Beavers Sweep Match, Season Series with Arizona

Friday, November 17

Tucson, AZ

4:00 PM

Oregon State

11-16,6-11Pac-12

Arizona

8-20,3-14Pac-12

Oregon St.

Arizona

Photo by: Ary Frank/Arizona Athletics

November 17, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Athletic Communications

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Oregon State volleyball team used a strong balanced attack to sweep the Arizona Wildcats (25-22, 25-18, 26-24) on Friday afternoon.

"A great start to our last weekend road trip this season and congrats to the team on getting their first Pac-12 sweep this season and doing it on the road," said head coach Lindsey Behonick. "The second set was a highlight for us overcoming a six-point deficit. Standout performances by Ryan (White), Mychael (Vernon), Aliyah (McDonald) and Megan (Sheridan). Having a balanced attack puts pressure on teams. We look to lean into that more with our match against Arizona State on Sunday."

Ryan White (20 digs) and Elizabeth (10) paced the defense as the Beavers (11-16, 6-11 Pac-12) kept every Wildcat hitter in single-digit kills. Offensively, Mychael Vernon led the Beavers with 11 kills while Peyton Suess followed up with nine. Amanda Burns once again paced OSU in assists, totaling 18 on the night while Schuster completed a double-double with 14 assists. Lauren Rumel – an Arizona transfer – led OSU in blocks with a trio in her first time back in her hometown of Tucson. Suess led in aces with two while White added one.

The first set, one in which both sides held numerous leads, never saw a great deal of separation until an Ana Heath service error gave the Beavs a 22-19 advantage. Despite Oregon State using the miscue to their advantage, the Wildcats returned the favor with two coming off consecutive attack errors from Vernon and Burns to stave off a pair of OSU set points. A Schuster assist set up the set-clinching kill from Vernon to end the first at 25-22.

OSU ended the first with a .424 hitting percentage and saw Vernon strike for seven kills while White led the defense with seven digs.

Finding themselves down by as many as six on two occasions, the Beavs battled from 10-4 and 13-7 deficits to take the second set by a 25-18 margin. Battling back to tie things at 17 apiece, Oregon State finished the set on a red-hot, 8-2 run to put the Wildcats on the edge early. After taking the lead for good at 18-17, Suess stretched the then-small advantage with consecutive aces which then forced Arizona to call for a break.

White matched her first set performance with seven digs as the defense held Arizona to just a .029 clip in the second. Helping keep the offense humming, Burns dished a team-best five assists while Suess tallied three kills.

Despite never trailing in the final set, Oregon State held onto secure the match with a 26-24 third set win. The Beavers staved off Arizona when they saw leads of seven slip away before back-to-back blocks sealed the three-set win following a 24-24 deadlock. Runs of 3-0 and 4-0 were used by the Beavers to gain their early advantages to ultimately take an 11-4 lead and put pressure on the hosts. The defense stepped up with a combined 15 digs to hold Arizona to a .028 clip while Aliyah McDonald had a set-best with five kills.

With the win, the Beavers secured the season series with the Wildcats following the five-set win (29-27, 16-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-12) back on October 15 in Gill Coliseum.

Oregon State will head north to Tempe for their final road match of the season on Sunday, November 19 where they will meet No. 18 Arizona State. Action against the Sun Devils is set for a 11 a.m. PT first serve and can be seen on Pac-12 Networks Arizona and Oregon.

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