KIRKLAND, Wash. – Eastern Oregon Volleyball matched up against Northwest Volleyball in its first conference game of the season Friday evening. The Eagles gave an impressive effort in a back-and-forth match that pushed the Mountaineers to its first loss of the 2023 season.
In a tight first set, Northwest pulled ahead early with a sequence of service aces and kills to lead 3-0. However, Eastern Oregon built back momentum and tied the score at 4-4 before later leading 8-5. The remainder of the set was characterized by several lead changes, with both teams showcasing their offensive and defensive strengths. The set was also punctuated by attack errors and timeouts that shifted the momentum between teams. Ultimately, Eastern Oregon clinched the set 25-22.
In the second set, Northwest established an early lead and maintained it throughout. Northwest showcased their offensive capabilities with offensive contributions from Kylie Lunday and Kaitlyn Mickle, each contributing 4 kills. Eastern Oregon made efforts to bridge the gap, but a series of attack errors on their part extended Northwest’s advantage. Despite two timeouts called by Eastern Oregon in an attempt to regroup and change the game’s momentum, Northwest pressed on and ultimately seized the set with a score of 25-13. Despite dropping the second set,
The Mountaineers stormed back in the third. After recording 3 kills in the first two sets, Sade WIlliams exploded for 9 kills in the third. Hannah Ledgerwood distributed the ball with efficiency as well, notching 5 assists in the set. Ultimately, a service error by Allie Flynn of Northwest granted Eastern Oregon the winning point, resulting in a 25-17 victory for them in the set.
Mickle continued to impress in the fourth set, recording 5 kills for a Northwestern team that would go on to win 25-15. A close match until the very end, the Mountaineers would eventually lose the final set 15-12,
Standout Performers
EOU
Sade Williams: 15 kills, 2assists, 2 service aces, 9 digs
Madison Morgan: 10 kills, 4 blocks
Keira Vaughn: 13 kills, .286 attack percentage, 1 dig
NU
Kaitlyn Mickle: 20 kills, .267 attack percentage, 3 blocks
Karste Wright: 13 kills, .476 attack percentage
Susanna Bailey: 8 kills, .312 attack percentage, 1 assist, 3 blocks
EOU Volleyball will return to action tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. when they face the Geoducks of Evergreen State University.
Eastern Oregon Volleyball Drops First Game of the Season
