Beacons came out strong in the second set and managed to grab a 6-4 lead early against the Mounties. It was short lived though as a kill from Sade Williams sparked a 5-0 run for EOU and gave them the lead back to 9-6.
• Bushnell looked to respond and managed to piece together a 5-3 scoring run which cut the Eastern lead to one, 12-11. The two teams once again traded points through the midway point of the set and it was a tight game at 17-15 in favor of EOU.
• The Mountaineers went on a quick 4-0 scoring ruin to go up 21-15 and that was all they needed. Defense came through in the final stretch for EOU, as the Beacons mustered just three more points before falling 25-18 in the second set.
• The third set was the closest of the match as the Mountaineers held off the Beacons for a four-point set win, 25-21. The score was tight throughout the majority of the match as the two squads traded leads and tied a handful of times.
• The Mountaineers actually managed to jump out to a 7-2 lead in the beginning but the Beacons put together a 4-0 run and got within one, 7-6. Bushnell eventually tied the match at 9-all before taking its first lead of the day at 11-10.
• Eastern managed to tie the set a handful of times but Bushnell was able to respond and stay ahead by one point as they approached the midway point of the set. It was once again in the final stretch where Eastern was able to pull away.
• A kill from Breanna Shaffer tied the set at 20-20 and was part of a 5-0 scoring run that put Mounties ahead 23-20. A kill from the Beacons looked to end things, but it was the final point for them. A Cambree Scott kill followed by a service ace form Aspen Christiansen ended the set and secured the sweep for EOU.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Breanna Shaffer hit .440 for the match and had 12 kills in the win. She added one block on defense.
• Madison Morgan chipped in eight kills and also had one block for the match.
• Jet Taylor once again anchored the front row with five blocks and added six kills on offense.
• Madison Pilon finished with a double-double, handing out 22 assists in the win and tallying 10 digs.
• Kiley McMurtrey had a game-high 22 digs for EOU, and added a pair of assists.
 
For the Beacons
• Claire Salness led the way on offense with 11 kills. She also chipped in eight digs to finish with a near double-double.
• Makenna northern dished out a game-high 25 assists and racked up eight digs.
• Callie Wilkins led the back row with 11 digs and had two assists on offense.
• Shay Coons led the front row with four blocks and she had two service aces in the match.
 
Match 2 – Eastern Oregon 3, Bushnell 0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-19)
How it Happened
• Eastern once again was dominant on both sides of the ball as the team hit .275 for the match and held Bushnell to a .124 mark on offense. Overall, EOU led in every major statistical category over Bushnell en route to another sweep.
• The first set was the closest in terms of score but the Mountaineers led the majority of the match and never allowed the Beacons to grab the lead. The set was tied just once at 1-1 in the beginning. EOU jumped out 6-1 and forced a Bushnell timeout early.
• The early surge from the Mountaineers was the difference maker as they controlled the opening set from the get go. The beacons looked to keep the deficit within single digits but had little answers. A block from Cambree Scott and Breanna Shaffer gave Eastern a double figure lead at 16-6.
• The Mountaineers eventually led 20-12 before the Beacons managed to piece together two separate 4-0 runs that got them within four points both times. Despite the two scoring surges, Eastern was poised and still managed to the end set by a final of 25-20.
• Set No. 2 was the most dominant for the Mountaineers as they held Bushnell to a day low 14 points to go up 2-0. The Beacons did lead 4-3 in the early part of the set, but never had any consistency the rest of the way.
• The game managed to stay close after EOU regained the lead at 5-4. The Beacons managed to stay within 2-3 points and eventually cut the lead to 11-10 near the midway point of the set. EOU responded and went on a 7-0 run to open the lead up to 18-10.
• The run was the spark that fueled the second half of the set for the Mountaineers. Their defense was stout as they held the Beacons to just four points the rest of the way. For Bushnell, the task was too much as the team dropped the second set and fell 0-2 in the match entering the third set.
• The Mountaineers never let the Beacons grab the lead in the third set as they secured the 25-19 win to shut the door on the match. The Beacons tied the score early on at 4-4 before playing from behind the rest of the way.
• Eastern never managed to grab a double figure lead in the final set but consistency from its offense and defense allowed them to stay in front by 6-7 points through the majority of the contest. The largest lead for the Mounties came at nine points late in the set when they went ahead 18-9 thanks to kill from Preslee Jensen.
• The Beacons managed to score 10 more points following the 18-9 deficit but the Mountaineers solid play from start to finish was the difference maker as they cruised to the 25-19 win and ended the weekend without giving up a single set.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Sade Williams led all players with a game-high 11 kills. She had four blocks to help pace the defense.
• Breanna Shaffer also had double-digit kills with 10 as she hit .417 and picked up two blocks.
• Madison Pilon picked up 30-plus assists for the third time this season as she tallied 32 in the win.
• Kiley McMurtrey continues to add to her career lead in digs as she tallied 23 in the win.
• Cambree Scott anchored the front row in match two as she had seven blocks in the match.
 
For the Beacons
• Shay Coons led Bushnell with nine kills.
• Payton Jones added eight kills in the loss. Jones also had three blocks to lead the Beacons front line.
• Callie Wilkins posted 19 digs in the match.
• Makenna Northern tied a game-high in assists with 32.
 
By the Numbers
7 – Of the nine match wins for EOU this season, seven have been by way of a 3-0 sweep.
1 – With pod series play wrapped up, the Mounties stand alone atop the CCC standings at 8-0 in league play.
83 – In the sweep of the Beacons, EOU totaled 83 combined kills in the two matches.
81 – In the two wins on Saturday, the Mountaineers totaled 81 assists.
 
Up Next
• The Mountaineers next schedule game is set for March 19-20 and this time it will be on their home court. Eastern will host College of Idaho both days inside Quinn Coliseum. Match times are set for 7 and 4 p.m. PT, respectively.

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