Volleyball Sweeps North Texas to Finish K-State Invitational

Saturday, September 8

Manhattan, KS

9:00 AM

Oregon State

6-2

North Texas

3-7

Oregon State

North Texas

Photo by: Karl Maasdam/Oregon State Athletics

Volleyball Sweeps North Texas to Finish K-State Invitational

September 08, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Athletic Communications

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Oregon State volleyball team moved to 6-2 after sweeping North Texas to conclude the K-State Invitational.

The Beavers went 2-1 in the Little Apple after recording a split on Friday with a sweep of Omaha and four-set loss at Kansas State.

Saturday morning's scores against the Mean Green were 25-22, 25-22 and 25-20. The win by the Beavers avenges a three-set loss to UNT last season that dealt OSU its first loss of the season.

"That was the best morning match we've played in a long time," head coach Mark Barnard said. "Our number of errors were significantly down and that really tells me we were ready to play."

The Oregon State offense ran smoothly through most of the match with the Beavers posted their best attack rate of the season with 50 kills and just 11 errors (.361 hitting percentage). Freshman setter Maddie Sheehan recorded a season-high 44 assists, as she ran a balanced offense that featured three players reaching double figures in kills with Maddie Goings posting a team-best 14.

North Texas held the lead through most of the opening stanza until the Beavers capped a 5-1 run with a pair of blocks by a tandem of Lindsey Schell and Haylie Bennett to gain the lead 21-20. After the Mean Green tallied consecutive points, OSU reeled off the final the final four points of the set, 25-22.

In the second set, the Beavers used a 7-1 run to get out to a 11-5 lead. OSU remained in control still holding the advantage at 17-12, when UNT rallied with a 5-1 roll to close the gap to 18-16. However, four straight points by the Beavers including an unexpected kill by libero Grace Massey and a pair from Bennett push the lead back to 22-16 and OSU held on to take a two sets to none lead in the match.

Following the break, Oregon State jumped to an 8-3 lead behind four Goings kills and a pair from Maddy Gravley, who tied her career-high with 11. OSU entered a lull and UNT took advantage rolling off six straight points to take the lead at 12-11. Still trailing 17-16, the Beavers mounted a response going on a 6-0 run to regain the lead at 22-17. OSU held on through a series of sideouts to capture the set, 25-20, and the match.

"Maddie Sheehan did a good job distributing the ball. My one takeaway from the weekend is that her connection with Haylie (Bennett) has really improved this week. She is an important weapon for our offense so that is very important and was a big plus this weekend."

Goings led the Beavers' offense with 14 kills and Bennett and Gravley added 11 apiece. Grace Massey led a trio of Beavers with 15 digs to anchor the OSU defense while Bennett, Gravley and Lindsey Schell each posted three blocks.

Game Notes: Senior middle blocker Maddy Gravley established a season-high and tied her career-best with 11 kills against the Mean Green … Haylie Bennett recorded 11 kills as well, her second straight match in double figures … freshman setter Maddie Sheehan collected a season-high 44 assists … the Beavers enjoyed their strongest offensive performance of the season, hitting .361 (50 kills, 11 errors, 108 attacks).

Next Up: Oregon State returns to play next week at the SDSU/USD Challenge. The Beavers will play twice on Friday, in a neutral site match against UTEP and then at San Diego State at Peterson Gym. The Beavers will shift sites on Saturday when they take on San Diego at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on the University of San Diego campus.

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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