Eastern Oregon University's Sade Williams (1) passes the ball during the NAIA national semifinals against Corban on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Sioux City, Iowa. The top-seeded Mountaineers fell in four sets to the Warriors, seeing the best season in program history end at 34-3.

BUTTE, Mont. — The Eastern Oregon University volleyball team got its 2023 campaign off to a hot start at the Big Sky Challenge in Butte, Montana on Thursday, Aug. 17.

The Mountaineers, who entered the season ranked No. 3 in the NAIA Preseason Coaches Poll, took two victories on Day 1 of the Big Sky Challenge. Eastern Oregon defeated No. 18 College of Saint Mary 3-1 and took down Arizona Christian 3-1. The 2-0 start to the season is a positive note toward what Mountaineer fans will be hoping is another strong season of volleyball in La Grande.

Game 1: Eastern Oregon 3, College of Saint Mary 1

The Mountaineers earned a top-25 victory in the team’s season opener, taking down the College of Saint Mary in four sets.

Each set was hard-fought and close, but Eastern Oregon pulled away toward the end of each frame. The first set was deadlocked at 8-8, before the Mountaineers sparked a sizable momentum swing. Eastern Oregon scored 11 out of the last 18 points to win 19-15 and take an early 1-0 lead in the match.

The College of Saint Mary came out strong in the second set, building an early 11-5 lead. Eastern Oregon climbed back into contention and took a 14-13 lead, which resulted in a neck-and-neck finish to the set. The College of Saint Mary took five out of the last seven points to win the set 25-23 and even out the match at 1-1.

Eastern Oregon took its biggest advantage in the third set, eventually winning 25-20. After a close start to the frame, the Mountaineers closed out the set on a 12-7 run to secure a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the final set, the Mountaineers trailed for nearly the entirety of the frame. After clawing back to tie the match at 24-24, Hannah Ledgerwood served two consecutive points for Eastern Oregon to win the set 26-24 and walk off victorious.

Eastern Oregon was led in kills by Madison Morgan (11), Emma Burlingame (10) and Sade Williams (10). Alexis McMurtrey led the way with 23 assists, while Ledgerwood finished with 17. Morgan was Eastern Oregon’s top point scorer with 14.

Game 2: Eastern Oregon 3, Arizona Christian 1

The Mountaineers captured their second win of the day in a four-set showdown with Arizona Christian.

Eastern Oregon fell behind 3-0 off the jump, but managed to edge the set back to level at 9-9. Midway through, the Mountaineers rattled off a 10-0 run that saw them grab a commanding 16-9 lead. The team later stretched the advantage to 23-11 and held on to win 25-14, with the final point coming off a ball handling error by Arizona Christian off the serve of McMurtrey.

Once again in the second set, Arizona Christian held an early lead. The Firestorm led by as much as five points, leading to an Eastern Oregon timeout with the Mountaineers trailing 14-9. Eastern Oregon responded by going on a 8-2 run that saw the Mountaineers recapture the lead at 17-16. The Mountaineers closed out the set by taking eight out of the last nine points to win 25-18 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Firestorm came out poised in the third set, taking a 5-0 lead to start the frame. Eastern Oregon never led in the set, but managed to level the frame at 21-21. Arizona Christian scored three out of the last five points to win the set 24-23 and keep the match alive.

The Mountaineers bounced back in the fourth set, jumping out to a 10-3 advantage early on. Eastern Oregon led by as much as eight points in the frame and held off a late push from Arizona Christian. Two late aces by McMurtrey helped put the game on ice, as the Mountaineers walked off with a 25-16 advantage to win the match 3-1.

Ashton Haughton and Kiauna Mack both led the way with nine kills each, while Williams recorded eight. McMurtrey finished with five aces to conclude a productive day. Ledgerwood tallied a game-high 26 assists and Mack led the Mountaineers with four blocks.

Coming off the victories, Eastern Oregon is set to compete in Day 2 of the Big Sky Challenge on Aug. 18. The Mountaineers are scheduled to face No. 10 Southwestern Assemblies of God University at 8 a.m. and Montana State University-Northern at noon.