Volleyball Opens Season with Win over Boise State
September 1, 1998
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Five Oregon State players registered double-figure kills to lift the Beaver volleyball squad to a four-game victory (10-15, 16-14, 15-11, 15-11) over Boise State in the season-opener at Gill Coliseum Tuesday evening.
Sophomore Eleftheria Koukou led the Beaver offense with a career-high 16 kills, while sophomore Angie Shirley posted a career-high 13.
Juniors Selina Scoble and Sarah Bjeldanes, along with freshman Gina Schmidt, all came away with double-doubles in the first match of the season. Bjeldanes had 12 kills to go along with 14 digs, while Scoble had 11 kills and 13 digs. Schmidt recorded 10 kills and 14 digs in her collegiate debut.
Boise State had four of its players with double-figure kills, and four Broncos had double-figure digs as well. Becky Meek tallied a match-high 17 kills, while Jeni Elson had a match-high 26 digs to go along with 13 kills.
Oregon State had to overcome strong serving from Boise State to stay in the match. The Broncos served four aces in their game one victory, and that carried over for the remainder of the match. Oregon State led, 14-7, at one point in the second game before BSU scored seven unanswered points - two off aces - to tie the game. The Broncos had eight aces on the night, all in the first three games.
"They came at us with a great game plan, and they served us very well," said head coach Jeff Mozzochi. "In the first match of the year, that strategy worked very well. We had some communication problems, and their serving kept us out of an offensive rhythm all night."
It was Koukous serving, however, that helped secured the win for Oregon State. The Beavers rallied from an 8-11 deficit to tie the game 11-11, forcing the Broncos to call timeout. Koukou served up back-to-back aces, her third and fourth of the night, to put the Beavers ahead, 13-11. Shirley and Schmidt had kills on the next two plays to give OSU its first win of the year.
While Oregon State hit just .214 on the night, the Beavers limited Boise State to .163 accuracy, much in part to a strong blocking effort. Shirley had eight block assists, while Scoble and Koukou had seven apiece. In all, the Beavers had 16 team blocks on the night, twice as many as the Broncos' eight.
"When we used our middles (Shirley and Scoble), we were very effective. They both played solid, came up with double-figure kills and had good blocking numbers," Mozzochi said. "Our outside hitters never got into a great rhythm, but we had some people come in to play some roles. Thats good that weve people who can come in (off the bench) and make some plays. Its a confidence booster."
The Beavers continue their season when they host Montana at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, September 3 in the opening night of the Oregon State Volleyball Showcase.
