Newcomers Making Immediate Impact at Oregon State

CORVALLIS, Ore. – For just the fourth time in 30 years, Oregon State Volleyball won more than 18 matches last season, finishing 19-9 and placing top three in the conference standings for just the second time in program history.

Lauren Rumel, who was named First Team All-Conference, and Annika Hester, who was a Second Team honoree, have since graduated and signed their first professional contracts. With the losses to graduation, the team had to fill several spots and welcomed eight new additions during the offseason.

With three true freshmen and five from the transfer portal, the list of newcomers includes AC Froehlich (LSU), Ivana Cvetkovic (Wake Forest), Taylor Treahy (George Washington), Aly Cox (Pacific), Amaya Tolentino (Jacksonville State), Abby Lesagonicz (San Diego, Calif.), Isabel Bertelsen (Orlando, Fla.) and Beatrice Spada (Verona, Italy).

"That's just kind of the way of college sports right now," Abbie Wright, the team's Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, said. "The portal is a very familiar place – for better or for worse – and I think it really benefited us just in terms of the type of people they are and what they bring to our gym."

Freshmen Bertelsen and Lesagonicz graduated from high school early and joined the program last winter, with Spada getting to campus in August.

"They don't act like freshmen," Wright said. "You know what you're going to get from them in the gym every day as far as their work ethic. Sure, they're learning concepts here that they never learned before, but they came in with a sense of maturity that I don't think a lot of freshmen are coming into college with."

Most of the team's offseason additions also came to Corvallis in the winter months, a decision that has paid dividends in their improvements on the court.

Cvetkovic, who played her freshman season at Wake Forest, was known as a strong defensive player and elite shot blocker but made significant strides offensively across several months of training this spring.

"She really was known for her defense coming in when we recruited her. A next level blocker, strong small ball, but we knew that her main area of growth was on offense," Wright said. "She got so many attempts as a middle this spring and I think that's really paid off because she's an offensive threat too. It's cool to see that growth just in a few months."

Froehlich and Treahy have both made an immediate difference, and that showed up in a big way in the Beavers' exhibition against at Washington. Against the Huskies, both players led the team in scoring and hit at what Wright describes as an "incredible clip."

Whether it was Froehlich or Tolentino changing plans last minute to come on their visits, the freshmen coming in early or the way each of the team's newcomers have embraced Oregon State's culture, each athlete has shown some similar traits that have the staff excited or what they can bring to the team.

"They're all good learners, number one, buying into being competitive and being sassy in the gym in a good, healthy way, and they're also a lot of fun to be around," Wright said. "All of them have come in willing to collaborate with teammates, see the big picture and really want to be at Oregon State, and it's the kids who really want to be here and make it a priority that we know are going to thrive."

Oregon State volleyball opens its regular season this weekend, playing games against Utah Tech, Utah Valley and the Utah Utes.

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Players Mentioned

Isabel Bertelsen

Aly Cox

Ivana Cvetkovic

AC Froehlich

Annika Hester

Abby Lesagonicz

Lauren Rumel

Beatrice Spada

Amaya Tolentino

Taylor Treahy

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