College volleyball: Tough preseason victories may prepare Mountaineers for successful season
Sep. 1—LA GRANDE — Playing in back-to-back tournament games can be grueling for athletes, but the Eastern Oregon University volleyball team handled the schedule while on the road at the Big Sky Tournament in Montana and the Hampton Inn Volleyball Classic in Missouri.
Across the two tournaments the Mountaineers went 7-1, losing their opening game in Montanta on Thursday, Aug. 18, against Viterbo University, but quickly turning the ship around — beating Midland University, University of Jamestown and Carroll College. Across the three games, the Mounties dropped only one set against the Jimmies. Five of the seven wins at the two tournament were over top-25 teams.
"I am incredibly proud of our team and their ability to battle back after our first loss," Eastern head coach Kaki McLean Morehead said.
The Mountaineers continued their winning streak Aug. 26-27 at the Hampton Inn Classic with another four victories — beating Ottawa University, Columbia College, Central Methodist and William Woods University.
The matches in the Missouri-based tournament were hard-fought victories. After dropping the first set against Ottawa, the Mountaineers rallied to win the next three sets. Then after losing the first two sets to Columbia, Eastern clinched a come-from-behind victory by winning the final three sets, including a 15-12 decision in the deciding fifth set.
"We wanted a preseason that was going to push us really early on and for us to have to have a really steep learning curve, and we definitely achieved that with the opponents that we played. But more than that I think it was great to be able to see the grit that we showed in pressure situations and the ability to come back after being down 0-2," Morehead said. "I think those kinds of things you can't replicate and you learn from and you use in future experiences."
Eastern opens conference play against Corban University — which they lost to four times in 2021 — on Friday, Sept. 2, in Salem.
The Mountaineers are well positioned going into conference play after the tough preseason. Led by senior Cambree Scott, juniors Kara Clayton, Preslee Jensen and Sade Williams, and sophomores Hailey Arritola, Alexis McMurtrey and Madison Morgan, the Mountaineers look to reverse their recent fortunes against Corban.
"I'm excited to start conference play. I think our preseason has really prepared us for the conference that we do have," Morehead said. "We have one of the toughest conferences in the nation and it will only help prepare us more for the national tournament. We open up against two really tough opponents, so it will be a good weekend and hopefully we can use what we've learned so far."
Isabella Crowley is a reporter for The Observer. Contact her at 541-624-6014 or icrowley@lagrandeobserver.com.
