Le Grande, Ore. – On a night in which Eastern Oregon University honored their late volleyball coach, Hailey Pierce, the Mountaineers knocked off Northwest Christian University in three sets, 25-19, 25-19, 25-22. Pierce was honored during an emotional pre-game ceremony. She passed away on July 18th.
Eastern Oregon head coach Kaki Morehead said, “Tonight was a very emotional night, obviously, because of the recognition that went on, but because it meant a lot to the girls as well. When we can win and when we can play well on a night like this means a lot to them, means a lot to us, and means a lot to EOU.”
NCU head coach Mike Gaffaney said, “We kind of knew that tonight was going to be emotional for Eastern and it wasn emotional for us as well. I applaud Eastern for the way they played tonight. They had heart and drive. We have said a lot of prayers for Eastern throughout the season and I know there are a lot of teams pulling for them. I have to congratulate the coaching staff and their girls. We're all very proud of them.”
Eastern (11-7, 9-1 CCC) was led by freshman Stephani Sorenson with ten kills. Seniors Jessica Lea and Emily Sampon both finished with 15 assists apiece. Junior Kaitlyn Duncan finished with 21 digs and became the second player in school history to cross the 1000-dig plateau in her career.
Northwest Christian (9-9, 4-6) was led by
Janel Fetters with seven kills and 12 digs.
Cori Wallace added another double-double with 22 assists and 12 digs. The Beacons held a 9-8 advantage in blocks and was led by five from
Danielle Nance, including two solo blocks.
Emily O'Neal added four blocks and
Chelsea McGowan posted three. McGowan also tabulated six kills with a team-best .385 hitting percentage.
“I was really pleased with how we fought back in a couple of spots tonight,” said Gaffaney, “Our defense played really well and kept us in the match tonight. We played them better than we did when we saw them at home.”
The Beacons will be back in action tomorrow as they travel to face No. 7 College of Idaho at 7:00 pm local time.
