LA GRANDE, Ore. – No. 1 Eastern Oregon University volleyball dominated from start to finish, taking down the Walla Walla Wolves 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-19) Saturday night inside Quinn Coliseum.
The Mountaineers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the opening set, sparked by kills from
Keira Vaughn, a service ace from
Brooke Womack, and a block from
Kate Stidham and
Jule Whitley. After Walla Walla got on the board, Eastern Oregon answered with a six-point run to extend its advantage to 13-1. EOU continued to build its lead with another five-point run, highlighted by a Stidham-
Mylie Mills block, a Stidham service ace, and a pair of Vaughn kills to make it 18-2. The Wolves managed seven more points before the end of the set, but the Mountaineers' lead proved too much to overcome. Womack closed out the opening frame with a service ace, giving EOU a 25-9 victory.
The second set was closer through the early stages, as Walla Walla remained within two points at 7-5. Vaughn continued to lead the Mountaineer attack, while Walla Walla service errors also helped EOU maintain its advantage. The lead began to widen when
Olivia Chilton recorded a kill, followed by a service ace from
Ava Semprimoznik and several Walla Walla attack errors to put the Mountaineers ahead 12-5. The Wolves continued to chip away at the deficit, but EOU responded with kills from Womack and Vaughn, while
Brooklyn Willard and Mills teamed up for a block. Eastern Oregon pulled away late to claim the second set 25-14 and take a 2-0 match lead.
Walla Walla opened the third set with its strongest start of the night, taking an early 3-0 lead.
Sky Nesser answered with a kill before a Walla Walla attack error cut the deficit to 3-2. The Wolves regained some momentum with two kills from Bianca Adams and a block from Sahara Browning, pushing their lead to 7-3. The Mountaineers quickly responded, with a Chilton kill and multiple Walla Walla errors helping EOU close the gap. Eastern Oregon then put together a four-point run sparked by a Nesser kill, back-to-back service aces from Semprimoznik, and a Whitley-
Stella Koch block to take a 14-10 lead. Walla Walla answered immediately, leveling the set at 14-14. After the teams traded points, EOU once again seized control.
Akylah Kaino delivered back-to-back kills to spark another run as the Mountaineers pulled away late. EOU built a 23-17 advantage before
Madison Vaughn closed out the set with a service ace, securing the 25-19 win and the 3-0 sweep.
Overall, the Mountaineers hit .274 as a team while holding the Wolves to just .022. EOU held advantages in nearly every major statistical category, including aces (13-2), kills (33-24), assists (31-24), and digs (25-25). Vaughn led all players with 12 kills, while Womack and Semprimoznik each added three service aces. Defensively,
Jaycee Villastrigo led the match with 14 digs, while Mills paced the Mountaineers at the net with four blocks. Whitley and Stidham each added three blocks, with Stidham also contributing 12 assists to help direct the EOU offense.
With the win, Eastern Oregon improves to 19-0 overall and 8-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. The Mountaineers return to action Wednesday, September 30, when they host the only other undefeated team in the conference, No. 4 College of Idaho, at 7 p.m. PT inside Quinn Coliseum.
