Volleyball Set to Host No. 1 USC and No. 10 UCLA
October 21, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
No. 1 USC (20-0, 8-0 Pac-12)
Oct. 23 | 8 p.m. PT
No. 10 UCLA (15-3, 6-2 Pac-12)
Oct. 25 | Noon PT
Gill Coliseum | Corvallis, Ore.
Live Video: USC (Pac-12 Oregon) | UCLA (Live Stream)
Live Stats: USC/UCLA
CORVALLIS, Ore. – After a four-game road swing over the past two weeks, the Oregon State volleyball team returns to the friendly confines of Gill Coliseum to host a pair of top-10 conference foes, as the Beavers face the top-ranked USC Trojans and the 10th-ranked UCLA Bruins this weekend.
Oregon State (4-14, 2-6 Pac-12) will hold its annual Dam Cancer match on Friday for its 8 p.m. PT match vs. USC. The Beavers wrap up the home weekend with a noon PT match against UCLA on Sunday.
Anyone that attends Friday's match against USC wearing a Dam Cancer T-shirt will be admitted free. T-shirts are now available at the Beaver Store. Additionally, the first 300 students that arrive at Friday's Dam Cancer match will receive a Dam Cancer T-shirt for free.
Friday's match vs. USC is slated to be televised live on Pac-12 Oregon. Set to be on the call for the match are Kate Scott and Dain Blanton.
Sunday's match against UCLA will be this year's Fairytale Match. Kids 12 and under that attend wearing a fairytale costume will be admitted for free. The volleyball team will be available for autographs after Sunday's match.
Live stats are available for each match, and a live stream is available for Sunday's match vs. UCLA. Each can be accessed through the links above or through links on OSU's volleyball schedule page at OSUBeavers.com.
In this week's AVCA Division I Coaches' Poll, USC (20-0, 8-0 Pac-12) has been unanimously voted the nation's No. 1 team, receiving all 64 first-place votes. Last time in action, the Trojans took a pair of 3-1 home victories over then-No. 14 Arizona and then-No. 10 Arizona State this past weekend.
The Beavers' second opponent of the weekend, the UCLA Bruins (15-3, 6-2 Pac-12) sits at third in the Pac-12 standings and is at its highest national ranking (No. 10) thus far this season. Last weekend the Bruins also hosted Arizona and Arizona State, sweeping both.
The Beavers are 1-2 in matches played at Gill Coliseum in 2015. The Trojans are 6-0 in away matches and 3-0 in neutral site matches for a 9-0 road record, while the Bruins are 7-0 in away matches and 4-0 in neutral site matches for an 11-0 record on the road.
Due to the construction underway at the main entrance of Gill Coliseum, those who plan to attend are asked to use Gill Coliseum's north entrance. The north entrance is located along the railroad tracks on Washington Ave.
Quick Hits
- Last time in action, OSU fell in a pair of matches in the Northwest Rivalry Series, presented by Alaska Airlines. The Beavers fell at then-No. 4 Washington, 3-0, and at Washington State, 3-1.
- Following her All-America campaign in 2014, sophomore outside hitter Mary-Kate Marshall continues to lead the team offensively, pacing the squad in kills (248), points (281.5), total attempts (782) and service aces (15) while ranking third on the team in total blocks (31) and in digs (117).
- Marshall ranks seventh in the Pac-12 in kills per set (3.94), as well as eighth in the conference in points per set (4.47). The sophomore also ranks fourth in service aces per set in conference matches (0.32).
- Marshall's 30 kills against Utah on Oct. 2 are the most by any player in the Pac-12 in a single match this season (second-highest total is 27), and are the most kills by an OSU player since Rachel Rourke had 31 against Arizona on Nov. 7, 2009.
- Freshman libero Kayla Ellis leads the team in digs with 164 (2.65/set) this season. Ellis has started the past 11 games at libero (12 of the last 13) and has 3.11 digs per set against conference opponents.
- Redshirt senior middle blocker Haley Clarke is tops on the team with 66 total blocks (1.05/set), recording 13 on solo efforts and 53 block assists, while also leading OSU regular starters in hitting percentage (.298) and ranking third in points (133.5).
Student-Athlete Profile
No. 2 Lila Toner – Junior Outside Hitter
Hometown: Istanbul, Turkey (Ilbank Sports Club)
- A dual major, studying psychology and human development & family science.
- A 2014 Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention.
- A 2013 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention.
- Daughter of Munip Ozdurak and Irem.
- Father, Munip, competed for the Turkish National Volleyball Team and mother, Irem, was a runner for the Russian Athletics Team.
