OSU Travels for Road Matches at Colorado and Utah
October 28, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Colorado (13-9, 5-5 Pac-12) | Oct. 30 | 6 p.m. PT
Coors Events Center | Boulder, Colo.
Utah (7-14, 1-9 Pac-12) | Nov. 1 | 11 a.m. PT
Jon M. Huntsman Center | Salt Lake City, Utah
Live Video: Colorado | Utah (Pac-12 Networks)
Live Stats: Colorado | Utah
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Following a pair of home matches this past week, the Oregon State volleyball team will continue its Pac-12 schedule with road matches at Colorado and Utah this weekend.
Oregon State (4-16, 2-8 Pac-12) opens the weekend in Boulder, Colo. with a 6 p.m. PT match at Colorado on Friday, and bookends the road trip with an 11 a.m. PT match at Utah on Sunday.
Sunday's match at Utah is set to be televised on the Pac-12 Networks. Thad Anderson will handle the play-by-play duties, while Elizabeth Moreau will serve as the analyst. Friday's match against the Buffaloes will be streamed live by Colorado.
Live stats are available for each match. Each of the stats and live video can be accessed through the links above or through links on OSU's volleyball schedule page at OSUBeavers.com.
Colorado (13-9, 5-5 Pac-12) is receiving 57 votes in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches' Poll, the most of any team not ranked in the top 25. The Buffaloes are currently sitting at sixth in the Pac-12 standings, and are coming off a pair of 3-1 matches this past weekend, prevailing over then-No. 14 Arizona, but falling at then-No. 11 Arizona State.
After opening Pac-12 play with a win over the Buffaloes, Utah (7-14, 1-9 Pac-12) has struggled, dropping each of its past nine conference matches. Currently 12th in the Pac-12 standings, the Utes fell at Arizona and Arizona State in straight sets last weekend.
Oregon State is 1-4 in conference matches played on the road this season. Colorado has an 8-3 record at its home facility, while Utah is 3-6 in home matches in 2015.
Quick Hits
- Last time in action, OSU fell in a pair of home to matches to Los Angeles foes, dropping a four-set match to No. 1 USC, and a five-set match to No. 10 UCLA.
- Following her All-America campaign in 2014, sophomore outside hitter Mary-Kate Marshall continues to lead the team offensively, pacing the squad in kills (274), points (313), total attempts (902) and service aces (18) while ranking second on the team in total blocks (36) and third in digs (135).
- Marshall ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in kills per set (3.81), as well as eighth in the conference in points per set (4.35). The sophomore also ranks second 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 212 (2.99/set) this season. Ellis has started the past 13 matches at libero (14 of the last 15) and has 3.65 digs per set against conference opponents, ranking ninth in the Pac-12.
- Redshirt senior middle blocker Haley Clarke is tops on the team with 75 total blocks (1.04/set), recording 13 on solo efforts and 62 block assists, while also leading OSU regular starters in hitting percentage (.293) and ranking third in points (149).
Student-Athlete Profile
No. 7 Rachel Buehner – Junior Defensive Specialist
Hometown: Bend, Ore. (Mountain View HS)
- An exercise & sport science major.
- A 2014 Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention.
- One of three team captains, selected by her teammates.
- Daughter of Angela and Kyle Buehner.
- Has one older sister, Alex, and one younger brother, Jake.
- Is also musically talented – can play the harp.
- Has worn No. 7 since she began playing volleyball.
- Favorite sporting events to attend outside of volleyball are football games.
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. 21 on the all-time kills list (814). Additionally, Marshall recently moved up to 13th all-time in career attacks (2,640).
- Darby Reeder recently moved into the top-15 on the career digs list at OSU. The senior ranks second on the team with 148 digs this season after setting the single-season record with 614 last season. With a career total of 992, Reeder ranks 13th all-time. Reeder would also be the 13th player in OSU history to reach 1,000 digs with just eight 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 13 matches as well as in 14 of the last 15.
- 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 seven conference matches (Utah, Colorado, at Stanford, at California, at Washington, at Washington State, USC).
OSU Volleyball No. 5 in Strength of Schedule
- 20 games through 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 20 matches, Oregon State has played nine matches against currently ranked foes, including five against the top 10 (No. 1 USC, No. 5 Washington, No. 6 Hawai'i, No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 UCLA, No. 14 Arizona State, No. 16 BYU twice and No. 24 San Diego). In addition, the Beavers have played three matches versus opponents receiving votes (Colorado, Long Beach State and Oregon).
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 (75) and hitting percentage (.293) 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.
Scouting Colorado
- Colorado is currently sitting in sixth place in the Pac-12 standings with a 5-5 conference record and a 13-9 overall mark. The Buffaloes defeated Oregon State, 3-0, earlier this season and also have Pac-12 wins over Oregon, California, Stanford and Arizona.
- Colorado was picked by league coaches to finish sixth in the Pac-12 preseason poll. Last year, the Buffaloes returned nine letterwinners – including five starters and the libero – from a 2014 squad that finished 20-14 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- The Buffaloes are led offensively by Alexis Austin, who ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in kills per set (3.99) as well as sixth in points per set (4.56). Two-time Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week Gabby Simpson averages 3.48 kills per set and leads the team with 16 service aces.
- Nicole Edelman ranks seventh in the Pac-12 in assists per set (9.71). Defensively, the Buffaloes are led by Cierra Simpson, who places sixth in the conference in digs per set (4.13), while Abu Naghede is ninth in the league in blocks per set (1.18).
- Including this season's previous match, Oregon State and Colorado have met six times, with the all-time series tied at 3-3.
Scouting Utah
- After winning its first conference match of the season against Colorado, Utah has struggled in conference play, ranking 12th in the Pac-12 standings after falling in its past nine conference matches. Oregon State defeated Utah in five sets in Corvallis, Ore. earlier this season.
- In the 2015 Pac-12 preseason poll, conference coaches voted Utah to finish 10th in the league following a 20-13 (9-11 Pac-12) record last season. A squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014, the Utes returned eight letterwinners, including a pair of starters.
- The Utes' offensive leader is Adora Anae, who ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in kills per set (4.09) as well as fifth in points per set (4.59). Defensively, Tess Sutton places eighth in the league in digs per set (3.59).
- Including Oregon State's win over the Utes earlier this year, the Beavers hold a 10-6 edge all-time in matches played between the two teams.
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 123-200 record at OSU, as well as a 390-284 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)
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.
