LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University No. 1 Volleyball kept its winning streak alive Friday night, sweeping No. 11 Lewis-Clark State College in three sets in front of a packed Quinn Coliseum.
The matchup was expected to be one of the Mountaineers' toughest tests of the season, but EOU showed no hesitation against the No. 11-ranked Warriors. Eastern Oregon battled through a competitive opening set before taking control of the match, earning a 25-23, 25-20, 25-19 sweep to remain undefeated and continue to back up its No. 1 ranking.
The first set opened with a tight stretch as the two teams traded leads through the early points. Lewis-Clark State put together a four-point run to take a short lead, but two Warrior errors and a kill from
Brooke Womack brought the Mountaineers even at 10-10. Later, EOU used a four-point run fueled by kills from
Brooklyn Willard and Womack to build a three-point advantage that held through the closing stretch. The Warriors answered with two kills and an EOU error to pull within one, but a Lewis-Clark service error sealed the set as the Mountaineers took the opener, 25-23.
Set two followed a similar pattern early, with the teams trading points before
Keira Vaughn,
Ava Semprimoznik, and
Sidney Friesen combined to push the Mountaineers ahead 7-3. EOU maintained its narrow advantage through the middle portion of the set before
Jule Whitley and
Stella Koch sparked a run that extended the lead to 17-11. Koch, Womack, and Vaughn provided the power at the net, while
Mylie Mills,
Akylah Kaino, Whitley, and Koch anchored the Mountaineers defensively. EOU closed out the set, 25-20, to take a 2-0 match lead.
The Mountaineers came out strong in the third set, using a five-point run highlighted by kills from Mills, Vaughn, and Kaino to take an early 5-2 lead. A Kaino-Whitley block, kills from Vaughn and Whitley, and a service ace from Semprimoznik later extended the advantage to 10-4. Kaino, Whitley, Womack, and Vaughn continued to pressure the Warriors at the net, carrying EOU through the final stretch and to a 25-19 third-set victory to complete the sweep.
Vaughn led the Mountaineers offensively with 14 kills while hitting .387, adding a block assist and four digs. Womack followed with 11 kills on .318 hitting while contributing seven digs. Setters
Kate Stidham and Semprimoznik each recorded 19 assists, with Stidham adding five digs and Semprimoznik contributing a service ace. Defensively, Whitley posted three block assists and a solo block, while Kaino added three block assists. Libero
Jaycee Villastrigo anchored the back row with a match-high 15 digs.
As a team, the Mountaineers hit .350 on the night while holding the Warriors to a .140 hitting percentage. EOU also held advantages in kills, 46-35, assists, 44-33, and digs, 40-37.
With the victory, EOU remains undefeated at 18-0 overall and improves to 7-0 in Cascade Conference play. The Mountaineers will continue their home weekend Saturday night when they host Walla Walla University at 8 p.m. PT.
