Beavers Drop Five-Set Heartbreaker to Buffs

Friday, September 29

Boulder, Colo.

7:00 PM

Oregon State

10-5, 0-3Pac-12

Colorado

11-3, 1-2Pac-12

Oregon State

Colorado

Photo by: Dave Nishitani/Oregon State Athletics

September 29, 2017 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Athletic Communications

BOULDER, Colo. – Oregon State pushed Colorado to five sets on the road but ultimately fell to the Buffaloes Friday night, 3-2. Mary-Kate Marshall led the Beavers' offense with a season-best 22 kills in OSU's first five-set match of the season.

The loss drops the Beavers' record to 10-5 and 0-3 in conference play. Set scores were 21-25, 27-25, 23-25, 25-7 and 12-15.

"If you want to be good in the Pac-12 you can't let these kinds of games slip away," head coach Mark Barnard said. "It's really disappointing. It is very hard to win matches in the Pac-12 and to be in a position to win and not finish is hard."

Oregon State dominated the fourth set, 25-7, in what was an otherwise closely fought match, to force a deciding Set Five. OSU was led in the fourth stanza by some tough serving from Grace Massey, who helped the Beavers run off 10 straight points. Maddie Goings and Mary-Kate Marshall each recorded four kills in the period and Goings finished the match with a career-high 20 kills. In addition, the Beavers held the Buffaloes to an attack percentage of minus-.074 in the set and turned away the CU offense with three blocks.

Despite the fourth set dominance, CU was unfazed heading into the final set. A 6-2 Colorado lead forced the Beavers into a timeout. OSU answered the call with four straight points to tie the match. The teams battled back-and-forth with the Beavers taking a 12-10 lead to force the Buffs' second timeout. OSU would not score again, falling 15-12 in the fifth set.

In the third set, which may have been the most crucial, OSU led 17-11 before Colorado slowly inched its way back into the game. The Buffaloes tied the set 22-22 for the first time since the teams were locked at 4-4 and eventually stole the game 25-23.

"We were ahead 17-11 in the third set and gave it away. I thought that was the turning point. Fifth sets are always wild and can go either way, so I'm not as upset about that. We have to develop the ability to execute when it really matters and tonight we couldn't put it away."

Libero Kayla Ellis registered a season-best 21 digs to lead five OSU players in double-digits. Late in the fourth set, Ellis hit a milestone becoming the 14th player in OSU history to tally 1,000 career digs.

Game Notes: Kayla Ellis tallied the 1,000th dig of her career becoming the 14th player in OSU history to accomplish the feat … Maddie Goings recorded the second double-double of her career (20 kills, 14 digs) in as many matches … Mary-Kate Marshall recorded a team season-high 22 kills and 16 digs … Kory Cheshire set her career-high with 14 kills and her season-best with seven blocks … five Beavers registered double digits in digs Friday night with Kayla Ellis tallying a season-best 21, Kylee McLaughlin registering 17, Marshall 16, and Goings and Grace Massey posting 14 apiece … McLaughlin set a personal-best with 57 assists.

Next Up: The Beavers are back at it in less than 24 hours, when they travel to Salt Lake City to face No. 15 Utah, Saturday at 7 p.m. on Pac-12 Mountain.

Season and single-match tickets for the 2017 season are available for purchase by visiting BeaverTickets.com or calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS.

For more information on the Oregon State volleyball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverVBall, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateVolleyball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverVBall.

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