Oregon State
Golden Grizzlies Invite: OSU v. Villanova
Volleyball Opens Season With A Win
August 30, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
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Box Score (.pdf)
ROCHESTER, Mich. – Sara Almen set a career-high with 14 kills to lead the Oregon State volleyball team to a four-set victory over Villanova Friday in the season opener for both teams.
The match opened the Golden Grizzlies Invitational, hosted by Oakland. Set scores were 25-22, 21-25, 25-21 and 25-17.
The win gave the Beavers their third consecutive opening-day victory and eighth in nine years under head coach Taras Liskevych.
Almen paced the Oregon State offense, which saw nine different players with at least one kill and finish with a .273 hitting percentage. Almen, whose previous high was 13 against Colorado last season, totaled a .355 percentage and chipped in with five digs and assisted block.
Kelsey Zimmerman had 11 kills in 28 chances and a .321 hitting percentage, narrowly surpassing Laura Schaudt's 10 kills. Schaudt also had a .360 percentage, totaling just one error in 25 chances.
The offense translated into a strong defense as Oregon State held Villanova to a .213 hitting percentage. The Beavers accumulated eight blocks to just four for Villanova. Arica Nassar totaled six, including the match's only solo block in the fourth set.
Nassar had a strong outing, finishing with eight kills and four digs.
Becky Defoe led the Beavers in digs for the 17th straight match dating back to 2012, finishing with 17. She was backed up by Tayla Woods, who totaled 13 as well as Darby Reeder (11) and Sydney Francis (10), who was making her collegiate debut. Woods also pitched in with 45 assists for a double double.
The teams battled back and forth for most of the match, with the score being tied 24 times over the four sets. The lead rarely changed hands, however, totaling eight; six combined in the second and third sets but just one apiece in the first and the fourth sets.
That would be consistent with how the statistics shaped up. Oregon State hit .273 to Villanova's .189 in the first set. The Beavers won that one, 25-22.
Set two went to the Wildcats, 25-21; the Beavers hit .294 but Villanova's strongest set saw it at .343
It was relatively downhill from there for Villanova, however, as the Wildcats hit .216 in set three and .122 in the final frame. Oregon State, meanwhile, was consistent, posting a .257 percentage in set three and a .268 mark in set four.
Seven of Liskevych's eight season-opening victories have come on the road. Friday's win was just the fourth to go more than three sets.
The Beavers return to action Saturday for two matches. The first is against Central Michigan at 7 a.m. PT. The second ends the Beavers' visit to Rochester and is against host Oakland at 4 p.m.
Live stats for both matches will be available by visiting osubeavers.com. Check the site for a full recap and box score after each match.
For more information on the Oregon State volleyball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeavsVolleyball or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateVolleyball.
