LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon Mountaineers earned a 3-1 victory (18-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-16) over the UC Merced Bobcats on Saturday afternoon in the NAIA Opening Round at Quinn Coliseum. The win propels the Mountaineers (29-4) to the NAIA National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa.

After dropping the first set 18-25, Eastern Oregon stormed back to dominate the final three sets. Senior middle blocker Ashton Bales led the charge with a match-high 20 kills and an impressive .581 hitting percentage. Her presence at the net was pivotal, also contributing four total blocks.

Keira Vaughn added 11 kills, while Madison Morgan chipped in seven kills to complement Eastern's balanced offensive effort.

Defensively, the Mountaineers held UC Merced to a .172 team hitting percentage, limiting the Bobcats' top scorer, Sera Riley, to 15 kills on a .220 clip. Eastern's defense was anchored by Hailey Arritola, who posted a match-high 12 digs, while setter Alexis McMurtrey tallied 26 assists to orchestrate the offense. Hannah Ledgerwood also contributed 18 assists for the Mounties.

UC Merced (20-8) opened the match strong, with Riley and Semiramis Tanasescu combining for 24 kills, but the Mountaineers' adjustments proved too much for the Bobcats to overcome.

With the win, Eastern Oregon punches its ticket to the NAIA National Championship final site, running from December 3-10 in Sioux City.