Oregon State
California
Volleyball Out Blocks but Comes Up Short at No. 8 California
October 02, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 2, 2010
Berkeley, Calif. – With the Pac-10 Conference's top two blocking teams facing off, the Oregon State volleyball team won the defense at the net contest over the No. 8 California Bears, but fell in three sets (21-25, 18-25, 18-25) on Saturday evening in Haas Pavilion.
The Beavers (8-10, 1-3 Pac-10) out blocked the Golden Bears (14-0, 4-0 Pac-10) 12.0 blocks to 9.5, led by freshman Mona Kressl's (Langenzenn, Germany) seven. Sophomore Megan McBride (Auburn, Wash.) blocked a career-best six balls.
“The key was we fight hard,” head coach Taras Liskevych said. “We definitely met an opponent that blocks well and neutralized our hitters. Cal held Jill [Sawatzky} in check early, but she steadied and came back late. Mona [Kressl] had another good hitting and blocking match. But when a team hits .087, its not going to beat a lot of opponents.”
Senior Jill Sawatzky (St. Andrews, Manitoba) paced the Beavers' offense with 12 kills, while Kressl added eight. Freshman Becky Defoe (Bend, Ore.) led the team with nine digs, while sophomore Tami Brown (Eugene, Ore.) had the team's only service ace.
The Golden Bears' Tarah Murrey tallied a match-high 15 kills, while libero Robin Rostratter dug a match-high 12 balls.
Oregon State returns home to host its annual Spike Out Cancer match on Friday, Oct. 8 against the Arizona Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. in legendary Gill Coliseum. Admission is only $1, and part of the proceeds from the sales of pink volleyballs, pink backpacks and pink pins will be donated to the Corvallis Clinic's Project H.E.R.
Oregon State Notes – Senior Jill Sawatzky is now fifth all-time for career kills with 1,301 … Sophomore Megan McBride set a new career best for blocks with six.
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