OSU Defeats #25 USC, Improves Postseason Chances
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State volleyball team (18-10, 8-9 Pac-12) took the court for a noon match Friday, taking on the No. 25 USC Women of Troy (14-13, 7-10). The Beavers took a commanding 3-1 victory (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-13), only trailing twice in the three sets that they won.
“I am really proud of the way the team came back and battled in the last two sets,” said head coach Taras Liskevych. “We sided out well and we were able to stay in system and while keeping them out. We passed well, served really tough, and we we did a really good job on some of their top hitters. Mary-Kate Marshall and Katelyn Driscoll both played well and our middles played outstanding today. Sydney Francis came in late in the fourth set and did a great job serving and covering the back row during the last stretch. All in all, it was a great match.”
The Women of Troy took an early 6-2 lead in the first set, but the Beavers went on an 8-2 run to take a 10-8 lead. The two teams battled through the middle of the set with the Beavers eventually pulling ahead with a 23-17 lead. USC made a late push, pulling within two points at 24-22 before Marshall put down a kill from Woods to secure the set 25-22.
USC took another early lead, jumping ahead 5-1. The Beavers would remain close throughout the set, trailing by only one point on many occasions. USC went on a 13-7 in the middle of the set to take a 19-14 and went on to win 25-19.
The Women of Troy scored the first point of the set, but the Beavers took the lead at 3-2 and would not give that lead back for the duration of the set. Marshall and Driscoll spearheaded the Beavers offense during the third set, with Marshall scoring seven kills with only one error and Driscoll downing six kills with only two errors. As a team the Beavers hit an impressive .350 in the set, with 18 kills and only four errors in 40 attempts.
The Beavers started the fourth set quickly, taking a quick 4-1 lead. A 10-5 run in the middle of the set gave the Beavers a commanding lead at 16-9. The Beavers continued to control the fourth set and with Sydney Francis serving the team went on a 7-0 run late to put the score out of reach at 24-11, with the Beavers finally taking the set and the match with a kill from Driscoll. The Beavers ran away with the final set, out hitting the Women of Troy .393 to -.030. USC had seven kills and eight errors in the fourth set compared to 13 kills and only two errors from OSU.
Marshall only had three kills in the first two sets, but finished strong with 10 kills in set three and set four to help the Beavers to their 18th victory of the season. Driscoll led the team with 14 kills with only three errors an efficient .314 attack percentage. Arica Nassar and Amanda Brown both had dominant performances at middle blockers, each finishing with 10 kills, Nassar with only three errors and a .304 attack percentage and Brown with a lone error and a .409 attack percentage.
Tayla Woods dished out 45 assists and had 11 digs, giving the senior her 15th double-double of the season. Marshall also had a double-double with 11 digs, giving the freshman 12 on the year. Darby Reeder led the Beavers with 14 digs, followed by Rachel Buehner with 13 and Hannah Troutman with 11.
The Beavers, who entered the weekend receiving votes and sitting just outside of the top-25 in the coaches poll. improved their case for making the NCAA Tournament with yet another win over a ranked opponent. The team will return to the court Saturday evening at Gill Coliseum when the face No. 17 UCLA (18-9, 9-7 Pac-12) at 7 p.m. The Bruins and Beavers went to 5-sets last time they faced each other, with UCLA taking the first two sets and OSU fighting back to force a deciding set before falling 15-10.