LA GRANDE, Ore. — No. 1 Eastern Oregon University Volleyball opened its home schedule in dominant fashion Friday night, sweeping No. 18 Southern Oregon University, 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-19), inside a packed Quinn Coliseum.
EOU jumped out to a 5-0 lead right away, with kills from Brooke Womack, Akylah Kaino and Mylie Mills. The Mountaineers continued to pile on the points, never trailing in the opening set and setting the tone for the night. Three straight kills from Keira Vaughn and Jule Whitley pushed EOU's lead to 11-4, forcing a Southern Oregon timeout. The Mountaineers kept the Raiders out of rhythm, as SOU never scored more than two consecutive points, allowing EOU to build a 15-6 advantage before closing out the set, 25-13.
The second set was a tighter battle early, with the teams trading points through the first six points. EOU then used a 6-0 run sparked by kills from Womack and Brooklyn Willard, blocks from Willard-Mills and Womack-Mills, and a Madison Vaughn service ace to push ahead 12-6. The Raiders eventually put together a 4-1 run to cut the deficit to 19-16, but Jule Whitley stopped the momentum with a kill of her own. Womack then closed the set with back-to-back kills, giving EOU a 25-20 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
The Raiders came out with their strongest push in the third set, taking their first lead of the night. After Southern Oregon moved ahead 7-6 with the help of several EOU errors, the Mountaineers answered to tie the set at 7-7 and again at 9-9. Kills from Kaino and K.Vaughn then helped EOU take a 14-11 lead.
Southern Oregon responded with a 5-1 run, with four of those points coming off Eastern Oregon miscues, to retake a 16-15 advantage. With the score tied at 16-16, M.Vaughn took over from the service line, recording three straight aces to propel the Mountaineers to a 20-16 lead. The four-point cushion proved to be enough, as EOU maintained control down the stretch. Womack then closed the set in style, serving an ace to secure the 25-19 victory and the Mountaineers' first home sweep of the season.
Womack led the Mountaineers offensively with 12 kills on 21 attacks while hitting .476. K.Vaughn added nine kills while hitting .368, while Whitley recorded eight kills at an impressive .545 clip. At the service line, M.Vaughn provided a major spark with a match-high six aces, while Mills led the defensive effort at the net with six total blocks, Kaino added five and Whitley contributed four. EOU's setters effectively distributed the offense, with Kate Stidham recording 18 assists and Ava Semprimoznik adding 17. The Mountaineers finished the match with 42 kills while hitting an outstanding .400 as a team, compared to Southern Oregon's .174.
The victory keeps the top-ranked Mountaineers perfect on the season at 14-0 overall and 3-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play, while Southern Oregon falls to 10-3 overall and 2-1 in CCC play.
The Mountaineers remain home tomorrow, Saturday, September 12, hosting Oregon Tech at 4 p.m. PT inside Quinn Coliseum.
