LA GRANDE, Ore. - 14th-ranked Mountaineers Volleyball opened conference play on a high note as they took down Bushnell University, 3-1 (23-25, 25-20-25-19, 25-20), inside Quinn Coliseum Friday night. With the win, EOU improves to 6-3 and starts 1-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play.

How it Happened
• The Mountaineers shrugged off a slow start in the first set that saw them fall to the Beacons (4-1, 0-1 CCC) by two points, 25-23.EOU hit just .122 in the first frame but went over .200 in the next three to win in four sets.
• Blocks favored Bushnell who had 10 to EOU's seven. Eastern had the slight edge on offense though with a 53-49 advantage in kills. Defensively, the Mountaineers limited Bushnell to just a .116 hitting percentage in the win.
• The Beacons first set win did not come easy as they battled Eastern from start to finish. Bushnell never managed to create separation until late but never allowed the Mountaineers to do the same. Midway through the set it was a 14-all tie.
• Late in the frame, the Mountaineers found some rhythm and jumped ahead 22-21 and forced a Bushnell timeout. Out of the break, the Beacons closed the frame with a 4-1 run to walk away with the 25-23 win and a 1-0 overall lead.
• The second set was another close one, but this time EOU was the victor to tie the match at 1-all. Early on, the Beacons grabbed a 9-5 lead that forced an EOU timeout. The Mountaineers slowly chipped away at the lead and got it to a 14-14 tie midway through the frame.
• EOU trailed 13-11 before tying the set and a kill from Ashton Haughton gave EOU a 16-14 lead. Late in the set, Eastern pushed its lead to 20-16 to force a timeout. The stoppage made little difference as EOU held on for the 25-20 win.
• The third set went to the Mountaineers to give them the 2-1 edge, but like the previous sets, the third was another battle. It was tied at 3-3 early on before a 8-4 surge by the Beacons gave them a 11-7 lead.
• The Mountaineers countered the early run by Bushnell and scored five straight to grab a 13-11 lead. Bushnell quickly answered with three unanswered to go ahead 14-13. The two teams continued to trade points before EOU pulled away late in the frame.
• EOU clung to a 19-18 lead late in the third after a kill by the Beacons. A kill from Cambree Scott put EOU by two and the defense locked in and held Bushnell to just one more point. Bushnell got within one, 20-19, but a 5-0 run to close the set gave EOU the win a 2-1 match lead.
• Bushnell managed to keep things close in the early half of the set, but played from behind for the majority. EOU had its best outing hitting .265 in the frame and held Bushnell to just .100 to secure the win.
• The Mountaineers grabbed a 12-8 lead near the midway point of the set and forced the Beacons to burn a timeout. The Beacons looked to respond but never managed to get any closer than two points the rest of the set.
• EOU managed to lead by as much as five late in the set when the team grabbed a 17-12 lead. A last minute push by the Beacons got the score to 20-18 but it was not enough. EOU's early surge was too much to overcome as they went on to grab the 25-20 win and a 3-1 match victory.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Jet Taylor had a breakout night on offense with a match best 11 kills and hit .421. On defense, she tallied four blocks.
• Breanna Shaffer also had double-digit kills with 10 to go along with eight digs and a black.
• Sade Williams added eight kills and was second on the team in digs with 18 to go along with three blocks.
• Both Cambree Scott and Preslee Jensen chipped in eight kills, respectively.
• Alexis McMurtrey and Hannah Ledgerwood each tallied 20+ assists with 22 and 20, respectively.
• Hailey Arritola tallied 24 digs to lead the back row and dished out eight assists in the win.

For the Beacons
• Halle Neumann and Payton Jones both put up 11 kills to tie the match lead and each had four blocks.
• Shay Coons also had double figure kills with 10 to go along with three blocks.
• Matty Ladd led all players with five blocks on the night. She also chipped in five kills.
• Makenna Northern had a double-double with a match best 42 assists and 13 digs in the loss. She also posted two service aces.
• Callie Wilkins led the defense in digs with 14 and had one service ace.

By the Numbers
1 - This is the first set EOU has won this year that took more than three sets.
19 - The Mountaineers have now won each of the last 19 matchups against the Beacons.
3 - Eastern has now won each of its last three CCC openers, dating back to the 2019 season.
6 - Dating back to the 2019 season, EOU has now won each of its last six regular season matches inside Quinn Coliseum.

Up Next
• The Mountaineers are back in action tomorrow (Saturday) for another conference match. EOU hosts No. 7 Corban University with first serve set for 5 p.m. PT inside Quinn Coliseum.

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