LA GRANDE, Ore. – No. 14 Eastern Oregon University Volleyball is back in action this weekend as the Mountaineers head to Caldwell, Idaho for the C of I/Eastern Oregon Fall Classic hosted by College of Idaho. Eastern will battle a quartet of opponents in what will be their final non-conference matches of the regular season.
OPPONENTS
Montana Western Bulldogs (0-0)
Carroll College Saints (3-1)
No. 5 Dordt Defenders (0-0)
The Master's Mustangs (1-3)
WHERE
Caldwell, Idaho – J.A. Albertson Activities Center (College of Idaho hosts)
WHEN (All Times Pacific)
Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 26-28
Aug. 26 – vs. Montana Western, 5 p.m.
Aug. 27 – vs. Carroll, 8 a.m. | vs. No. 5 Dordt, 12 p.m.
Aug. 28 – vs. The Master's, 8 a.m.
First Serve
• Eastern Oregon will travel to Caldwell, Idaho to battle its final four non-conference opponents of the regular season at the C of I/Eastern Oregon Fall Classic hosted by College of Idaho.
• The Mountaineers will look to improve upon a 2-2 start to the season after taking on four quality opponents last weekend. Their two wins came against then No. 8 Grand View and Rocky Mountain College.
• After going undefeated in the regular season in 2020, EOU has already matched its loss total from a season ago.
• Eastern started the year preseason ranked No. 6 in the NAIA, but in the first poll of the regular season the team slipped to No. 14.
How to Watch/Follow
• This weekend's matches will be available to watch online on the Mountie Sports Network at www.eousports.com/watch. Live stats for all four matches can be found at www.eousports.com.
Story Lines
• The Mountaineers will look to make the most of their final four non-conference matches of the regular season.
• This weekend EOU will face just one ranked opponent, compared to three from a week ago, in No. 5 Dordt.
• Of the four teams scheduled to take on EOU, only two have already played in Carroll and The Master's. For Montana Western and Dordt, it will be the teams first matches of the season.
• Against Montana Western and The Master's, the Mountaineers are undefeated at 6-0 and 2-0, respectively. EOU is 5-1 against Carroll and 0-2 all-time against Dordt.
• Already in the 300-win club, Head Coach Kaki McLean Morehead is close to reaching 325 wins as she is 314-112 all-time while leading the Mountaineers.
Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• Eastern Oregon split its opening weekend going 2-2 at the Big Sky Challenge. The Mountaineers picked up wins against then No. 8 Grand View and Rocky Mountain College. Their two losses came against then No. 17 Bellevue and No. 14 Providence.
Previously Against This Weekend's Opponents
• The Mountaineers last took Montana Western in 2018 in the Big Sky Challenge. EOU won in straight sets, 3-0, and hit .267 in the win. Megan Bunn paced the offense with 12 kills and hit .292.
• Eastern and Carroll also last met in 2018 at the Spokane Valley Tournament. The Mounties hit. 236 to win in sweeping fashion and tallied 43 kills to go along with seven blocks.
• EOU is still searching for its first win against Dordt. The two teams last squared off in 2018 at the NAIA National Championships in the round of 16. The Defenders secured a 3-1 win after hitting .314 to end the Mountaineers season.
• The matchup between EOU and The Master's will be the first since 2017. The Mountaineers took down the Mustangs, 3-0, at the HIU/Vanguard Summer Slam. EOU hit a staggering .439 and had three players finish with double figure kills.
EOU in the Polls
• In the first NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top-25 poll, the Mountaineers fell eight spots from No. 6 to No. 14 after starting the year 2-2. This is the first time they are ranked outside the top-10 since the end of the 2019 season when they finished at No. 13.
• In the CCC preseason poll, Eastern was picked to win the conference ahead of Corban and Southern Oregon. The Mountaineers tallied eight first place votes and totaled 140 points.
Top-25 Opponents
• Last season, the Mountaineers only faced one top-25 opponent during the regular season in Corban. The two squared off three times overall in 2020 with EOU coming away the victor in two matches.
• This season is a bit different as the Mountaineers will have faced four ranked opponents by the time they get to conference play in early September. Thus far, EOU is 1-2 against ranked opponents, with the lone win coming against No. 17 Bellevue.
Individual Milestones
• Cambree Scott is 27 kills away from reaching 650 for her career. She is at 385 total blocks from her career and 15 away from 400.
• Alexis McMurtrey needs 25 more assists to reach 350 for her young career.
• Jet Taylor needs 13 more kills to eclipse 500 for her career. She is also just eight blocks away from 300.
• Breanna Shaffer needs seven more kills to reach 450 for her career.
Scouting the Competition
Montana Western Bulldogs
• The Bulldogs will play their first matches of the 2021 season at the C of I/Eastern Oregon Fall Classic. Last year, UMW was just 3-16 overall and 3-15 in Frontier Conference play.
