EOU Volleyball Named Adidas Team of the Week
LA GRANDE, Ore. –The Eastern Oregon University volleyball team has been named the “Adidas Team of the Week” for August 19-26, the Cascade Collegiate Conference announced Sunday.
The Mountaineers earned a 4-1 record at the inaugural Red Lion Cascade/Frontier Challenge held in Spokane, Wash. On Day 1, Eastern defeated the University of Montana Western 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-19). On the second day of competition, Eastern defeated Frontier Conference members Montana Tech (25-15, 25-19, 25-20) and the University of Great Falls (25-17, 25-17, 25-22) in three sets.
“We are very excited about being named the Adidas Team of the Week especially among the elite programs in our conference,” Head Coach Kaki Morehead said. “After a great opening weekend, we have learned what will only make us better and are excited to see what this season holds for us.”
On Saturday, the Mountaineers needed four games to get past Montana State University- Northern (18-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-23). The loss in game one was the first of the tournament. In the final match, No. 21 ranked Carroll College handed Eastern their only setback of the weekend (25-17, 15-25, 22-25, 14-16). In a highly contested match, Eastern sandwiched wins in games one and four with Carroll taking games two and three. In the fifth set, the Mountaineers had match point, but could not hold back a fierce Saints’ rally.
Eastern Oregon finished with the best record among the CCC schools in the challenge at 4-1 and improved to 6-2 overall. With the weekend wins, Eastern, who was picked to finish third in the Cascade Conference preseason coaches’ poll, has hopes of breaking into the NAIA top 25. The first regular season national poll will be released Sept. 3. The Mountaineers, who just missed an at large bid to the NAIA National Tournament last year, open conference play Friday at The Evergreen State College.