OSU Closes Non-Conference Slate in California
September 17, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Oregon State at UC-Irvine
Crawford Court | Irvine Calif.
Friday, Sept. 18 | 7 p.m. PT
Coverage: Live Stats
Oregon State at Long Beach State
Saturday, Sept. 19 | 7 p.m. PT
Walter Pyramid | Long Beach, Calif.
Coverage: Live Stats | Live Video
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State volleyball team will close out its challenging non-conference slate this weekend with a pair of matches in the state of California, as the Beavers hit the road to face UC-Irvine and Long Beach State.
OSU (2-6) will open the weekend at UC-Irvine on Friday with a 7 p.m. PT match at the Bren Events Center, and play its final non-conference match at Long Beach State on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT at the Walter Pyramid.
Live stats will be provided by each home institution for its respective matchup, while a live stream for Saturday's match at Long Beach State will be made available by the Big West. Each can be accessed through the links above or through links on OSU's volleyball schedule page at OSUBeavers.com.
UC-Irvine (4-5) finished last weekend 1-2 at the Diet Coke Classic, in Minneapolis, Minn. The Anteaters defeated UCF, 3-2, while falling to Minnesota, 3-0, and North Dakota State, 3-2. UC-Irvine and OSU have played one common opponent this season – the Idaho Vandals – which the Anteaters defeated, 3-2, and the Beavers swept, 3-0.
Long Beach State (8-2) won all four of its matches last weekend at the LBSU/LMU Mizuno Invitational, going on the road to defeat Loyola Marymount, 3-2, while defeating Oakland, 3-1, and Stony Brook and Central Arkansas, 3-0, at home. The 49ers opened their season with wins over Alabama and Duke, which were each picked to finish second in their respective conferences.
The Beavers have posted a 1-4 record through five true road matches so far this season. Long Beach State is 2-0 thus far at home in 2015, while UC-Irvine opens its home slate this weekend.
Quick Hits
- Last time in action, OSU traveled to No. 9 BYU for a pair of road matches, dropping Friday's match, 3-0, and Saturday's meeting, 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 (105), points (118) and total attempts (311), while placing second on the team in service aces (4).
- Marshall also ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in kills/set (3.75), as well as ninth in the conference in points/set (4.21).
- Redshirt junior setter Dana Backlund paces the club with 230 assists through the first eight games, and ranks seventh in the Pac-12 in assists/set (8.52).
- Senior libero/defensive specialist Darby Reeder leads OSU in digs (65, 2.83/set) thus far in 2015, while freshman Kayla Ellis has recorded 26 in her two starts at libero to post an average of 3.25 digs per set in those starts. The Pocatello, Idaho native also has a start at defensive specialist, posting 10 digs in that start vs. Pacific to average 3.27 digs per set in games she has started.
- Redshirt senior middle blocker Haley Clarke is tops on the team with 30 total blocks (1.07/set), recording four on solo efforts and 26 block assists, while also leading OSU regular starters in hitting percentage (.274).
- Redshirt junior outside hitter Katelyn Driscoll places second on OSU in kills (67) and points (75), while junior outside hitter Lila Toner places second on the club in total blocks (18) and digs (60), as well as third in kills (55) and points (68).
Student-Athlete Profile
No. 12 Katelyn Driscoll – Redshirt Junior Outside Hitter
Hometown: Littleton, Colo. (Heritage HS)
- Majoring in communications
- Daughter of Brenda and Patrick Driscoll
- Has two younger sisters, Lauren and Haley
- Most commonly cited by her teammates as most likely to be a coach in the future
- No pre-game rituals, but does enjoy making gameday Snapchats before matches
- Says coaching staff is funny, spontaneous, unique – “they always keep us on our toes”
- Favorite sporting event to attend outside of volleyball is football
OSU Volleyball No. 4 in Strength of Schedule
- Through the first eight games of the non-conference slate, the Oregon State volleyball boasts the fourth toughest schedule in the nation, according to the NCAA.
- Among opponents in their first eight games, the Beavers have played five games against currently ranked foes (No. 9 BYU twice, No. 12 Hawai'I, No. 21 San Diego, No. 24 Pacific) in addition to a match with Wichita State, which is currently receiving votes.
- Long Beach State, one of OSU's opponents this weekend, is also receiving votes in this week's poll.
The Road Less Traveled
- Before opening its conference schedule on Sept. 24 at home against Oregon, OSU will finish out its non-conference slate without playing a home match. Only one other Pac-12 institution goes without a home match before conference play, as the Ducks do 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 play 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 (30) and hitting percentage (.274) 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 121-190 record at OSU, as well as a 388-274 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.
Scouting UC-Irvine
- UC-Irvine, picked sixth out of nine teams in the Big West preseason volleyball poll, is off to a 4-5 start in 2015 after finishing last season 19-12.
- UC-Irvine returns 10 letterwinners from last year's squad, including three Anteaters that were honored as All-Big West performers.
- The Anteaters are led offensively by Victoria Dennis who paces the club in kills (117), kills per set (3.34) and points (128). Harlee Kekauoha is above the century mark in kills and has a team-high 11 service aces with 114.5 points.
- OSU and UC-Irvine have met three times previously on the volleyball court, with the Beavers holding a 2-1 all-time series edge.
Scouting Long Beach State
- Long Beach State was selected second with a first-place vote in the Big West preseason volleyball poll behind Hawai'I, which is up to No. 12 in the current AVCA Division I Coaches' Poll. The 49ers are currently receiving votes.
- Long Beach State welcomes 11 newcomers to the 2015 squad, returning four letterwinners from a 2014 squad that finished 27-4 and 16-0 in conference play. The 49ers are off to an 8-2 start this season.
- Nele Barber leads the team in kills (150) and kills per set (3.95), while ranking second on the team in digs (118). Ashley Murray paces the 49ers in hitting percentage (.404) and has 115 kills (3.03 per set) and a team-high 31 blocks.
- OSU and LBSU have met four times previously, with each having two wins in the all-time series.
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.
