Oregon State
5-18, 3-10Pac-12
California
9-15, 3-10Pac-12
OSU Volleyball Defeats California in Straight Sets
November 07, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State volleyball team used a season-high .407 hitting percentage and balanced scoring attack to defeat the California Golden Bears in straight sets on Friday night at Gill Coliseum.
Oregon State hit .312 en route to a 26-24 win in a close opening frame, but heated up offensively to control the remainder of the match. The Beavers hit .406 in the 25-16 second set win and .519 to seal the match in a 25-13 third set win. The Beavers never trailed over the final two sets of the match, with a tied score only once in the final set.
“That was a great team win,” Oregon State head coach Taras Liskevych said. “We attacked outstandingly – that was our best attacking performance of the year. We did a great job blocking, outblocking them 10-2. We really controlled the match from the outset, even though the first game was close. Our mistakes made the first set close, but we persevered. There was only one tie and no lead change in sets two and three – that's always great to see.”
Oregon State's .407 hitting percentage was its best as a team since hitting .419 against Fresno State on Sept. 19, 2014. Sophomore outside hitter Mary-Kate Marshall recorded nine kills on 21 swings (.381) with seven digs, while each of redshirt freshman outside hitter Lanesha Reagan (.533) and redshirt junior outside hitter Katelyn Driscoll (.500) recorded eight kills apiece without an error. Redshirt senior middle blocker Haley Clarke (.400) and junior outside hitter Lila Toner (.357) added seven kills each.
Redshirt junior Dana Backlund and redshirt freshman McKenna Hollingsworth combined for 38 assists, while freshman libero Kayla Ellis tallied a team-high 13 digs.
From an 8-8 tie early in the first set, Oregon State went on a 5-1 run in which tough serving by Ellis forced a pair of ball handling errors, while Driscoll and Clarke combined for back-to-back blocks to give the Beavers an early 13-9 lead. The Golden Bears clawed back to knot the opening frame up at 17, and took the lead at a 19-18 advantage.
From a 21-20 deficit, the Beavers recorded consecutive points on blocks, as Reagan combined with Driscoll and then Clarke to put the Beavers back on top, 22-21. The frame was tied again at 23 and continued to a deadlock at 24, but a Marshall kill put Oregon State up, 25-24, before Backlund and Clarke combined for a block that put away the opening frame, 26-24.
Oregon State continued to hold momentum following its first set win, opening on a 3-0 run before opening a five-point lead at 11-6. Oregon State extended its lead to nine at 20-11 and cruised in the second set, finishing the frame with a .408 hitting percentage en route to a 25-16 second set win.
The Beavers did not let up in the third set, hitting .519 en route to a match-sealing third set win. Oregon State opened with a 5-1 run and extended its lead to six at 9-3. From a 15-11 OSU advantage, the Beavers took six of the next seven points to go up, 21-12, and closed with three of the next four points to take the third set, 25-13, and seal the straight-sets victory.
“We just have to keep this momentum up,” Liskevych said. “That's the best we've sided out in a long time. This was a very good night for us – we need to carry this forward against Stanford on Sunday.”
The Oregon State volleyball team bookends this weekend's homestand on Sunday with a match against No. 7 Stanford. The Beavers are set to host the seventh-ranked Cardinal at 11 a.m. PT on the Pac-12 Networks.
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.
