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7A Friday, October 11, 2019 The Observer EOU to add five to Hall of Fame tonight By Ronald Bond The Observer EOU Athletics photo Grace Deboodt Bliss, who fi nished her career as the all- time leader in several offensive categories for the EOU volleyball team, will be inducted tonight. Grace Deboodt graduated as the all-time leader in kills, blocks and aces in the history of the Eastern Oregon University volleyball program. Nearly a decade later, her name is still plastered throughout the record books at EOU, and it will be in Eastern lore forever as Deboodt — now Grace Bliss — is among those who will be inducted into the EOU Athletics Hall of Fame tonight. Deboodt was the fi rst major attackers for the Mountaineers under head coach Kaki McLean-Morehead. She was on the team at the beginning of a shift in a program that at one point had 16 consecutive losing seasons. That changed her sophomore year, when EOU went 16-10, and the Mount- ies followed a year later with their fi rst 20-win season in nearly two decades. Deboodt, who played her last match for EOU in 2009, left as the all-time leader in kills (1,261), aces (119), blocks (299), block assists (273) and points (1,542.5). She has since been passed in kills, blocks and block assists but is still in the top 10 in those categories (second Eastern starting early By Ronald Bond The Observer The Eastern Oregon women’s basketball team is starting early this season. It was a move made by EOU head coach Anji Weis- senfl uh in order to get some additional games on the Mountaineers’ nonconference schedule. It is also one that could play dividends, as the early start will allow the team ad- ditional time to gel as it sets out for a fourth consecutive Cascade Collegiate Confer- ence title this season. “Hopefully with our earlier start we can get people up to speed where we need them to be,” said Weissenfl uh, who begins her 20th season at the helm for EOU. “The learn- ing curve is a little steep this year.” EOU does return 12 players from a team that went 29-4 a year ago, but did lose four seniors, including arguably the best player in Mountaineer history in Maya Ah You-Dias, to graduation. “We’ve got three starers back. We are going to need them to step up and provide not only production the court, but leadership on the court,” Weissenfl uh said. “We have been dependent on Maya for that the last fi ve years, and someone needs to fi nd their leadership.” Jane Nelson, Madison Crews and Kylie Smith are Eastern’s returning starters. Nelson said she has been en- couraged by what the seven newcomers to the programs have brought. “I’m really excited about a lot of the new kids we have,” she said. “They bring a lot of energy to our offense and our defense, and they have been working hard in practice.” The senior also said the team is trying to learn what it can from the graduated play- ers, which is somewhat easier EO Media Group STANFIELD — Things are getting tight in the middle of the Blue Mountain Conference volleyball stand- ings, but the Union Bobcats are sitting pretty atop the standings at 7-0 after hand- ing Stanfi eld a 25-17, 25-11, 25-17 loss Thursday night. “Things are a little more neck and neck,” Union coach Karly Knapp said. “It’s fun to play in this league. It has been crazy with Stanfi eld, Weston-McEwen and Hep- pner.” The Tigers (14-6 overall, 4-3 BMC) came into the match having won their past three matches, but had See Hall / Page 8A First place on the line in massive CCC showdown Ronald Bond/The Observer Jill Albright, right, tries to score against teammate Beverly Slater during a pick-and- roll drill during practice Thursday. Eastern Oregon begins its season Sunday. with Ah You-Dias, as she has hung around and is on the coaching staff this season. “She not only had a lot to offer the program while she was a player, but she has a lot of knowledge, and it’s nice to have her as a coach,” Nelson said. “Having a previously player you played with giving you advice is really helpful.” The Mountaineers will also look to players who were role players off the bench a year ago for an added boost, and Weissenfl uh said several have stepped up to help fi ll the void. “I’m really proud of Whit- ney Meier. She is stepping up and leading by example,” Weissenfl uh said. “She is being a vocal leader. Jill Albright comes to practice every day and works her tail off. She sets the tone and can be vocal.” EOU will likely also get a boost from sophomore Bev- erly Slater, who contributed solid minutes as a freshman. “She’s super athletic, she’s lean, she has length to her (and) she can run,” the coach said. “She’s