Oregon State
4-12,2-4WCC
Washington State
11-5,6-1WCC
Oregon State Drops Decision to Cougars
October 17, 2024 | Women's Volleyball
PULLMAN, Wash. – The Oregon State volleyball team dropped its Thursday night match on the road to Washington State in four sets.
The Cougars used late runs to put away the Beavers (4-12, 2-4 WCC) in the pivotal third and fourth sets after the first two were split. The final scoreline was 15-25, 25-16, 20-25, 18-25.
Despite a trio of Beavers hitting double-figures in kills, the offense was limited to a .223 hitting percentage after totaling 20 errors. Annika Hester (16 kills), Amanda Burns (11) and Lauren Rumel (10) paced the Oregon State attack while Alexis Rodriguez's dozen digs led the defense. Rumel tallied her third double-double of the season when she complemented her kills with 11 digs. Emma Lilo helped the offense with 22 assists while Alara Doganyuz added 16 helpers.
A frame after the Beavers were held to a .185 clip, Oregon State evened the affair with a nine-point set win and held the Cougars to a .156 hitting rate. Three Beavers – Iris Coba, Lilo and Rodriguez - tallied service aces while the team committed just seven total errors. Rodriguez and Rumel led the defense in the frame with four digs apiece while Doganyuz and Lilo kept the offense going with six helpers each.
Down by as many as three in the decisive fifth set, Oregon State utilized one last charge when they needed it most to stun San Francisco, 15-13. At the risk of dropping the last two sets – and ultimately, the match – the Beavers scored five of the set's final six points after being down 12-10. A Hester kill, block by Hester and Zaria Thornton and an Iris Coba service ace clinched the win. Coupled with runs of 3-0 and 4-0, Oregon State built leads as high as eight on multiple instances on the way to the set win.
Having split the set's first 38 points at 19 apiece, it was going to take a strong run to secure the set. A Yasemin Narlioglu service error was not what the Beavers needed in the all-important third to give the Cougars the lead at 20-19. Washington State, fresh off the point, rattled off the five of the next six points to take the frame win at 25-20. Hester led the Oregon State offense in the set with seven kills while Rodriguez tallied four digs.
Held to just a .138 clip in the fourth set by the Cougars, Oregon State fell in the frame by a 25-18 margin. Committing a dozen errors, including six on attack, the Beavers could not take the match the distance like they did a year ago in Pullman. The two sides battled through three ties before Washington State took the lead for good at 7-6. Looking to pull even in the middle of the set, Oregon State rattled off a 3-0 run to a 16-15 deficit, Washington State responded with a 5-0 run to put the match out of reach.
The Beavers will wrap the weekend with a contest on Saturday, the 19th, against Gonzaga. First serve from Spokane is set for noon and can be seen on ESPN+.
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