LA GRANDE, Ore. – Playing as part of homecoming festivities, the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers didn’t fulfill their duty as good hosts, sweeping past the Evergreen Geoducks, 25-10, 25-16, 25-20, in a Cascade Conference volleyball match on Saturday afternoon in La Grande, Ore.
After a very early Evergreen lead in the first set, the Mountaineers sprinted the rest of the way, building a 22-8 lead before wrapping up a 25-10 set one win. EOU committed just one attack error in the first frame, throwing down 12 kills on 19 attempts for an incredible .579 hitting percentage. On the other side of the net, the Geoducks had six kills with five errors on 25 attacks for a .040 clip.
The Geoducks again took an early lead in the second set but the Mounties came out riding strong once again, pushing the lead to 10-4. Evergreen battled back, pulling within one point at 13-12 but a 10-3 run eventually gave Easter the 25-16 set two win.
The third set was a battle from the very beginning as neither team enjoyed a lead larger than two points until a 4-0 EOU run put them ahead at 16-12. Evergreen used a 7-1 run of their own to take a 20-18 lead but the Mountaineers ran off seven straight points to take the set, 25-20, and secure the sweep.
Evergreen was led by eight kills from Stephanie Peshlakai-John (Kirtland, N.M./West Texas College). Senior setter Sasha Nash (Sandy, Utah/Skyline HS) led the Geoducks with 19 assists and 11 digs on the afternoon.
Eastern Oregon was led by eight kills from Rebecca Haight and seven each from Alisha Crane, Casey Loper and Stefani Sorensen. Karly Stack and Jessica Perron each collected 14 assists for the Mounties, who finished the match with 41 kills and 10 errors on 97 attacks, good enough for a hitting percentage of .320.
The Geoducks finally return home from their three-week road trip next Friday when they play host to Concordia. First serve with the Cavaliers is set for 7 p.m. at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.