SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Behind a suffocating defensive performance and a series of timely offensive surges, No. 1 Eastern Oregon punched its ticket to the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Semifinals with a 25-16, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17 victory over No. 8 McPherson College on Saturday morning inside the Tyson Events Center.
The win sends the Mountaineers (32-2) to the national semifinals for the third time in program history, where they will face defending national champion Indiana Wesleyan—the same opponent they battled the last time they reached this stage.
Eastern wasted no time setting the tone as
Brooke Womack opened the match with a kill before the Mountaineers stormed ahead 5-1, fueled by a pair of early strikes from
Kiauna Mack. EOU's block immediately established control, with
Emma Burlingame and Mack teaming up for a key stuff and a
Madison Vaughn ace stretching the lead to 13-6. McPherson never recovered from the early deficit. With set point in hand after another Womack–Mack block,
McKenzie Jonas tipped one over the defense to cap a dominant 25-16 opener.
The second frame became an all-out slugfest as the teams traded points relentlessly, neither leading by more than two until the closing moments. Jonas and
Keira Vaughn sparked a mid-set push that nudged EOU ahead 16-14, but McPherson countered every surge. Tied at 20, Vaughn took over, hammering down three massive kills to push Eastern ahead 23-22 and force a Bulldog timeout. But McPherson capitalized on a late EOU service error and followed with a kill to reach set point, sealing a gritty 25-23 decision moments later to even the match at one.
Eastern grabbed early momentum again in the third with a Bulldog error followed by a Mack kill, but the set tightened quickly. Leading 13-11, the Mounties watched McPherson reel off seven straight points to flip the frame to 18-13 in favor of the Bulldogs. Down 21-16, Eastern mounted a defining response. A
Mylie Mills block and a Womack service ace fueled a three-point burst that forced a timeout, and out of the break, Womack delivered the moment of the match—three consecutive kills that swung momentum entirely to EOU and lifted the Mountaineers to a 22-21 lead. After McPherson tied it once more, Womack answered with another kill, and a Bulldog miscue delivered set point. Fittingly, Womack and Mack sealed the 25-23 win with a block to restore control of the match.
A Mack–Burlingame block helped EOU jump ahead early in the fourth, but after McPherson briefly led 7-6, the Mounties stepped on the gas and never looked back. Eastern erupted for a 10-1 run, beginning with a Mills block and back-to-back aces from
Brooklyn Willard, then capped by consecutive Burlingame kills as the lead ballooned to 16-8. The Mountaineer front line continued to dominate as Mills and
Keira Vaughn stuffed an attack,
Madison Vaughn dropped in another ace, and a
Keira Vaughn kill brought up match point. Moments later, Burlingame and Mills closed it out with one final block, igniting the celebration as Eastern clinched its semifinal berth.
Eastern's blocking effort was one of the most commanding of the tournament so far, out-blocking McPherson 16–5 and holding the Bulldogs to just .132 hitting while swinging at .243 efficiency themselves. It was a true "Mountaineer Block Party" at the net—an identity that has defined Eastern all season long—and it showed up on the biggest stage once again.
Womack led the attack with 16 kills and nine digs, while
Keira Vaughn added 15 kills and steady scoring in the biggest moments. Mack—named NAIA Volley Report Player of the Game—posted nine kills on .333 hitting to go with seven blocks, and Mills anchored the defensive effort with nine blocks of her own. Burlingame added seven kills and six blocks, setters
Kate Stidham and
Ava Semprimoznik combined for 44 assists, and
Jaycee Villastrigo paced the back row with 17 digs.
Up next, the Mountaineers advance to Monday evening's national semifinal at 5 p.m. CT, where they will face Indiana Wesleyan, the defending national champion and Eastern's semifinal opponent in 2023, as they look for sweet Siouxland revenge. One more win would send EOU to the national title match for the first time in program history.
