KIRKLAND, Wash. — In the final game of conference-opening weekend, Eastern Oregon University No. 1 Women's Volleyball swept Northwest University 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-20) Saturday night.
The Mountaineers established early control, jumping out to a 3-0 lead behind a
Brooke Womack kill, a block from Womack and
Mylie Mills, and a service ace from
Kate Stidham. Northwest responded with two straight points, but Eastern Oregon quickly regained momentum, extending its lead to 9-4 and forcing a Northwest timeout.
The Eagles found some momentum coming out of the timeout, but the Mounties matched their points to maintain their advantage. Eastern Oregon pulled ahead 20-11 behind strong play at the net, with blocks from
Keira Vaughn, Womack,
Akylah Kaino and
Jule Whitley, while back-to-back service aces from
Ava Semprimoznik helped keep the pressure on. Four Northwest errors closed out the set as EOU took the opener 25-14.
Carrying that momentum into the second set, the Mounties again opened with a 3-0 advantage, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Vaughn. The Eagles struggled to find an answer for Eastern Oregon's blocking presence, as Whitley and Vaughn, along with
Ava Swan and Mills, combined to make an impact at the net. EOU extended its lead to 14-4. The Mountaineers then put together their longest run of the night, scoring six straight points behind kills from Swan, Kaino and Womack, along with a Womack-Mills block, to pull ahead 20-5. Northwest worked to string together points late in the set, but the Mounties' lead proved too large to overcome as EOU closed out the second 25-12.
The third set provided the tightest battle of the night. Eastern Oregon opened with a 7-2 advantage, using a 5-0 run as Vaughn, Mills and Kaino continued to make an impact on both sides of the net. Northwest answered with a 5-1 run of its own to even the set at 12-12, setting up a back-and-forth battle. The teams continued to trade points before four Eagle miscues, combined with blocks from Kaino and Whitley, helped the Mountaineers regain control and build a 21-16 lead. Northwest fought back with four more points to cut their deficit, but Eastern Oregon closed the door. Whitley and Vaughn recorded the final kills of the match to secure the 25-20 set victory and complete the sweep.
Vaughn led the Eastern Oregon attack with 13 kills while hitting .500 for the match. Womack added eight kills and 11 digs, while Kaino finished with seven kills and three blocks. Stidham directed the offense with 20 assists, while Semprimoznik added 11 assists and two service aces. Mills and Whitley each recorded five blocks, helping the Mountaineers finish with 11 total blocks compared to three for Northwest. Eastern Oregon also held a significant edge in hitting, finishing at .309 compared to .064 for Northwest.
With the victory, Eastern Oregon improves to 13-0 overall and 2-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. The Mountaineers return home Friday, Sept. 11, for their home-opening weekend at Quinn Coliseum. EOU will face No. 18 Southern Oregon at 6 p.m. PT Friday before taking on Oregon Tech at 4 p.m. PT Saturday.
