LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers proved why they are the No. 1 team in the country Saturday evening beating the No. 4 Corban Warriors in a hard-fought, five-set match (24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 15-25, 15-12) to claim the CCC Tournament trophy. The win pushes EOU to 30-2 on the year.
"I am so incredibly proud of this team's ability to hang in matches, make tough plays and do what it takes to win," Coach
Kaki McLean Morehead said. "Corban is one of the best teams in the country and we knew that we needed to play great tonight to win."
The Conference Tournament Championship victory marks the second since 1993 for the Mountaineers as well as the second under Head Coach
Kaki McLean Morehead. The last time EOU sat atop the CCC Tournament Bracket was in 2016 when Morehead lead Eastern to a regular season title and tournament championship win over Corban.
Tonight's match started off with a Corban victory in the first set. The two battled it out all the way down to the wire when an Avari Ridgway kill and Mountie attack error gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead with a 26-24 set win.
Eastern responded in the second set despite several Corban runs.
Kara Clayton put up five kills to pace the EOU attack on their way to a 25-21 set victory.
The Mounties followed that up with a third set victory to bring them within one of a CCC Tournament victory. The third set was defined by rallies as EOU jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Corban went on a five-point run of their own in response to take the lead. They built on it with another three-point run before Eastern bounced back with a five-point swing to take a 10-9 lead. From there the top two teams in the conference traded blows until Eastern pulled away late earning the 25-21 set victory.
With their backs against the wall, Corban put up a dominant fourth set outhitting the Mounties .265 to .031. The Warriors pulled away early and didn't look back taking a 10-point set victory to push the match to five, 25-15.
With the Tournament Championship on the line, Eastern relied on its defense to bring home the hardware. The Mountaineers held the Warriors to seven kills on -.036 hitting in the shortened fifth set on their way to a 15-12 set victory. In total EOU had an impressive 18 blocks in the match.
When the dust settled EOU was the last team standing picking up a tournament win in their fifth straight CCC Championship appearance and third-straight against Corban.
"This team continues to amaze me and this season is one they will always treasure and appreciate no matter what happens," Morehead said.
The No. 1 Mountaineers now look ahead to the NAIA National Tournament. Matchups will be announced Monday morning at 8 a.m. for the opening round which will be hosted at campus sites around the country.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
