OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Keira Vaughn earned 14 kills and a .467 hitting percentage to lead NAIA #1-ranked Eastern Oregon University to a 3-0 win over The Evergreen State College in the Cascade Collegiate Conference opener for both teams on Friday, Sept. 4 at the Costantino Recreation Center.
Bright Brubaker (Jr., OPP) topped Evergreen with six kills. The Mountaineers took the match 25-16, 25-13, 25-5.
For EOU, Brooke Womack added a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs, while Kate Stidman earned 29 assists. Akylah Kaino provided eight kills. Libero Jaycee Villastrigo supplied the Mountaineers with 12 digs.
While Brubaker led the attack for the Geoducks,
Jaci Yamada (So., DS/L) paced the defense by registering 10 digs.
Riley Mangan contributed seven assists. Mangan,
Zofia Formella (Jr., MB/OH), and
Annalise Orlowski (Fr., MB) were each credited with one service ace.
The teams were close on the scoreboard for most of the first set. Eastern Oregon held a slim lead at 9-8 following a service ace by Formella for the Geoducks. A bit later, EOU was in front 12-9, but Evergreen cut the margin to 13-12. The Geoducks moved within a single point three more times, including 17-16 following a kill by Orlowski. After Evergreen committed a serving error, the Mountaineers scored seven consecutive points with Villastrigo serving. Keira Vaughn recorded four kills during the run, including the final point in the 25-16 win.
Eastern Oregon surged out to a 7-3 lead in the second set. The Mountaineers soon expanded the lead to 11-4 on back-to-back kills from Womack. EOU went on to hold a 15-5 advantage on its way to a 25-13 victory. In the third set, the Mountaineers grabbed a 6-1 lead and eventually won 25-5.
The Geoducks will play again at the Costantino Recreation Center on Saturday, Oct. 5 against NAIA #9-ranked College of Idaho. Match time for the CCC contest is set for 4 p.m. PDT.
