Oregon State
1-3,0-0WCC
UC San Diego
1-4,0-0Big West
Offensive Charge Leads to Sweep of UC San Diego
September 05, 2025 | Women's Volleyball
BOISE, Idaho– Season-highs and a balanced offensive attack led Oregon State to its first win of the season on Friday afternoon in a sweep of UC San Diego (25-11, 25-17, 25-22).
Emma Lilo – one of the WCC's best setters from 2024 – led Oregon State (1-3) setters with 20 assists while Maëli Cormier – a true freshman – recorded a dozen kills to pace an attack that put up a .333 hitting clip.
"We had a very balanced offense from our setters and hitters along with good pressure from the service line," said head coach Lindsey Behonick. "(I'm) excited for the momentum of this win to carry."
Keila Gabriel (8), Lauren Rumel (7) also were toward the top in kills while Jackie Matias pushed across 15 assists to keep the offense humming. 11 Beavers split the team's 35 digs with the lead being split evenly between Yasemin Narlioglu and Tia Shum at seven apiece. The trio of Annika Hester, Alana Marrs and Nathalie Scholz all contributed 4.0 blocks while Rumel and Scholz each had a team-best three aces.
Finding themselves leading by just one (11-10) following a UC San Diego kill, the Beavers broke the set open with one of the most lopsided scoring runs in the Lindsey Behonick era at 13-1 for the 25-11 frame win. The Oregon State offense had a balanced attack from the trio of Cormier, Gabriel and Scholz, who all put up three kills, as well as Lilo's seven helpers leading to a .370 clip. Defensively, Shum led the show with four digs, leading to just a .040 rate for the Tritons.
The trend of new additions performing well continued into the second behind a combined seven kills from Cormier (4) and Gabriel (3) and Matias' five helpers on the way to a eight-point win at 25-17. Oregon State used a timely 5-0 run from 4-4 to never trail for the rest of the set, despite the Tritons closing within three at 19-16. Lilo and Alondra Paz – each digging out twice – led the defense in the frame that held UCSD to a .231 hitting rate.
Oregon State needed four set points amid a late Tritons charge but held on for the sweep, winning at 25-22. Held in the third to just .281 hitting, the Beavers utilized six more Cormier kills and a combined 13 helpers from Matias (7) and Lilo (6) to close out UC San Diego. On defense, Matias led that front with a set-best six digs to keep the Tritons to just a .244 clip on the way to the sweep. Down 12-11, a Cormier kill sparked a tide-turning 5-0 run and never let UCSD within three points.
The Beavers will close action from the Boise State Classic tomorrow against the host Broncos. First serve is set for 11 a.m. and can be seen on the Mountain West Network online.
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