- Has competed in volleyball since the age of eight.
- Has two extra bones in her left foot.
- Favorite sport to attend outside of volleyball is football.
- Favorite part of being part of the program is the family atmosphere, and describes the coaching staff as supportive and funny.
Record Watch
- Mary-Kate Marshall already finds herself among OSU's career leaders in her sophomore season. After recently entering the Beavers' career record books, Marshall ranks at No. 22 on the all-time kills list (788). Additionally, Marshall recently moved up to 16th all-time in career attacks (2,520).
- Darby Reeder recently moved into the top-15 on the career digs list at OSU. The senior ranks second on the team with 115 digs this season after setting the single-season record with 614 last season. With a career total of 975, Reeder ranks 13th all-time. Reeder would also be the 13th player in OSU history to reach 1,000 digs with just 25 more.
- Reeder also recently entered OSU's career list in service aces, moving into a tie for 27th with 69 aces for her career.
Young Beavs
- A large portion of the makeup of the 2015 roster is a group of six freshmen – four redshirt freshmen and two true freshmen. OSU has increasingly relied upon its freshmen this season, as five of the six have started at least one match this season and multiple freshmen have received starts in each of the past 11 matches as well as in 12 of the last 13.
- The Beavers started a season-high four freshmen – Kory Cheshire, Kayla Ellis, McKenna Hollingsworth and Lanesha Reagan - in their match at Long Beach State. The Beavers have started three freshmen in their past six conference matches (Utah, Colorado, at Stanford, at California, at Washington, at Washington State).
OSU Volleyball No. 5 in Strength of Schedule
- Through the first 18 games of the 2015 schedule, the Oregon State volleyball team boasts the fifth-toughest schedule in the nation, according to the NCAA.
- Among opponents in their first 18 matches, the Beavers have played seven matches against currently ranked foes (No. 4 Washington, No. 8 Hawai'i, No. 11 Stanford, No. 12 BYU twice, No. 13 Arizona State and No. 25 Oregon) in addition to matches with San Diego, Colorado and Long Beach State, each of which are currently receiving votes.
- This weekend, OSU faces two more ranked opponents, No. 1 USC and No. 10 UCLA.
The Road Less Traveled
- Before opening its conference schedule on Sept. 24 at home against Oregon, OSU had finished out its non-conference slate without playing a home match. Only one other Pac-12 institution went without a home match before conference play, as the Ducks did not host a home match until conference play.
- A breakdown of how the Beavers' challenging road non-conference schedule stacks up to the rest of the Pac-12 is below. Among all power conference schools, only seven played two games or fewer at home before non-conference play. A breakdown of those schools is below as well:
Pac-12 Schools
Oregon State 0
Oregon 0
UCLA 2
Washington State 3
Stanford 4
Utah 4
Arizona State 5
California 5
Washington 5
Arizona 6
Colorado 7
USC 7
Power Conference Schools
Oregon State 0
Oregon 0
West Virginia 1
Florida 2
LSU 2
Northwestern 2
UCLA 2
14 schools 3
Clarke All-Tournament in San Diego
- Following a 14-kill, 18-block performance over a three-game stretch in San Diego, redshirt senior middle blocker Haley Clarke was named to the all-tournament team for the USD and SDSU Invitationals.
- Clarke recorded six kills with as many blocks against San Diego State on Saturday to help lead the Beavers over the Aztecs, 3-1. Clarke leads the team in total blocks (66) and hitting percentage (.298) this season.
Marshall Opens 2015 Season All-Tournament
- Mary-Kate Marshall was the first OSU player to earn an honor in 2015, earning an all-tournament selection at the conclusion of the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational.
- Marshall finished the tournament with 36 kills, ranking third amongst all tournament athletes from the four participating schools.
- Marshall's four kills/set was sixth amongst Pac-12 athletes that weekend, as well as second amongst players in the Chevron Rainbow Wahine tournament field.
The Beavers' Returning Players in 2015
- The Oregon State volleyball team returns the majority of its production from 2014 in nearly every category. Have a look at a summary of the different categories below.
- OSU returns players accounting for over half (about 55 percent) of the team's kills total from last year. Leading the Beavers in that category was Marshall, whose total of 540 set the school freshman kills record and ranks fourth all-time on the program's single-season list.
- The Beavers also return redshirt junior Katelyn Driscoll, who placed second on the team in kills, recording 282 as a redshirt sophomore.
