KIRKLAND, Wash. – No. 1 Eastern Oregon University volleyball kicked off the second half of Cascade Collegiate Conference play with a sweep on Friday night, taking down the No. 23-ranked Northwest University Eagles on their home court, 25-20, 25-17, 25-17.
The Mountaineers (19-0, 11-0 CCC) swept NU earlier this season as well, dominating the Eagles 25-15, 25-19, 25-12 in La Grande. The win keeps EOU three games ahead at the top of the conference standings while Northwest drops to 12-5 (6-5 CCC), tying for fifth place with No. 15 College of Idaho.
The Mounties hit an impressive .451 percent, marking their best offensive average against a top-25 program this year. They held the Eagles to a .122 attack percentage and enjoyed a 50-26 advantage in kills.
Eastern was led by the firepower duo of
Keira Vaughn and
Kiauna Mack, who both hit over .600 while combining for 22 kills and only one error.
Emma Burlingame added nine kills of her own on a .333 clip.
The offense was run by
Ava Semprimoznik and
Kate Stidham, who dished out 18 and 16 assists, respectively. They each added a service ace and totaled a collective 11 digs.
On defense,
Brooke Womack and
Jaycee Villastrigo posted 10 digs apiece, and Mack contributed three total blocks.
After taking the first two sets, the Mountaineers found themselves down by five points to start the third. However, an 8-1 run featuring kills from K. Vaughn, Burlingame, and
McKenzie Jonas and a pair of aces by
Madison Vaughn put them back on top.
Northwest managed to take back its lead with the next five consecutive points, but EOU stole the next six in a row to get ahead 16-13. The Mounties stayed in front for the remainder of the set and ran away with the match on a 7-1 stretch consisting of kills and a block by Mack and K. Vaughn, a
Brooklyn Willard ace, and a pair of Eagle errors.
Eastern continues its road trip tomorrow evening at The Evergreen State College. Last month, the Mountaineers swept the Geoducks (1-14, 1-10 CCC) in the conference opener.