a coachable kid. Ronald Bond/The Observer Hailee Ackerman, right, missed the fi rst matchup against Corban, but will be on the fl oor for EOU tonight. By Ronald Bond The Observer Ronald Bond/The Observer Jane Nelson is one of thee starters returning for Eastern Oregon this season. That’s the part I love about Bev the most. She responds to coaching.” But as she has done for several years, Weissenfl uh has also brought in a slew of transfers who will benefi t the See Eastern / Page 8A Union sweeps, solidifies lead in BMC By Annie Fowler in kills) and remains at the top of the record book in points and aces. She is being joined in the Hall of Fame by two members of what was until three years ago the best team in EOU football history, along with their head coach. Don Turner, who coached at Eastern for six seasons, including the 1980 team that won a then-record eight games, is being inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame along with a pair of play- ers who were a part of the Mountain- eers in the early 1980s — Rick Ward trouble from the get-go with the Bobcats. “They came ready to play,” Stanfi eld coach Blaine Ganvoa said Union. “They executed well and got into a rhythm early.” After a 3-3 tie in the fi rst set, Union’s Callie Glenn reeled off four consecutive points, and Kylie Marriott followed with four of her own for a 11-4 lead. The Tigers would get as close as 21-17 down the stretch, but could never put together a string of points. Autumn Daggett had fi ve of her match-high 14 kills Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group in the fi rst set, including the Union’s Taylar Daggett, front, lays out to try and dig a fi nal point. See Union / Page 8A ball during the Bobcats’ match Thursday in Stanfi eld. The Eastern Oregon Mountaineers will have a shot at redemption against the one team that has beaten them this fall. And it’ll be in one of the CCC’s and NAIA’s biggest matches of the season, as the No. 5 Mountaineers host No. 7 Corban tonight with fi rst place in the con- ference on the line. “It’s exciting,” Eastern head coach Kaki McLean-More- head said. “I think Corban’s a really good team (and) I think we’re a good team.” What’s at stake in the match? A win by Corban, which is 10-0 in conference, would give it a full two- game lead over EOU for fi rst in the CCC and posses- sion of the tiebreaker. A win by Eastern, which is 9-1, would pull the Mountain- eers even with the Warriors with nine matches to play. But even with the mag- nitude of the match — one that will go a long way to helping determine the con- ference champion and that is between teams that could make noise at the national level — McLean-Morehead said the team isn’t focusing on those added components. “What we talked about is it’s just another game,” she said. “It’s the start of our second half (of CCC play). We worked on some things this week where we want to improve and start to climb and really peak at the right time. That’s been more of our focus then the matchup.” The Warriors, ranked No. 19 at the time of the fi rst match, handed Eastern its fi rst loss when the teams met in Salem fi ve weeks ago, 20-25, 27-25, 25-21, 25-23. It was 12th of a 13-match haul on the road to start the season, and one that EOU played without one of its top attackers in Hailee Acker- man, who had suffered an ankle injury the previous match. But even with that, EOU had chances to win the match. Eastern held a 24-23 lead in the second set, and was up 23-21 in the fourth, but couldn’t put either away. “When we played against Corban (the fi rst time) we played well. It wasn’t that we played horrible,” McLean-Morehead said. “At the end of the day we made more errors than they did.” McLean-Morehead said as of Thursday, she wasn’t set on if EOU would run a 6-2 rotation — which puts an extra front row attacker on the court — or a 5-1, and said that could change dur- ing the match. “A lot of it depends on how our consistency is and how we are playing in system,” she said. The coach said part of the emphasis this week has been on expanding the tools used by EOU on its attack and on the 6-2 rotation, should she employ it. “This week has been a really good week of prac- tice,” she said. “We’re all on the same page of getting back to the drawing board and fi xing those things we need to.” The match will pit two of the top four attackers in the conference against each other in Cassie Cunning- ham for Corban and Megan Bunn for EOU (2.9 kills per set each), and Corban’s No. 2-ranked attack in the CCC (12.6 kills per set) against Eastern’s No. 1 defense (2.7 blocks and 19.1 digs per set). First serve is at 5 p.m. at Quinn Coliseum.
