Mountaineers Volleyball named preseason favorites
By Paul Hall on Monday, August 9th, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Information provided by EOU Athletics) The Cascade Collegiate Conference has announced its 2021 Preseason Volleyball Coaches’ Poll and Eastern Oregon University has been picked as the favorite to win it all.
The Mountaineers racked up 140 points and tallied eight out of 12 possible first place votes to grab the No. 1 spot. EOU is coming off a historic 2020 season that saw the team post an undefeated regular season record for the first time in program history. The Mounties went 15-0 overall and were 14-0 against CCC opponents. The undefeated regular season helped EOU capture its sixth CCC crown in the last seven years and the third in a row.
Eastern Oregon went into the 2020 postseason and managed to make it to the CCC Tournament Championship match before falling to Corban University, 3-1. The Mountaineers regular season crown earned them an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships where the made it the furthest of any conference team that qualified. They swept their opening round match and went 2-0 in pool play with a pair of 3-0 wins to make it into bracket play. EOU ultimately bowed out in the quarterfinals, falling 3-0 to then No. 1 University of Jamestown (N.D.). The Mountaineers ended the 2020 campaign ranked No. 7 in the final NAIA coaches’ poll.
The Mountaineers’ 2021 squad features eight letterwinners and four starters from a season ago. EOU will look to fill the void with two key starters gone in Kiley McMurtrey and Madison Pilon as well as key bench player Aspen Christiansen. All three have graduated, but EOU is in luck with three First Team All-CCC players back. Looking to lead the way will be All-Americans Cambree Scott and Breanna Shaffer. Scott is the reigning CCC Player of the Year, while Shaffer was a First Team All-CCC selection. Also looking to help guide an experienced Mountaineer squad is another All-CCC First Team player in Jet Taylor. These three, along with other returners, give the Mountaineers a shot at another CCC crown.
Grabbing the No. 2 spot is reining CCC Tournament Champion Corban. The Warriors totaled 130 points and had two first place votes. Southern Oregon, who opted out of the 2020 season, is picked third with 105 points and grabbed the final two first place votes. Bushnell is picked fourth with 103 points, followed by College of Idaho with 95 points to round out the top-five. The full preseason rankings can be found below.
CCC Preseason Volleyball Coaches’ Poll (1st Place Votes)
1. Eastern Oregon (8) 140 points
2. Corban (2) 130 points
3. Southern Oregon (2) 105 points
4. Bushnell 103 points
5. College of Idaho 95 points
6. Oregon Tech 88 points
7. Lewis-Clark State 76 points
8. Northwest 68 points
9. Evergreen State 47 points
10. Warner Pacific 36 points
11. Multnomah 30 points
12. Walla Walla 14 points