- 65 percent of OSU's digs production returns from the 2014 squad, paced by Reeder's single-season program record tally of 614. Marshall (306) and junior Rachel Buehner (224) return to the club after ranking third and fourth on the team, respectively, in that category last season.
- Each of that same trio ranked within the OSU's top four in service aces last season, as Reeder also led the Beavers in service aces (38), while Marshall recorded 30 and Buehner posted 19. Junior Lila Toner, who recorded 13 last season, will also play a factor for a team that returns 69 percent of its 2014 production in the serve game.
- Last season, the Beavers racked up 20 more aces than their opponents (161 to 141), posting 1.22 aces per set as a team, while maintaining an aces to errors ratio of 0.79.
The Beavers' 2015 Coaching Staff
- Fresh off one of the most successful seasons in program history and 2014 Pac-12 and AVCA Regional Coach of the Year selections, head coach Taras Liskevych leads the Beavers for his 11th season at the helm. Liskevych holds a 123-198 record at OSU, as well as a 390-282 mark for his career.
- Liskevych is joined by associate head coach Mark Barnard, also in his 11th season, as well as assistant coach Emily Hiza (fifth season) and first-year volunteer assistant coach Andy Levoe.
- The 2015 staff is rounded out with Erik Bateham, who is in his second year as graduate manager, along with Jessica Quinn and Ian Parson, who were recently announced as director of operations and assistant director of operations, respectively.
Home Sweet Home
- The city of Corvallis, home of Oregon State University, was recently featured in College Magazine's list of “Top 10 College Towns You'll Never Want to Leave,” checking at No. 4. A listing of the various schools featured is below:
1. Chapel Hill, N.C. (North Carolina)
2. Champaign-Urbana, Ill. (Illinois)
3. Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan)
4. Corvallis, Ore. (Oregon State)
5. Boulder, Colo. (Colorado)
6. Blacksburg, Va. (Virginia Tech)
7. Iowa City, Iowa (Iowa)
8. Ithaca, N.Y. (Cornell)
9. Athens, Ga. (Georgia)
10. Binghamton, N.Y. (Binghamton)
Scouting No. 1 USC
- USC, off to a 20-0 start, is one of two remaining teams nationally that is still undefeated (No. 7 Kansas, 18-0). The Women of Troy are off to their fourth-best start in program history, as well as their second-best start under current head coach Mick Haley.
- USC, currently the top team in the Pac-12 standings, was selected to finish fifth in the conference by league coaches in the Pac-12 preseason poll. The Trojans returned eight letterwinners from last year's squad and add seven newcomers.
- As a team, USC leads the conference in kills (14.88/set) and assists (13.88/set), and ranks second in hitting percentage (.291), opponent hitting percentage (.144), services aces (1.54/set) and digs (16.49).
- USC is paced offensively by Samantha Bricio, who leads the Pac-12 in kills (5.03/set), service aces (0.75/set) and points (6.21/set). Additionally, Bricio is No. 1 in the nation in aces per set and points per set, while ranking third in the nation in kills per set.
- Alicia Ogoms leads the conference and ranks fifth in the nation in blocks per set (1.65), while also ranking sixth in the Pac-12 in hitting percentage (.384). Elise Ruddins rounds out USC's top offensive performers with the conference's second-highest hitting percentage (.401).
Scouting No. 10 UCLA
- UCLA is currently sitting in third in the Pac-12 standings with a 6-2 conference mark and a 15-3 overall record. The Bruins swept Arizona and Arizona State last weekend, with other impressive wins including a 3-1 win over No. 8 Hawai'I, a 3-1 win over San Diego and sweeps of Colorado and Washington State.
- The Bruins were voted to finish eighth by league coaches in the Pac-12 preseason poll. Last season, the Bruins return three starters plus the libero among 12 returning letterwinners from a 2014 team that finished 22-12 and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
- UCLA ranks second as a team in the Pac-12 in assists per set (13.53) and kills per set (14.43), behind only USC. The Bruins are the conference's third-ranked digging team (15.81/set) and are fourth in the league in hitting percentage (.249).
- The Bruins are led offensively by Jordan Anderson, who ranks second in the Pac-12 in kills per set (4.91) and points per set (5.22). Anderson ranks fifth and 11th in those categories, respectively.
- The Bruins' Claire Felix ranks third in the conference in hitting percentage (.398) as well as 14th in blocks per set (1.05). Jennie Frager is the Bruins' blocks leader, ranking eighth in the conference with 1.21 blocks per set.
For more information on the Oregon State volleyball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeavsVolleyball, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateVolleyball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/OregonStateVolleyball.
