LA GRANDE, Ore. — The Walla Walla Women's Volleyball team continued its underdog run in the Cascade Conference Tournament presented by U.S. Bank and won the first two sets against No. 1 Eastern Oregon before the Mountaineers rallied for a five-set victory in the semifinal matchup on Friday.

The host team advanced the the CCC Tournament Championship game with a 21-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-20, 15-8 victory over the seventh-seeded Wolves.

Walla Walla finished the tournament with a season record of 14-12, twice as many wins as it had in the record breaking season last year, and will await to see if it will make the first NAIA National Tournament in school history when the field is announced on Monday. Eastern Oregon improved to 27-2 overall.

Sahara Browning had 22 kills, and pushed her three-match tournament total to 73 in a terrific performance. The junior added 12 digs and a service ace and had a match-high 23 points.

Yaimaris Garcia had 37 assists, 18 digs and five kills. The freshman added four service aces, but had five service errors. Paula Flores had another double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs. Vicky Giardina had 13 digs and four aces and Catalina Gutierrez Sebastia had five total blocks. 

Keira Vaughn led the Mountaineers with 13 kills. Kiauna Mack had 12 kills and 11 total blocks. Brooke Womack had 10 kills and 10 digs. Kate Stidham led the team with 29 assists and Jaycee Villastrigo had 17 digs.

The Wolves had one more kill and one more assist than EOU and had 66 digs to the host team's 54. The big difference in the contest for the No. 1 team in the NAIA was the 18-7 total block advantage and the 12 service errors from Walla Walla. 

UP NEXT

The Wolves will await to see if they hear their name when the NAIA Selection Show announces the 48-team field for the NAIA Tournament on Monday.

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