LA GRANDE, Ore.-  Oregon Tech looked to upset No. 14 Eastern Oregon for the second time this season, but that bid fell just a little short as the Mountaineer's held on for the 5-set win. EOU improves to 9-2 in Cascade Conference play and 15-2 overall, OIT slips to 6-10 on the year and 4-7 in CCC action with the loss. EOU was led by a career-high 24 kills from senior outside hitter Amanda Miller, Friday night at Quinn Coliseum.
 
Head Coach Andrew Clifton on tonight's game, "It was a great team effort and we fought for every point. We will learn from this and get back at it tomorrow night. Eastern is a very good team and tonight we showed that we can play with the best of them."
 
The night got off to a rough start for Eastern Oregon as Oregon Tech quieted the home crowd with a 25-21 first-set victory. Neither team hit particularly well in the opening stanza as EOU held a slight .182-.149 advantage.
 
In set two, the Mountaineers responded to hit .318 with 17 kills to just three errors to cruise to a 25-15 win.
 
Set three proved to be the difference in the match as it was the only one decided by two points. The Owls jumped out to a 6-1 lead, forcing an early EOU timeout. The Mountaineers battled back, but still trailed 15-11 around the midway point then using a seven-point run to jump ahead 18-15.
 
The two teams tied back up at 22 apiece with neither side grabbing more than a one-point advantage until it was 25-25. After an Oregon Tech error, however, the Mounties closed out the set 27-25 on another Miller kill.
 
The Owls bounced back in the fourth set with a 25-19 victory, holding EOU to a .186 hitting percentage while hitting .208 themselves, forcing a deciding fifth set.
 
With the home crowd backing them for Homecoming, however, EOU put together a strong final set, never trailing. The Mountaineers took the first three points, finishing with a 15-11 final set win on a combined block by senior Madisen Garlie and sophomore Megan Bunn.
 
Garlie and Bunn were both tough on the frontline all night, each recording six block assists. Garlie added 11 kills, while Bunn also reached double-digits with 10.
 
Freshman setters Madison Pilon and Smith posted 28 and 27 assists, respectively, to lead the Mounties. Smith finished with her first career double-double, setting career bests in both assists and digs on the night.
 
For the Owls, setter Jaime Toedtemeier had a career-high of 52 assists, finishing with her own double-double with 13 digs. Chase Bohman also added a double-double with a career-best 33 digs along with 18 kills. Isabella Smith added 26 digs while Bailey Nelson posted 15 digs and 14 kills.
 
Oregon Tech will wrap-up their three game road trip Saturday in Caldwell, Idaho against No. 8 College of Idaho at 4:00 PM. The Yotes lost Southern Oregon on Friday night also in 5-sets.