LA GRANDE, Ore. – Nicole Reyes became the fourth Oregon Tech player to record 1,000 kills in a career, leading the Lady Owls with 15 kills in a highly-contested three-set loss at No. 2-ranked Eastern Oregon.
 
The Owls (7-8, 4-5 CCC) fought hard throughout the night, but EOU withstood the challenge in the 25-22, 25-23, 25-23 win – their 16th-straight win on the year.
 
Reyes ripped a first set kill to record the milestone, joining Krista Wooley, Kelsey Sampson and Marcie Mitzner in the exclusive club. She and Sampson are the only OIT players to record 1,000-kills and 1,000-digs in a career.
 
Reyes posted a double-double, adding 13 digs in the loss, with Kaylin Talonen finishing with 12 kills and Courtney Isom recorded 25 assists.  The Mountaineers (16-1, 9-0) got 11 kills from Preslee Jensen, 10 kills and four blocks from Cambree Scott and 23 assists and 17 digs from Alexis McMurtrey.
 
EOU got a trio of Madison Morgan kills in a 15-9 run to open the match, with Tech whittling the deficit to 24-22 on a Savanna Sterck kill, before an Ashton Haughton kill ended the frame.
 
OIT had control for most of Set 2, with Talonen ripping two kills in a 4-0 start, with an Eastern hitting error pushing the margin to 21-16. The Mounties answered with a 7-1 run, taking advantage of two OIT hitting errors and two Scott kills to regain the lead and steal the set win.
 
Set 3 was tight, featuring 12 ties – the final one at 21-21. The hosts capped the match with a pair of combo-blocks and a Haughton kill to claim the win.
 
EOU finished with a 51-41 edge in kills, along with an 8-4 margin in total blocks.
 
Tech returns to the Basin next weekend for matches against Warner Pacific and Multnomah.