KIRKLAND, Wash.- In Eastern Oregon's first match since becoming the No. 1 ranked team in the country they were put to the test by the Northwest University Eagles. The Mounties traveled up to Kirkland, Wash. and took home their seventeenth straight win in a tight five-set match, 25-19, 21-25, 25-19,16-25, 15-10. With the win the Mounties move to 17-1 while Northwest falls to 8-10.
In the first set Northwest jumped out to an early lead but the Mounties battled back to take a comfortable 25-19 win. The Eagles followed that set up by handing EOU its first set loss in four matches, 25-21. Part of Eastern's struggles came from an inconsistent offensive attack on the evening, especially in the first two sets. The Mounties totaled an uncharacteristic 16 attack errors in just the first two sets.Â
Eastern played a clean third set to take another 25-19 win, then dropped the fourth set by their biggest losing point differential of the year. The Eagles forced a final frame winning the fourth set by nine, 25-16. Once again the Mountaineers responded to keep the winning streak alive winning the fifth set, 15-10. A late 8-3 run put the Mounties on top to take home the win.Â
The No. 1 Mountaineers return to action tomorrow evening when they take on the Evergreen State College at 5 p.m. in Olympia, Wash.
BY THE NUMBERS
- It was an inefficient offensive night for both teams as each team hit under .160
- Each team cracked double digits in service aces, the Mounties finished with 11 to the Eagles' 10.
- EOU posted its seventh match of the season with 10-plus blocks
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
