LA GRANDE — There is a new No. 1 in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics college volleyball.

And its home is La Grande, Oregon.

For the first time in program history, the Eastern Oregon University volleyball team has been voted as the No. 1-ranked team in the country in the bi-weekly poll of NAIA raters, the NAIA office announced Sept. 28.

“This is such an accomplishment for our team, program and Eastern Oregon, and it’s exciting,” EOU head coach Kaki McLean-Morehead said. “It’s important to embrace and enjoy it. It says something about how far our program has come in the last 15 years. I’m incredibly proud of that.”

But even while they enjoy the top ranking, the ultimate goal — winning a national championship — is still in front of the Mountaineers.

“On the other hand, not everyone wins national championships. It’s incredibly hard to do,” she said. “Our focus on improving every day and getting to work while having everyone on the same page will help give us a chance.”

The Mountaineers received 18 of a possible 21 first-place votes, and had 589 points in the poll. Jamestown, which EOU defeated earlier this season, checked in at No. 2 with the three remaining first-place votes and 574 points in the poll.

Midland, Missouri Baptist and Corban rounded the top five, meaning Eastern has wins against three of the current top five teams.

The Mountaineers’ ascent has been aided largely by starting the season 7-1 against opponents ranked in the top 25, highlighted by wins over then-No. 5 Midland, then-No. 2 Jamestown, and then-No. 5 Corban.

Eastern, which has a 16-1 record and has won its last 16 matches, has spent the entire season in the top 10, and in the last poll on Sept. 14 reached the No. 2 position in the country, which at the time was the top ranking in program history.

EOU’s climb to the top spot comes thanks to it winning all of its matches since reaching No. 2 — sweeps of Multnomah, Warner Pacific and Oregon Tech, and a win by forfeit over No. 17 Southern Oregon. Eastern also got some help as the previous No. 1 team, Midland — which the Mountaineers defeated for its first win of the season — lost the same day it ascended to the top spot.

Since 2000, EOU is the 22nd program to move to No. 1, and is the first team to have its top-rank debut since Jamestown in 2020.

The volleyball team is also the third Eastern program to have a No. 1 ranking dating back to 1999, according to NAIA archives. It joins men’s cross-country, which spent a total of eight polls in the top spot during the 2002 and 2003 seasons, and the men’s basketball team, which reached the top spots in five polls during the 2012-13 season.

Eastern has been particularly strong on defense, though McLean-Morehead said this is the most complete team she has had, and that it is stout on both ends of the floor.

Eastern enters the week leading the Cascade Collegiate Conference — and the nation — in blocks per set with 2.85, per the CCC site. EOU also leads the conference in digs per set (17.36) and opposing hitting percentage (.088).

The defense is paced by Hailey Arritola, Sade Williams, Alexis McMurtrey and Jessie White on the back line, with Cambree Scott and Kara Clayton the top blockers up front.

“I think that is part of the reason we have been as successful as we have. Our offense is not based off one person, or two people,” McLean-Morehead said. “We have three hitters in all six rotations who can do something with the ball. … “It’s definitely a complete roster all the way through. Offensively we’re very balanced, defensively we’re balanced, and setting-wise we’re balanced.”

The offense is no slouch, either. Eastern is fifth in the conference in overall hitting percentage (.201), fourth in kills (12.62 per set), assists (11.89), and fifth in aces (1.61). Scott, Clayton, Williams, Preslee Jensen, Madison Morgan, and Ashton Haughton give EOU the ability to have three attackers on each offensive set, with McMurtrey and Hannah Ledgerwood running the show as setter.

The Mountaineers, who are 9-0 in the CCC, are on the road for their first two games as the nation’s top team, visiting Northwest and Evergreen this weekend. They’ll get home games at No. 1 the following week when they host Bushnell and Corban, with a second top-10 showdown against the Warriors capping off that weekend on Oct. 8.