OSU Closes 2015 with Senior Night, Civil War
November 25, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Senior Night
No. 23 Arizona (18-12, 8-10 Pac-12) | Nov. 25 | 7 p.m. PT
Gill Coliseum | Corvallis, Ore.
Civil War Series
Oregon (14-13, 8-10 Pac-12) | Nov. 27 | 8 p.m. PT
Matthew Knight Arena | Eugene, Ore.
Live Video: Arizona | Oregon (Pac-12 Oregon)
Live Stats: Arizona | Oregon
CORVALLIS, Ore. – With two Pac-12 matches remaining on the schedule, the Oregon State volleyball team will close its 2015 campaign this week, facing No. 23 Arizona at home for Senior Night before wrapping up the season at Oregon in a Civil War Series match, presented by PacificSource Health Plans, McDonalds, Spirit Mountain Casino and Your Local Ford Stores.
Oregon State (5-23, 3-15 Pac-12) is set to honor its 2015 senior class on Wednesday prior to its 7 p.m. PT matchup with the 23rd-ranked Wildcats (18-12, 8-10 Pac-12), with an autograph opportunity available after. The Beavers are set to face the Ducks (14-13, 8-10 Pac-12) on Friday at 8 p.m. PT at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.
Friday night's match is scheduled to be televised live on Pac-12 Oregon, while Wednesday night's match will be streamed live.
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.
Oregon State will be facing Arizona for the first time this season when the two teams meet on Wednesday night. OSU hosted Oregon in the Beavers' first home match of the season, but fell in four sets at Gill Coliseum.
With a No. 23 national ranking, Arizona represents the final ranked team remaining on Oregon State's schedule. Consistently ranked in the top-25 throughout the season, the Wildcats sit near the middle of the Pac-12 standings after splitting their matches last weekend, including a four-set loss to top-ranked USC as well as a five-set victory over then-No. 11 UCLA.
Oregon enters this week's matchup with wins in three of its last five matches, including wins over California, UCLA and Washington State, while falling to USC and Washington. The Ducks recently fell out of the top-25 after being ranked for much of the season.
Oregon State enters its final match at Gill Coliseum with a 2-7 home record, and will head to Eugene, Ore. with a 1-8 record in conference matches on the road. Arizona is 5-6 in away matches, while Oregon is 3-5 at home.
Quick Hits
- Last time out, Oregon State fell in a pair of matches at Gill Coliseum. The Beavers fell to Washington in three sets, and to Washington State in four.
- Following her All-America campaign in 2014, sophomore outside hitter Mary-Kate Marshall continues to lead the team offensively, pacing the squad in kills (383), points (429), total attempts (1,255) and service aces (20) while ranking second on the team in digs (198) and third in blocks (44).
- Marshall ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in kills per set (3.79), as well as eighth in the conference in points per set (4.25), and seventh in those categories in conference matches.
- 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 327 (3.27/set) this season. Ellis has started the past 21 matches at libero (22 of the last 23) and has 3.79 digs per set against conference opponents, ranking eighth in the Pac-12 overall and tops amongst all Pac-12 freshmen.
- Redshirt senior middle blocker Haley Clarke is tops on the team with 99 total blocks (0.98/set), recording 15 on solo efforts and 84 block assists, while also leading OSU regular starters in hitting percentage (.275) and ranking third in points (199).
Student-Athlete Profiles
No. 4 Haley Clarke
Redshirt Senior Middle Blocker
Hometown: Dundee, Ore. (Newberg HS)
- Currently enrolled in Oregon State's interdisciplinary studies graduate program, studying speech communication as well as exercise and sport science.
- A 2012 and 2014 Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention.
- Daughter of Denise and Mark Clarke.
- Has one older brother, Tanner.
- One of Oregon State's three team captains, voted on before the season by her teammates.
- Gameday superstitions include drinking a coffee before each home match.
- Her favorite thing about being part of the Oregon State volleyball program is the family atmosphere.
- Her favorite sporting events to attend outside of volleyball are football games because of the gameday atmosphere.
No. 9 Darby Reeder
Senior Defensive Specialist/Libero
Hometown: Zephyr Cove, Nev. (George Whittell HS)
- Dual-majoring in agricultural business management and sustainability with a minor in resource economics.
