LA GRANDE, Ore. – It seems like only yesterday fans were watching Eastern Oregon University Volleyball win another Cascade Collegiate Conference Title. After a modified 2020 season that was played in the spring, the Mountaineers are set to begin the 2021 campaign just four months later. Read below to learn all about the 2021 EOU Volleyball squad.
 
2021 Season Outlook
• It comes as no surprise to anyone that Eastern will once again look to content for another CCC Title. The Mounties were picked as the preseason favorite to win the CCC which is expected to have every team competing in 2021.
• The preseason No. 1 spot for the Mounties was expected as they claimed their sixth CCC regular season title in seven years. Eastern was also ranked No. 6 in the first edition of the NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Top-25 Poll.
• Depth and experience highlight this year's squad as eight letterwinners are back from last season, including four starters. Three First Team All-CCC selections are back including Player of the Year Cambree Scott. She along with Breanna Shaffer were tabbed All-Americans in 2020 and are just two of multiple players that will lead the Mountaineers in 2021.
• Just two newcomers are on this year's squad in Hailey Arritola and Hannah Ramage, but both were high level players in their high school careers. Both players were defensive specialist's/liberos during their prep careers.
• Coming off a seventh-straight appearance at the NAIA Tournament a season ago, EOU will look to make it eight in a row as this year's NAIA National Championship Tournament will take place in late November. Opening round matches will take place Nov. 20., while the final site will be Nov. 30-Dec. 4 in Sioux City, Iowa.
• If the Mountaineers can secure the regular season CCC crown they will once again be able to host the CCC Volleyball Championships which will take place in mid-November. CCC play for the Mountaineers begins on Sept. 3
• One thing the Mountaineers will have this year outside of experience is the favor gaining a year of eligibility back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly every returner for the Mountaineers opted to take their eligibility waiver from the NAIA, essentially keeping everyone at the same grade level.

2020 Season Review
• The Mountaineers made the most of a modified 2020 schedule that did not play until the Spring of 2021. Nonetheless, EOU made history during the regular season as the team captured its sixth CCC Regular Season Title en route to a seventh straight appearance in the NAIA National Tournament.
• The Mountaineers posted a perfect 15-0 record during the regular season and went 14-0 in conference play to win the CCC crown. The undefeated regular season was also the first in program history.
• Eastern Oregon went into the 2020 postseason and managed to make it to the CCC Tournament Championship match before falling to Corban University, 3-1. The Mountaineers regular season crown earned them an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships where they made it the furthest of any conference team that qualified.
• At nationals, the Mounties swept their opening round match and went 2-0 in pool play with a pair of 3-0 wins to make it into bracket play. EOU ultimately bowed out in the quarterfinals, falling 3-0 to then No. 1 University of Jamestown (N.D.).
• The Mountaineers ended the 2020 campaign ranked No. 7 in the final NAIA coaches' poll. Three players were named All-Americans in Cambree Scott (Second Team), Kiley McMurtrey (Honorable Mention), and Breanna Shaffer (Honorable Mention).
• Kaki McLean Morehead was named the AVCA Northwest Region Co-Coach of the Year after leading the Mountaineers to an undefeated regular season and their sixth conference title. Scott, Madison Pilon, Shaffer, and McMurtrey were all named to the Northwest All-Region team, and McMurtrey earned Northwest Region Defender of the Year as well.
• Morehead was also named the CCC Coach of the Year. Scott was named Player of the Year, McMurtrey was named Libero of the Year, and Pilon was named the Setter of the Year. All three players were named First Team All-CCC as well as Shaffer and Jet Taylor.
• Academically, McMurtrey and Pilon were both named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans after earning All-District First Team honors. Also making the Academic All-District First Team was Scott and Taylor.
 
The Kaki McLean Morehead File
• Entering her 15th season at the helm, Head Coach Kaki McLean Morehead will look to lead the Mountaineers to the seventh CCC Title in eight years and a shot at an eighth consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearance.
• Since 2006 when she took over, Coach Morehead has amassed a 312-110 record. She owns a .739 winning percentage. She is already the winningest coach in program history and has led the Mounties to 30-plus wins in three seasons.
• In 2020, Coach Morehead surpassed 300 career wins and helped lead the Mountaineers to their first undefeated regular season at 15-0 overall and 14-0 in conference play. She had five players earn All-CCC honors including the Player of the Year (Cambree Scott), the Libero of the Year (Kiley McMurtrey), and the Setter of the Year (Madison Pilon).
• Coach Morehead is no stranger to EOU as she was a three-year standout on the hardwood for Mounties. She got her coaching career started in 2005 when she was named an assistant coach for EOU Volleyball.
 