• UMW will be guided by a combination of experience and youth this season. 11 players are back from a season ago with nine newcomers joining this year's squad. Looking to lead the way will be Cady Siemion and Emmah Peterson.
• Peterson was a dual-threat in 2020 for the Bulldogs with 133 kills and a team best 72 total blocks. Her kills were second most on the team behind Siemion.
• Siemion was the Bulldogs top hitter in 2020 with 207 kills with an average of 2.84 per set in 19 matches played.
• UMW will look to fill the void in Tannah Sellers who was the team's leader in digs with 361 last season/ She averaged 4.9 per set. Siemion was second in total digs with 283 and averaged 3.9 per set.
• Setter Abbey Schwager will once again be floor general for the Bulldogs' offense. She was the team leader in assists in 2020 with 629 and averaged 8.5 per set.
• As a team last season, UMW posted 755 kills and hit .113. Defensively, they surrendered 917 kills to their opponents on a .190 hitting percentage.
Carroll College Saints
• The Saints enter the weekend with a 3-1 overall record following a successful season opening weekend at the Big Sky Challenge. In the latest NAIA top-25 poll, Carroll is still in the receiving votes category at what would be 30th.
• Carroll is hitting .174 on the year early on and has held its opposition to an average hitting percentage of just .076. On defense, Carroll has already racked up 247 digs and 42 blocks. They average 17.6 digs per set and 3.0 blocks per set.
• Taelyr Krantz is pacing the offense so far with a team best 43 kills and is averaging 3.07 per set. She is hitting .262 in four starts. Krantz also leads the front row on defense early on with 20 total blocks for an average of 1.43 per set.
• Four other players are also in double digit kills with Lexi Mikkelson at second 28. Three players are tied at 20 in Lexie Gleasman, Elizabeth Heuiser, and Katherine McEuen.
• Heuiser is also second on the team in total blocks with 14. She is averaging 1.27 per set as well. Leading the back-row defense is Julia Carr who has 66 digs so far this year.
• Mara Lynch has been the top server for the Saints as he already has six early on in 2021. Kylie Kackman is facilitating the offense thus far with 72 assists and has four service aces. Behind her is Hannah Schweikert with 55 assists and three service aces.
No. 5 Dordt Defenders
• The Defenders enter the weekend as the No. 5 team in the NAIA and will have played just one match ahead of the weekend. Dordt plays Morningside College (Iowa) Wednesday, Aug. 25.
• Last season, Dordt went 18-7 overall and was 11-5 in conference play. The Defenders made it to the NAIA National Tournament and bowed out in the semifinal round to eventual National Champion Missouri Baptist.
• Brenna Krommendyk will look to lead the defenders as a junior in 2021. In 2020, she was named an NAIA All-American at middle blocker. She averaged 2.5 kills per set and hit .391 on the year. She also posted 1.4 blocks per set.
• Alli Timmermans will also look to lead Dordt entering her senior season. She averaged 2.6 kills per set on .342 hitting in 2020.
• Jessi Franken is also back for her senior season and will add depth to the front row. She averaged 2.6 kills per set in 2020 and hit .286 for the year.
• Setters Corina Beimers and Megan Raszler will look to take on bigger roles this year in helping facilitate the Defenders' offense. Beimers averaged 4.5 assists per set last year and dished out four service aces. Raszler averaged 6.8 assists per set in 2020.
The Master's Mustangs
• The Mustangs own a 1-3 record going into the weekend with their lone win coming against the UC Merced Bobcats.
• As a team, TMU is hitting .172 on the year and has posted 155 kills so far. Defensively, they have surrendered 180 kills and a .210 hitting percentage against the opposition.
• Emily Clark is pacing the Mustangs on offense with 39 kills. She is averaging 2.60 per set and is hitting .200 in four starts this season. Defensively, she is second in total blocks with 5.0 and has 25 digs.
• Two players are tied at 32 kills each in Emilye Grace Williams and Faith Tarver. The duo is averaging 2.13 kills per set. Williams is hitting .132, while Tarver is at .179. Traver is also tied for second in total blocks with 5.0, while Williams leads the team in service aces with nine.
• Ruby Duncan is the only other Mustangs player in double-digit kills with 28. She is hitting .240 on the year and is averaging 1.87 kills per set. Duncan is also the front row leader in blocks so far with 9.0.
• Karli Stults is the team leader in digs so far with 73 in four matches played. She is averaging 4.87 per set and has five service aces.
Up Next
• The Mountaineers will make their home debut next weekend and it will also be the start of conference play. EOU takes on Bushnell University Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. PT in its home opener and will follow up against Corban University on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. PT inside Quinn Coliseum.
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