Beavers Knock Off No. 23 San Diego in Five

Saturday, September 15

San Diego, CA

3:00 PM

Oregon State

9-2

San Diego

3-6

Oregon State

San Diego

Photo by: Mark Hoffman

September 15, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Athletic Communications

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – For the second time this season, the Oregon State volleyball team defeated a Top 25 team, this time taking down No. 23 San Diego on Saturday afternoon.

The Beavers, who went 3-0 at the SDSU/USD Challenge, won the match in five sets with scores of 21-25, 25-19, 25-18, 18-25 and 15-12. It is the second time OSU has defeated a ranked team in five sets this season. The Beavers knocked off then-No. 21 Iowa State in Ames at the Iowa State Challenge during the season's opening weekend.

"It was a great defensive effort today," head coach Mark Barnard said. "We had some unbelievable rallies that went our way. But that was a product of really solid play at the net and as well as in the back row. Grace (Massey) was fantastic on defense."

Oregon State posted 22 blocks, the most since a five-set win against Long Beach State in 2014, with Maddy Gravley rejecting a career-high 12 USD attacks. Serena Bruin and Haylie Bennett each added eight blocks.

"Our blocking really stepped up and adjusted to what San Diego was doing and really got going. Maddy Gravley had a great game on offense as well as on defense."

The first set was hard fought with USD gaining an early lead. The Beavers kept it close throughout tying the set at 17-17 but could never get the lead. A four-point run by the Toreros gave them the lead at 21-17, a margin the Beavers could not overcome. USD took the set 25-21.

For the second straight match, the Beavers answered in the second set taking a close game from a 7-6 lead to 14-6 advantage following a 7-0 run featuring two Gravley kills and three blocks, all of which Gravley played a role. Oregon State refused to give quarter ripping off another four-point run to push the lead to 21-11. Haylie Bennett providing the damage with a kill and a pair of blocks in the spurt. The Toreros fought off four set points but a service error coming out of an OSU timeout gave the Beavers the set, 25-19.

The Beavers continued the onslaught in the third set. OSU used an 11-1 run behind tough serving by Kayla Ellis and Maddie Goings to take a 15-6 lead. Once again it was an incredible blocking effort that fed the Beavers' momentum with five blocks in the outburst. USD regained its footing but could not close the gap to less than four and OSU held on to win the set, 25-18.

USD made adjustments and came out for the fourth set re-energized avoiding the Beavers' block during the set. In a match where OSU enjoyed several scoring runs, the Beavers could muster only a single four-point streak in the fourth set and the Toreros evened the match taking the set 25-18.

Oregon State reset during the break with Bennett and Bruin combining on a pair of blocks to make it 2-2. The Beavers went on a 6-0 run punctuated by a pair of aces by Amy Underdown and yet another block by Bruin and Goings to take a 7-2 lead. OSU pushed the lead to 9-3 on another Gravley/Bennett block to force San Diego's second timeout. The Toreros pushed back to within one at 13-12 but kills from Underdown and Goings sealed the win for the Beavers, 15-12.

Underdown paced the Beavers offense with a 17 kills, while Gravley chipped in 10 for the first double-double of her career.

"We really made an effort today to score in the middle to free up our outside hitters. That made a noticeable difference for us. Offensively, Amy (Underdown) was our most steady attacker and Haylie Bennett was a difference-maker too."

Underdown was named as the SDSU/USD Challenge tournament MVP and Maddy Gravley was selected to the all-tournament team.

Game Notes: The Beavers' win over the Toreros marks the second time this season OSU has beaten a ranked team on the road (No. 21 Iowa State) … Oregon State posted 22 blocks, the most by the Beavers since 2014 … Maddy Gravley recorded the first double-double of her career with 10 kills and a career-high 12 blocks … Grace Massey collected a season-best 29 digs … Amy Underdown notched a team-high 17 kills.

Next Up: Oregon State has a busy week coming up. OSU hosts Seattle in the Beavers' home opener Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. … OSU travels to Eugene to face Oregon in the Pac-12 opener Thursday and the Beavers host Washington on Sunday.

Season and single game tickets for the 2018 Oregon State volleyball season are now available for purchase via BeaverTickets.com/Volleyball and 1-800-GO-BEAVS.

Fans can check out the Beavers' promotional schedule for the 2018 season here.

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.

As a ticketed event, Oregon State volleyball matches will now adhere to the Athletic Department's Clear Bag Policy, which was implemented in the spring as an additional security measure and to provide fans a more consistent and efficient entry process. For more information on the policy, click here.

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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