Black wins Orange & Black Volleyball Game 2-1
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State volleyball team took the court for the annual Orange & Black scrimmage Friday evening. The match featured eight newcomers to the team donning the orange and black for the first time. The Orange squad took the first set but the Black team came back to take the next two for the 2-1 win. The Beavers also played a fourth set with the first team taking on the second team, with the first team winning 25-23.
“These are exactly the things we need in order to get ready for the season,” said head coach Taras Liskevych. “A dress rehearsal with uniforms, fans, music and everything else that you can’t replicate in a practice setting. I thought we did a lot of good things, I also think that there are a lot of elements of the game that we need to focus on in this next week of practices.”
The Black team jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first set spearheaded by two early kills from freshman Mary-Kate Marshall. Senior Laura Shaudt had back-to-back kills for the Orange team to make it 5-3. The set remained close throughout, with Orange finally taking the first set 29-27.
Katelyn Driscoll led the Black squad with six kills in the first set, followed by Marshall with four. The Orange squad was led by a triad of hitters, Schaudt, Arica Nassar and Haley Clark, who all finished with four kills.
Orange jumped out to a 12-8 lead in the second set and led as late as 19-14 in the set. The Black team went on a 7-1 run to take a 21-20 lead and eventually took the set 25-23.
Black jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead in the third and deciding set. Orange would fight back but Black eventually took the set 15-13 and the match 2-1.
The fourth set of the night was played between the first team and second team on the Beavers. The second team took a small early lead but first team came back and eventually tied it up at 17-17.After trading points to 19-19 first team took two quick points for a 21-19 lead. Marshall downed her 20th kill of the night to give the first team a 22-20 lead in the set. The first team eventually secured the 25-23 win.
Marshall led all hitters 21 kills on the night, followed by Lanesha Reagan and Schaudt with 10 each. Senior captain Arica Nassar and redshirt sophomore Katelyn Driscoll finished with nine apiece.
Darby Reeder totaled 21 digs to lead the Black team defensively. Reagan finished with a double-double, digging out 13 balls on the evening, same as fellow Orange team member and freshman Kory Chesire.
“It was a little stressful at the beginning,” Marshall said. “Once we started playing it was a lot of fun. It was great getting out and being able to play after we’ve worked so hard the past couple of weeks in fall camp. It definitely helped having those early clean swings.”
Tayla Woods tallied 39 assists for the Orange team, while sophomore transfer Dana Backlund totaled 45 for the Black team and added 12 digs getting the lone double-double for the Black team.
“I’m feeling really good about the team,” said captain Arica Nassar. “We’ve had some girls that have come in and put in the hard work. I’m really excited to get to our first game next week.”
The Beavers will start the 2014 season in Logan, Utah against the Gaels of Saint Mary’s Friday Aug. 29 at 3 p.m. PT. They’ll face host Utah State and Idaho State Saturday, Aug. 30 at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. PT respectively. Live stats will be available for all three games while the game against Utah State will also be available online through live stream.
Season tickets for the 2014 season are currently on sale via BeaverTickets.com, 1-800-GOBEAVS and in person at Gill Coliseum.
Season Tickets are $72 for Adult General Admission and $48 for Seniors/Youth. Single match tickets can also be purchased, $7 for Adult General Admission and $5 for Seniors/Youth.
For more information on the Oregon State volleyball team, follow the club’s official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeavsVolleyball, Instagram at OregonStateVolleyball or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateVolleyball.
