LA GRANDE, Ore. – No. 1 Eastern Oregon University volleyball handled Oregon Tech in straight sets on Friday night, winning 25-16, 25-14, 25-18 in Quinn Coliseum. The victory moves the Mountaineers to 22-1 overall and 14-1 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play.
EOU's attack was efficient from start to finish, hitting .382 with 46 kills. The Owls were limited to a .076 percentage as the Mounties controlled the service line and the net, leading in blocks 9-1 and aces 6-3.
Keira Vaughn paced the offense with 13 kills on a .591 clip and added four blocks.
Brooke Womack posted 10 kills and a team-high eight digs, while
Kiauna Mack supplied nine kills on a .600 percentage with four blocks.
Setters
Kate Stidham and
Ava Semprimoznik guided the offense with 25 and 14 assists, respectively.
Jaycee Villastrigo added two aces and seven digs, and
Mylie Mills led all players with five blocks.
The first set turned at 4-4 when Eastern put together a steady run. Kills from Mills and
McKenzie Jonas, plus a pair of blocks by Vaughn and Mills, stretched the gap to 13-8 and forced Oregon Tech's first timeout. A Villastrigo ace and a Vaughn kill pushed the lead to 19-11, and Eastern closed it at 25-16 on a block by Jonas and Mack.
Set two followed a similar script as Stidham's service run built a 12-7 cushion, and the Mountaineers grew it to 20-10 behind back-to-back Vaughn kills. Semprimoznik added an ace to make it 21-10, and Womack supplied two late kills, including the clincher at 25-14.
OIT hung around early in the third, drawing level at 8-8 and again at 10-10, before EOU separated with a 5-1 response highlighted by Mack's work in the middle. The Owls trimmed the deficit to 20-17, but the Mounties answered with a closing surge and finished the sweep at 25-18 on a Stidham ace.
Eastern returns to Quinn on Saturday at 4 p.m. to host (RV) Southern Oregon, which they defeated in four sets earlier this season.