- A 2013 and 2014 Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention.
- Daughter of Pamela and Michael Reeder.
- Has one older sister, Jordan.
- Hobbies include exploring, kayaking and reading in her spare time.
- One of Oregon State's three team captains, voted on before the season by her teammates.
- Favorite sporting events to attend outside of volleyball are baseball games because of the ballpark food.
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. 19 on the all-time kills list (923). Additionally, Marshall recently moved up to 11th all-time in career attacks (2,993), and is the 22nd player in OSU history with 1,000 career points (1,029.5).
- Darby Reeder recently moved into the top-15 on the career digs list at OSU. The senior is third on the team with 174 digs this season after setting the single-season record with 614 last season. With a career total of 1,018, Reeder is just the 13th player in OSU history to reach the 1,000-dig milestone.
- Reeder also recently entered OSU's career list in service aces, moving to 24th with 75 aces for her career.
- Haley Clarke, Oregon State's blocking leader this season, has entered the top-20 on the Beavers' career lists in her redshirt senior season. The Dundee, Ore. native is 16th all-time at OSU with 205 block assists, and ranks 19th in program history with 235 total blocks.
- Kayla Ellis is having one of the program's top freshman seasons at libero. With 327 this year, Ellis has the fifth-most by any OSU athlete in her freshman season. Digging at a rate of 3.27 per set, the Pocatello, Idaho native is on pace to post the third-highest rate by any OSU freshman in program history.
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 21 matches as well as in 22 of the last 23.
- 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 11 conference matches (Utah, Colorado, Stanford twice, at California, at Washington, Washington State twice, USC twice and at UCLA).
OSU Volleyball No. 5 in Strength of Schedule
- With two matches remaining in the 2015 schedule, the Oregon State volleyball team has faced the fifth-toughest schedule in the nation, according to the NCAA.
- Among opponents in their 28 matches, Oregon State has played 11 matches against currently ranked foes, each in the top-13 and seven against the top-10 (No. 1 USC twice, No. 2 Washington twice, No. 6 Stanford twice, No. 8 Hawai'i, No. 11 BYU twice and No. 13 UCLA twice). In addition, the Beavers have played five matches versus opponents receiving votes (Colorado twice, San Diego, Arizona State and Long Beach State), and face No. 23 Arizona this weekend.
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 (99) and hitting percentage (.275) 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 No. 23 Arizona
- With two matches remaining to be played, Arizona sits in a three-way tie for sixth place in the Pac-12. Arizona has an 8-10 conference record and an 18-12 record overall. Most recently, the Wildcats fell to top-ranked USC, but bounced back with a five-set win over then-No. 11 UCLA.
- As a team, Arizona ranks second in the Pac-12 in digs with 16.64 per set. The Wildcats are also a top-five team in the conference in kills (13.97 per set).
- Kalei Mau is the Wildcats' top producer offensively, ranking third in the conference with 4.32 kills per set. Setter Penina Snuka ranks second in the conference in assists per set 10.81 and leads the league with 17 double-doubles. Snuka sets Mau at a rate of 13.13 attacks per set, the highest rate in the conference and the second-highest in the nation.
- Arizona holds a 46-13 edge in the all-time series against Oregon State. Before Wednesday night's match, the two teams had yet to face each other this season.
Scouting Oregon
- Oregon sits tied with Arizona in a three-way deadlock for sixth-place in the Pac-12 standings, also with an 8-10 conference mark but with a 14-13 record overall. Oregon defeated Washington State in four sets last weekend, but fell in as many to Washington.
- Oregon is the No. 4 team in the conference in hitting percentage (.240), kills (14.15 per set), assists (13.28 per set) and digs (15.25 per set).
- Leading the Ducks in digging this season in Amanda Benson, who ranks second in the conference with a rate of 4.60 digs per set. Maggie Scott ranks seventh in the league in each of assists per set (9.85) and service aces per set (0.27).
- Oregon holds a 60-43 edge all-time in matches played against Oregon State. The two teams open and close Pac-12 play on an annual basis, and the Ducks took this year's previous meeting, 3-1, at Gill Coliseum.
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 124-208 record at OSU, as well as a 391-289 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.
