Beavers Defeat New Mexico to Win Tournament
September 5, 1998
CORVALLIS, Ore. -
Sarah Bjeldanes received an extra special gift on her birthday, as the junior outside hitter was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1998 Oregon State Volleyball Showcase, which concluded Saturday night with OSU defeating New Mexico.
Bjeldanes had 13 kills, 14 digs and six blocks, all match-highs, to lift the Beavers to a three-game victory (15-10, 15-2, 15-13) over the Lobos to give OSU the tournament title. Bjeldanes finished the tournament with 47 kills and 42 digs.
The Beavers (5-0) handed New Mexico (3-3) its only loss of the tournament, but OSU survived a scare from the Lobos in the third game of the match. The Beavers trailed, 3-7, before Angie Shirley knocked down one of her 10 kills to give OSU a sideout that would lead to three straight Beaver points.
With the Lobos later leading, 11-13, UNM's Zhao Lu picked up a service error, giving the Beavers another chance. Shirley responded with a kill to put the Beavers within a point, and Eleftheria Koukou served up an ace to tie the game.
After a New Mexico timeout, the Lobos sent an attack attempt out of bounds to put the Beavers ahead for the first time in the game. Gina Schmidt put the ball away on the next play to give OSU the comeback victory.
"We knew coming into this match that New Mexico was going to give us some problems," said coach Jeff Mozzochi. "Their serving took us out of our offense for awhile, but we made some good steps for a young team. That comeback in the third game was a great learning opportunity for us."
In addition to Bjeldanes being named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, Oregon States Brandi Bonnarens and Eleftheria Koukou were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Oregon State returns to action Monday, September 7 when the Beavers host Denver in a 7:00 p.m. match at Gill Coliseum.
1998 OREGON STATE VOLLEYBALL SHOWCASE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Sarah Bjeldanes, Oregon State
All-Tournament Team: Brandi Bonnarens (OSU), Eleftheria Koukou (OSU), Tosha Barnicoat (Southern Mississippi), Eri Kanazawa (Southern Mississippi), Janelle Torres (New Mexico), Paige Merritt (Montana)
