OLYMPIA, Wash. – No. 1-ranked Eastern Oregon University volleyball opened Cascade Conference play in dominant fashion Friday night, sweeping The Evergreen State College, 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-5), to continue its unbeaten start to the 2026 season.
The opening set featured competitive play early, with EOU holding no more than a three-point advantage through the first stretch. As Evergreen looked to flip the momentum, the Mountaineers continued to maintain control behind the production of
Brooke Womack,
Jule Whitley,
Akylah Kaino and
Keira Vaughn. EOU closed the set on an eight-point run, sparked by multiple back-to-back kills from Vaughn, to take the opening frame, 25-16, and set the tone for the remainder of the match.
Carrying that momentum into the second set, Eastern Oregon raced out to a 15-5 advantage. Womack was instrumental in the run, delivering back-to-back kills before later adding a service ace. Vaughn continued to find success offensively, while
Kate Stidham orchestrated the Mountaineer attack with precise set placement and contributed at the net with block assists. Evergreen briefly trimmed the deficit, but EOU answered with another strong push, led by Womack, scoring four straight points to extend its lead to 22-12. The Mountaineers closed the set, 25-13, with a Womack kill followed by an Evergreen attack error.
The third set belonged entirely to the Mountaineers. EOU immediately jumped out to a 6-1 lead as Whitley and Vaughn attacked the Evergreen defense. After TESC responded with two points, the Mountaineers extended their advantage to 16-3 with a 10-0 run, aided by Geoduck errors and a strong showing from sophomore transfer
Bailey Robertson. Robertson made her presence felt with a kill, a solo block and a block assist during the decisive stretch.
EOU closed the set on another dominant run, scoring the final eight points of the match. Vaughn and Womack continued to provide offensive firepower, while Robertson continued to shine, recording the final two kills to seal the 25-5 set victory and secure the 3-0 sweep.
Womack finished the night with her third double-double of the season, recording 11 kills and 13 digs while hitting an outstanding .667. She also added two service aces. Vaughn led all players with 14 kills while contributing two block assists. Kaino added eight kills, while Whitley finished with five kills and two blocks. Robertson recorded four kills and a team-best three blocks. Stidham directed the EOU offense with 29 assists while adding eight digs, while Villastrigo anchored the back row with 12 digs and contributed two aces and four assists.
As a team, the Mountaineers hit an impressive .398 while holding the Geoducks to a -.024 hitting percentage. EOU also held Evergreen without a block while recording five blocks of its own. The Mountaineers finished with advantages in kills (47-14), assists (43-14), digs (46-30) and aces (7-3).
The Mountaineers improve to 12-0 overall and 1-0 in Cascade Conference play and continue conference action tomorrow, September 5, at Northwest University. First serve is set for 4 p.m. PT.