The 2021 Schedule
• This year is expected to be a normal year and the Mountaineers will look to make the most of it. Eastern will play in a pair of quality tournaments before beginning CCC play in early November. The first tournament will be the Big Sky Challenge hosted by Montana Tech.
• The Big Sky Challenge will have the Mountaineers taking on a quartet of teams, with three of those matches being against ranked opponents. EOU will battle No. 8 Grand View (Iowa) and No. 17 Bellevue (neb.) on Aug. 20 before taking on Rocky Mountain College and No. 14 Providence on Aug. 21.
• Tournament No. 2 for Eastern will be a closer on in terms of travel as the team will head down the road to Caldwell, Idaho for the C of I/Eastern Oregon Classic hosted by College of Idaho. The Mounties will play four opponents once again with the first being Montana Western on Aug. 26. The following day, EOU will play in a pair of matches against Carroll College and Dordt (Iowa), respectively. Day three will have EOU square off against The Master's (Calif.) to wrap up non-conference play.
• CCC play begins on Sept. 3 for the Mountaineers and they will get things started on their home court inside Quinn Coliseum. Eastern will play host to Bushnell University on Sept. 3 with first serve set for 7 p.m. PT. The following day, the Mounties will take on reigning CCC Tournament Champion Corban University at 5 p.m. PT.
• In all, the Mountaineers will have 11 home contests during the 2021 regular season. All 11 contests will be CCC contests. To see the full schedule, click the respective link above.
 
POSITION BREAKDOWN
Outside Hitters
• Just like last spring season, the Mountaineers have six players listed at the outside hitter position and all six of them are returners. Making up this group is Sade Williams, Mariah Moulton, Kaci Cox, Ashton Haughton, Madison Morgan, and Breanna Shaffer.
• Looking to lead this group of talented players will be All-American and First Team All-CCC selection Breanna Shaffer. She will have help with Sade Williams also back who was a key player in the Mountaineers' rotation during the 2020 season. Of the six outside hitters, three will focus on the right side in Williams, Haughton and Morgan.
• Shaffer and Williams were both driving forces in the EOU offense last season. Shaffer appeared in 18 matches and was a starter in 17. She hit .242 for the year and put up 162 kills en route to being named an Honorable Mention All-American.
• Williams was another key piece of the Mountaineers offense as she played in all 21 matches in 2020 and was tabbed a starter in 19. She had 199 kills on the year which led both the team and the CCC. She averaged 2.84 per set and hit .249 for the year.
• Moulton appeared in 19 matches as a transfer for EOU last season. She had 29 kills and was a key component in the serve game as she had 20 service aces, which was third best on the team. Cox appeared in 11 matches in 2020 and had 14 kills on the year.
• As a true freshman in 2020, Morgan appeared in all 21 matches and was a starter in 10. She had 99 kills on the year and averaged 2.11 per set. She hit .259 and had a career-high of 13 kills on Feb. 20 against Oregon Tech. Haughton appeared in four matches as a transfer from Concordia University in Portland. She tallied five kills and hit .333.
 
Middle Hitters/Blockers
• Only three athletes make up this list for EOU, but make no mistake, all three are some of the toughest competitors in the CCC. Making up this trio is Cambree Scott, Jet Taylor, and Preslee Jensen. All three saw significant time in 2020 and two were First Team All-CCC selections in Scott and Taylor.
• Scott was named the best player in the CCC as she was tabbed the conference's Player of the Year. She went on to earn Second Team All-American status for the year after being named First Team All-CCC for the second straight year. She started in all 21 matches and hit a team best .297 for the year. She had 182 kills and averaged 2.53 per set. Defensively, she had 90 total blocks to lead the CCC and ranked ninth in the NAIA at 1.25 blocks per set.
• Taylor garnered All-CCC selections for the second consecutive year and it was her first as a First Team selection. She started 19 matches and was in the rotation for all 21. She was second on the team in hitting percentage at .285 and had 127 kills on the year. Like Scott, she was a two-way threat and was a key component up front. She was second on the team and third in the CCC in total blocks with 81. She averaged 1.12 per set which ranked fourth in the conference and 24th in the NAIA.
• Jensen joined the Mountaineers last season as a transfer from Utah State and wasted little time making an impact. She appeared in all 21 matches last year and was named to the starting lineup in 11 of those matches. She hit. 240 for the year and posted 131 kills for an average of 1.90 per set. Defensively, she had 52 blocks on the year.
 
