SALEM, Ore. – No. 1 Eastern Oregon University volleyball dropped its first match of the season on Friday night, falling to the No. 8-ranked Corban University Warriors 22-25, 25-22, 14-25, 29-31 in Salem.
It was a hard-fought battle for the Mountaineers (20-1, 12-1 CCC) as they pushed Corban to four sets in front of its home crowd. The match was the first for EOU to go more than three sets in almost a month.
Staying even in almost all aspects of the game, the Mounties hit .236 on the night to the Warriors' .237 team percentage. The only significant difference was the kill margin, in which Corban held the advantage 65-53.
Keira Vaughn led Eastern's offense with 16 kills on a .293 clip, followed by
Kiauna Mack who added 13 kills (.357 pct).
Emma Burlingame and
McKenzie Jonas also contributed seven kills apiece. The attack was maneuvered by
Kate Stidham's 29 assists.
Defensively,
Mylie Mills led at the net with seven total blocks and
Jaycee Villastrigo posted 26 digs, both season-highs for the duo.
The Mountaineers look to bounce back quickly with another contest tomorrow evening, as they are set to pay a visit to the No. 23-ranked Bushnell Beacons' home court at 4 p.m. Earlier this season, EOU swept Bushnell with scores of 25-21, 28-14, 25-16.
