Another Five Mounties Earn All-CCC Honors
By Garrett Christensen on Friday, November 11th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Release from Eastern Oregon University) The Cascade Collegiate Conference has announced its 2022 Volleyball All-Conference Team. Eastern Oregon University, the regular season champion, was well represented with five players earning All-CCC honors and Head Coach Kaki McLean Morehead earning CCC Coach of the Year.
EOU had three players earn First Team All-CCC in Cambree Scott, Preslee Jensen, and Kara Clayton. Earning Second Team All-CCC honors was libero, Hailey Arritola and wrapping up selections for the Mountaineers was Sade Williams making the list for Honorable Mention All-CCC.
“To get all five of our kids awarded speaks to the balance this team has as well as the ability. They would not have these awards without their teammates and the competition that this team thrives on every day,” Coach of the Year, Kaki McLean Morehead said. “I am so excited for them but more than that I am excited to see what this team can do in the next two weeks.”
Scott continued her run of dominance at EOU this year earning First Team All-CCC honors for the fourth straight year of her career. The senior has been the arguably the nation’s best defender at the net leading the country in blocks per set with 1.39 on her way to a total of 142 blocks on the season. Offensively she is second on the team in kills with 236 and sits in the top ten of the conference in hitting percentage at a clip of .275 on the year. The all-time block leader for the Mountaineers has now led the CCC in blocks for the last four seasons.
A new addition to the Eastern squad this year, Clayton has made a huge impact in her first year as a Mountaineer. The junior out of Sparks, Nev. has been an asset for the Mountaineer attack racking up 182 kills on the year leading the team in hitting percentage at .290 which also ranks sixth in the conference. Defensively, Clayton stacks up alongside Scott as one of the best defenders in the nation totaling 125 blocks on the year at a rate of 1.28 per set which ranks second in the CCC behind only Scott, and ranks seventh in the nation.
The third and final First Team All-CCC selection, Preslee Jensen, has been at the front of the EOU offensive attack all year on her way to earning her first All-CCC honor. The Vale, Ore. native has racked up a team-leading 236 kills at a rate of 2.31 per set. Her kill total leads the team by an impressive 28 kills and she has done so while hitting .232 on the year. Jensen has also racked up 57 blocks for Eastern ranking sixth on the team.
Earning her second career All-CCC honor this season was Hailey Arritola who received a Second Team All-CCC selection for her work as a libero on the No. 1 team in the country. An Honorable Mention honoree a year ago, Arritola put together an impressive season racking up 485 digs for the Mountaineers which ranks second in the CCC and leads the team by more than 200. She has done so at a rate of 4.73 digs per set while recording a receiving percentage of .951. Offensively, the sophomore has also been a contributor ranking third on the team in assists with 127 on the year.
Williams earned the nod as an All-CCC Honorable Mention player, marking her second career All-Conference honor. The senior, known for her versatility and athletic ability, got it done everywhere on the court this year making a difference in every statistical category. She ranked in the top-three on the team in kills with 21,0 and digs with 278. She also added 58 blocks, 13 assists, and nine service aces.
Rounding out Cascade Collegiate Conference award winners for the Mountaineers was Head Coach Kaki McLean Morehead earning the Coach of the Year award for the fifth time in her career. To this point Morehead has led the Mountaineers to one of their most historic seasons in the program’s history in 2022. The EOU Volleyball all-time winningest head coach has lead Eastern to their first-ever No. 1 ranking in the national polls this season. Eastern has been in the top spot for the last four polls dating back to Sept. 28. The Mounties also clinched the CCC Regular Season Title in their last set of home games, making it the seventh program CCC Championship under Morehead. During this year’s conference championship run the Mountaineers have lost only one conference match and two the entire season recording a winning streak that reached 19 matches. Heading into postseason play, Morehead has the Mounties set to make a post season run after a 28-2 regular season performance.
Going into the CCC tournament, the Mountaineers hold the No. 1 overall seed and receive a bye for the opening round. For their first match EOU will face the lowest remaining seed in the semifinal round Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Quinn Coliseum. With a win the Mounties will move onto the CCC Tournament Championship Saturday afternoon scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