Setters
• The setters group this year also features just three athletes and they will look to replace a key player with the departure of Madison Pilon who was the starter for the Mountaineers each of the last three seasons. Making up this group are Alexis McMurtrey, Tausha Cummins, and Hannah Ledgerwood.
• McMurtrey saw quality time in 2020 as a true freshman having appeared in all 21 matches. In her first season, she posted 176 assists and averaged 3.67 per set. She had nine matches where she posted double figure assists, including a career high of 21 against Oregon Tech on Feb. 20 in the first matchup of the two squads. She also tallied 83 digs on defense in 2020.
• Ledgerwood came to the Mounties as an early high school graduate after COVID-19 derailed what would have been her senior season. She came in at winter term before the spring season started and appeared in six matches. She had 21 assists on the year and averaged 2.33 per set. She also had four service aces. Cummins joined EOU last year as a transfer but did not appear in any matches.
 
Defensive Specialists/Liberos
• Like the setters, the back-row defense for the Mountaineers will need to replace a key player with the departure of Kiley McMurtrey who is the all-time EOU career leader in digs and service aces. Also gone is Aspen Christiansen who was also a key player on defense. Making up this group is returner Jessie White and two newcomers in Hailey Arritola and Hannah Ramage.
• White has been the Mounties for each of the last two seasons and has posted quality time on defense over that span. Last year she appeared in all 21 matches for the Mountaineers and was tabbed a starter in two contests. She matched a career best in digs with 12 against Central Methodist (Mo.) back on April 28 in the NAIA Tournament.
• Both Arritola and Ramage are the new kids on the block for EOU and will look to add depth to what is now a youthful back row defense. Arritola comes to EOU from JFK High School where she was a four-year varsity letterwinner. She was a three-time All-State selection and helped her team win a State Championship in 2019. She was named one of Oregon's Top Libero's in 2018 and 2019.
• Ramage was a multiple-year varsity letterwinner at Bend High School. She was a two-time All-Conference selection and was tabbed All-State as a senior. She helped her team win a conference crown in her senior season.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION – Big Sky Challenge
No. 8 Grand View (Iowa)
• The Vikings enter the 2021 campaign preseason ranked No. 8 in the NAIA. They posted an overall record of 18-5 in 2020. Like EOU, Grand View was undefeated in conference play at 12-0 to win a share of the Heart of America Conference Title.
• Grand View was one of the eight teams to make it out of pool play at last year's NAIA National Championships before bowing out to eventual National Champion Missouri Baptist in five sets, 3-2.
• Nearly every player from the Vikings' starting lineup is back from a season ago, including Co-Freshman of the Year Chevy Wagner-Chun, all-Conference selection Bailey Sullivan, Jenna Wagemester, Alexa Aldrich-Ingram, and Taylor Carey.
• Aldrich-Ingram will look to help guide the offense as will Wagemester. Aldrich-Ingram led the team in hitting percentage at .278 and was second in total kills at 217. Wagemester was the team leader in kills with 276 and averaged 3.3 per set while hitting .219 on the year.
• Sullivan was the floor general with 658 assists last season and averaged 8.4 per set. Wagner-Chun led the way in service aces with 27 and averaged 0.3 per set.
• On defense, Carey was the force up front as she totaled 66 blocks last season and averaged 1.0 per set for the Vikings. Wagner-Chun also played a role on the defense as she led the back row in digs with 406 for the year. She averaged 4.8 per set.
 
