Beavers Close Season with Senior Night

Saturday, November 24

Corvallis, OR

7:00 PM

Oregon State

11-21, 1-19Pac-12

Oregon

20-10, 13-7Pac-12

Oregon

Oregon State

Photo by: Dave Nishitani/Oregon State Athletics

November 24, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Athletic Communications

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State volleyball team came out on fire in the first set on Senior Night giving No. 17 Oregon all it could handle in the opening stanza. However, the Beavers couldn't maintain the pressure in later sets of the Civil War, brought to you by brought to you by PacificSource Health Plans, Spirit Mountain Casino, Safeway/Albertsons, Your Local Toyota Dealers and First Interstate Bank, eventually falling to the Ducks, 3-1.

The Civil War marked the close of the 2018 season for the Beavers, who finish the year with a record of 11-21 and 1-19 in Pac-12 Conference play. Oregon improved to 20-10, 13-7 with the win which was decided by scores of 25-19, 18-25, 16-25 and 14-25.

"We were energized and really into it in the first set. That is as well as we've played all year," Oregon State head coach Mark Barnard said. "But when the adrenaline wore off and it was just volleyball we let down and Oregon has a very good volleyball team and showed it."

"Our passing wasn't very good tonight and that is very unusual for this team and because of the passing we were really only able to get consistent production from Amy Underdown."

The opening set was full of short bursts as the Beavers moved the ball around early getting kills from Daniela Vargas, Maddy Gravley and Amy Underdown to take a 3-0 lead. Two more Underdown kills put OSU on another 3-0 run and opened the lead back to 6-3. Oregon took its only lead of the set at 14-13 but a 7-1 run by the Beavers a pair of kills each by Gravley and Maddie Goings to go up 20-15. The Beavers held on to win the first set, 25-19.

Midway through the third set, senior defensive specialist Kayla Ellis registered her seven dig of the match giving her 1,484 career digs to move into third on OSU's all-time list. Ellis would finish with 10 digs on the night.

"Congratulations to Kayla for getting to third," Barnard said. "I think that's a really impressive feat considering she basically played as a defensive specialist most of her last two years."

Also playing in their final match as Beavers were Gravley and Vargas.

"When I look at the improvement Maddy has made these last two years I just think it's incredible. I think she even exceeded her own expectations. And Dani did a great job filling in for Haylie (Bennett) when she's been injured. She kept the energy up and played very well for us at times."

The Beavers also recognized outside hitter Shekinah Clarke, who has missed most of the season due to injury, but will apply for another season of eligibility.

The 17th-ranked Ducks re-grouped in time for Set 2. The Beavers lead 8-6 behind strong serving efforts by Ellis and Grace Massey, each of whom tallied an ace in the early going. However, Oregon answered with five straight points to take the lead at 11-8, which OSU would never rebound from. Despite eight kills by Underdown in the set, the Ducks evened the match at a set apiece taking the second, 25-18.

The Beavers struggled in the third set. Oregon roared out to a 10-2 lead in the third to take command of the game. The Beavers, trailing 17-5 used a 7-1 run to close the gap to 18-12 but it wasn't enough and the Ducks secured the set, 25-16.

OSU's fortunes didn't change at the outset of the fourth set, as Oregon pressed out to an 8-1 lead. A Maddie Sheehan dump and back-to-back kills from Lindsey Schell brought the Beavers to within 14-10, but Oregon answered with a 9-1 run to put the score out of hand at 23-11. Oregon went on to win the set, 25-14, and match.

Game Notes: The OSU volleyball program honored four players prior to the match for Senior Night – Shekinah Clarke, Kayla Ellis, Maddy Gravley and Daniela Vargas … Ellis notched 10 digs to give her 1,487 digs in her career moving into third all-time at Oregon State … Amy Underdown tallied a team-high 19 kills … Grace Massey recorded 30 digs to match her season and career high … Massey finished the season with 560 digs, the third-most in a single season in OSU history and the most by a sophomore.

Oregon State volleyball fans are encouraged to join Off the Bench, the program's new donor club. Click here for more information or call Alex Gary in Our Beaver Nation at 541-737-2370.

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/BeaverVBall or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverVBall.

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