OSU Travels to San Diego for Three-Match Weekend
September 03, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
USD Invitational | Sept. 4
Jenny Craig Pavilion | San Diego, Calif.
Oregon State at No. 23 San Diego | 7 p.m. PT
Coverage: Live Stats | Live Video
SDSU/USD 2015 Challenge | Sept. 5
Peterson Gym | San Diego, Calif.
Oregon State vs. Pacific | 3 p.m. PT
Oregon State at San Diego State | 7:30 p.m. PT
Live Stats: Pacific | San Diego State
Live Video: Pacific | San Diego State
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State volleyball team continues its 2015 campaign this weekend with a trio of matches in San Diego, Calif. as part of tournaments at No. 23 San Diego and San Diego State.
OSU (1-2) will face No. 23 San Diego on Friday at 7 p.m. PT at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on the campus of USD. The Beavers will wrap up the weekend with a pair of matches on Saturday, facing Pacific at 3 p.m. PT and San Diego State at 7:30 p.m. PT at Peterson Gym on the campus of SDSU.
San Diego (2-1) will be the second team the Beavers face this season that are ranked in the AVCA Coaches' Poll. The Toreros were receiving votes last weekend, but cracked the top 25 following opening-weekend victories over Colorado, 3-1, and Oklahoma, 3-2.
Pacific (2-1) opened its 2015 season with a 3-0 win over South Dakota State that included a 25-8 third-set win, as well as a 3-1 victory over Northern Illinois at the NIU Invitational. The Tigers' only loss was to Iowa last Saturday, falling 3-2.
The Beavers' final opponent of the weekend, San Diego State (1-2), opens its home slate after a 1-2 finish at the San Francisco Invitational last weekend. The Aztecs defeated Bakersfield, 3-2, but fell to San Francisco, 3-0, and Denver, 3-1.
Last season, the Beavers went 6-7 on the road with an 8-1 mark in neutral site matches. Host institutions San Diego and San Diego State went 11-4 and 10-3, respectively, at home last season. Pacific finished the 2014 season with a 6-1 mark in neutral site games.
Live stats and live video will be provided for each match by its respective host institution, and will be accessible either through the 2015 volleyball schedule page on OSUBeavers.com or through the links above. Each link will be become live as it is made available by its respective provider.
Quick Hits
- OSU finished 1-2 last weekend to place third at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational, defeating Idaho, 3-0, while falling to Wichita State, 3-0, and then-No. 18 Hawai'I, 3-0.
- Sophomore outside hitter Mary-Kate Marshall has picked up where she left off from her 2014 Sll-America season, pacing the Beavers in kills (36, 4/set), total attempts (102), service aces (3) and points (40.5, 4.5 points/set).
- Senior libero Darby Reeder, who broke the single-season digs record with 614 last season, leads the club in that category again, recording 35 (3.89 digs/set) through the first three games.
- Redshirt junior Dana Backlund paces the team in assists through the first three matches with 89 in nine sets. Her 9.89 assists per set ranks fifth amongst all Pac-12 athletes.
- Redshirt senior Haley Clarke ranks first on the team with seven total blocks (0.78 blocks/set) thus far this season, posting a solo block and six block assists.
- Junior Lila Toner ranks among team leaders in multiple categories, placing second in blocks (6) and digs (27), while ranking third in kills (20) and points (25).
Student-Athlete Spotlight
No. 4 Haley Clarke – Redshirt Senior Middle Blocker
Hometown: Dundee, Ore. (Newberg HS)
- Majoring in Business
- Daughter of Mark and Denise Clarke, younger sister of Tanner
- Game day superstitions include drinking a coffee before every home match
- Her favorite part of being a member of the OSU volleyball program is the family atmosphere
- Knew she wanted to play at Oregon State in her junior year of high school
- Describes the staff as being made up of three very different coaches that each bring a lot to table and balance each other out well
- Favorite sport to attend outside of volleyball is football because of the atmosphere
Mary-Kate Marshall's All-Tournament Performance
- 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 ranks sixth amongst Pac-12 athletes, and second amongst players in last weekend's 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 120-186 record at OSU, as well as a 387-270 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 the Tournament Field
- Oregon State's first opponent of the weekend, No. 23 San Diego, mark the second time this season the Beavers will face a ranked opponent, following their most recent match with then-No. 18 Hawai'i. The Toreros are 2-1 with wins over Colorado and Oklahoma, with their biggest statistical advantage being a 172-150 edge in team digs vs. their opponents. OSU and San Diego have met three times previously, with the Beavers earning the win in each meeting.
- The Toreros' Lauren Schad has 18 total blocks through three matches, while Canace Finley has 12 and Lisa Kramer has 10. Leading the Toreros in digs is Hunter Jennings (42, 3.5 digs/set), while their kills leader is Finley (41, 3.42 kills/set).
- The Pacific volleyball team starts off the season 2-1 following wins over South Dakota State and Northern Illinois. OSU and Pacific meet for the 10th time on Saturday, with the Tigers holding a 7-2 all-time series edge. OSU won the most recent meeting, downing the Tigers 3-0 on Sept. 5, 2014.
- Pacific is led by Lexi Elman, who leads the team in kills (48, 4 kills/set) and digs (36, 3 digs/set), while recording a .279 hitting percentage along with four service aces. Maycie LaBass leads the Tigers with 11 service aces (0.92/set) to go along with 19 digs on the season.
- The Beavers' final opponent for the weekend is San Diego State, which is off to a 1-2 start in 2015. The Aztecs' lone win came over Bakersfield, 3-2, last weekend. The two teams have met six times on the volleyball court, with each team winning three apiece. In their most recent meeting on Sept. 15, 2012, Oregon State defeated the Aztecs, 3-1.
- The Aztecs' Deja Harris is second among her teammates with 29 kills, as is tops on her club with a .460 hitting percentage. SDSU's kills leader is Baylee Little, who has 32 (2.67/set), while Alexandra Psoma leads the team on a per set basis, maintaining an average of 2.78 kills/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.