No. 17 Bellevue (Neb.)
• The Bruins come into the 2021 campaign also ranked nationally at No. 17. They finished the 202 campaign at 17-7 overall and went 12-2 in conference play to win their first regular season North Star Athletic Association title in program history.
• Bellevue brings back 12 letterwinners from a season ago. Leading the way for BU will be junior First-Team All-American setter Olivia Galas, the NSAA's reigning Co-Player of the Year as well as the NAIA's National Setter of the Year.
• Third-team All-American outside hitter Eve Fountain returns after being named the NSAA and North Central Region Freshman of the Year. Other top returners include junior outside hitter Sierra Athen (all-NSAA, all-Region, 2019 second-team All-American) and freshman right side hitter Jacki Apel (second team all-NSAA).
• Galas racked up a staggering 1,015 assists last season and averaged 11.15 per set to lead the NAIA. She also contributed on defense with 239 digs and averaged 2.63 per set. Galas also tallied 39 total blocks in 24 matches.
• As a true freshman, Fountain totaled 345 kills on the year and hit .271 to lead the Bruins' offense. She averaged 3.79 kills per set and on defense she posted 42 total blocks.
 
Rocky Mountain College
• The Battlin' Bears come into the 2021 season just outside the NAIA top-25 as they are the first team listed in the receiving votes category at what would be the No. 26 spot. Rocky finished the 2020 season with an 18-2 overall record and were 15-3 in Frontier Conference play to finish second.
• Looking to help lead RMC in 2021 will be Honorable Mention All-American Ayla Embry along with Weiying Wu, Morgan Allen, Taylor Wolf, and Kyra Oakland.
•Embry was the team leader in digs with 650 on the year and averaged 7.1 per set. Both her numbers were both second best in the Frontier Conference. She also dished out 19 assists on the year to contribute on offense to go along with 22 service aces to lead the team.
• Allen was second on the team in hitting percentage at .226. She tallied 209 kills on the year which was third most for her squad. Defensively, she totaled 84 blocks on the year and averaged 0.9 per set. Her total blocks were tied for third in the conference and first on the team.
• Wu enters the 2021 season as the leading hitter from last year. She hit .269 in 2020 to lead the team and was third best in the conference. She also led the team in kills with 241 and averaged a team high 2.6 per set. On defense, she tied the team lead in blocks with 84 and averaged 0.9 per set.
• Wolf was another contributor on the Battlin' Bears offense as she posted 139 kills in 2020. She hit .169, which was third on the team. She averaged 1.5 kills per set and on defense she put up 51 total blocks. She averaged 0.6 blocks per set in 2020.
• Oakland also was a contributor on offense with 224 kills for the season which was third on the team. She averaged 2.4 kills per set and posted a hitting percentage of .120. She had 47 blocks on the defensive end and averaged 0.5 per set.
 
No. 14 Providence
• The Argos enter the 2021 season just inside the NAIA top-15 at No. 14 in the preseason coaches' poll. In 2020, Providence finished with a 22-3 record and were 18-2 in Frontier Conference to secure the regular season title. They also went on to win the Frontier Conference Tournament Title to complete the sweep.
• All three All-Americans for the Argos in 2020 are back in 2021 in Cydney Finberg-Roberts, Sacha Legros and Sadie Lott. Finberg-Roberts was not only named a Second Team All-American, but was named the Northwest Regional Player of the Year by the AVCA and the Frontier Conference Player of the Year after breaking the school record for assists (1,116) in a single season.
• Legros, an Honorable Mention All-American, was also recognized on the All-Region team. Legros was a key component on defense, leading the nation in digs per set (7.6) and finishing seventh in total digs (672), which were both season records for the Argos.
• Lott also returns after a standout debut season, winning the Northwest Regional Player of the Year and the Frontier Conference Freshman of the Year. She led the team in total kills with 137 and averaged 3.51 per set, all while hitting .235 for the year.
• The Argos are once again the conference preseason favorite as they were picked to win the Frontier in 2021. Contender Rocky Mountain College was slotted in a tie for second in the poll with Montana Tech.
 
Up Next
• EOU will be back in action the following weekend when they head down the road to Caldwell for the C of I/Eastern Oregon Fall Classic hosted by College of Idaho. The Mountaineers will compete in the tournament over a three-day span, Aug. 26-28

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