LA GRANDE, Ore. – No. 1-ranked Eastern Oregon University volleyball continued its winning streak Saturday night, sweeping The Evergreen State College in straight sets (25-16, 25-23, 25-14) to improve to 23-0 overall and 12-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) play.
The Mountaineers carried their momentum into the second day of the weekend, jumping out to a 6-2 lead behind kills from
Keira Vaughn, a Vaughn-
Mylie Mills block and multiple Geoduck errors. Evergreen responded with two kills and capitalized on a pair of EOU service errors, but Eastern maintained its advantage with kills from Vaughn,
Brooke Womack and
Akylah Kaino. The Mountaineers extended their lead to 13-6 behind four consecutive Evergreen attack errors. The Geoducks answered with three straight points, but EOU quickly regained control with two Evergreen errors and another Vaughn kill. Eastern closed the set by claiming seven of the final 10 points to secure a 25-16 victory.
The second set proved more competitive as Evergreen found its rhythm offensively. After the teams traded points early, the Geoducks used back-to-back service aces and a block to take a 10-7 lead. Evergreen extended its advantage to 15-11 behind another kill and two additional service aces. The Mountaineers responded with kills from Vaughn and Ava Awan, while a
Sidney Friesen service ace helped EOU even the score at 16-16. Evergreen regained control late, building a 21-18 lead behind Mountaineer errors. Eastern Oregon rallied, however, as Womack and Kaino delivered key kills to tie the set at 22-22. After an Evergreen service error and a setting error gave EOU the advantage, Vaughn delivered the decisive kill to secure a 25-23 win and put the Mountaineers one set away from the sweep.
Eastern Oregon carried that momentum into the third set, opening with four consecutive points behind kills from Kaino and
Brooklyn Willard, an Evergreen attack error and a service ace from
Kate Stidham. The Mountaineers continued to build their lead with kills from Vaughn, Kaino and
Jule Whitley, while multiple service aces from
Ava Semprimoznik helped maintain control. Eastern closed out the set 25-14 with kills from Vaughn and Whitley, followed by three consecutive blocks from Willard, Whitley and Koch to complete the sweep.
Vaughn led the Mountaineers with 12 kills while hitting .556, while Kaino and Womack added seven kills apiece. Stidham paced the offense with 20 assists, and Semprimoznik contributed 10 assists. Friesen recorded three service aces, while
Jaycee Villastrigo led the defensive effort with 13 digs. Whitley finished with three total blocks. Eastern Oregon hit .261 for the match compared to Evergreen's .106, holding advantages in kills (40-26), assists (37-25) and digs (37-27).
The Mountaineers return to Quinn Coliseum Friday, October 16, to host Corban University. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT.
