Oregon State Hosts Ranked Washington Schools
CORVALLIS, Ore. – After spending the first-six weeks of the season on the road and finally opening the home slate last weekend, Oregon State volleyball continues its home stretch in Gill this weekend hosting No. 25 Washington State on Friday and No. 10 Washington on Sunday.
ON TAP
• The Beavers (3-13, 1-5 Pac-12) continue action in Gill Coliseum welcoming No. 25 Washington State on Friday at 6 p.m. Weekend action continues on Sunday at 12 p.m. as OSU plays host to No. 10 Washington.
• Friday's match against WSU will be Oregon State's DAM Cancer match. The Beavers will be wearing pink jerseys to honor those that are going currently battling and in remission.
• OSU is coming off its first weekend at home after hosting Stanford and Cal last weekend. Oregon State is the last Power Five school to host a home competition after having the tournament scheduled for the second week of preseason cancelled to force OSU on the road to Penn State.
• Prior to last weekend, OSU was coming off a 14-match road stretch to begin the 2021 season that includes four tournamants and the first two weeks of the Pac-12 schedule. During this stretch, OSU has traveled more than 18,400 miles.
• Injuries and other outside factors have once again plagued to Beavers this season as multiple key returners have missed matches at some point this season including: Nya Buckner, Aliyah McDonald, Mychael Vernon, Grace Massey, Mary Kate Lopez, Ellie Turner, Maddie Goings and Kateryna Tkachenko.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
• Friday's match will be available on OSU's Live Stream. Sunday's match will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks with Rich Burk on the call. Live stats will be available for both matches.
• To access live stats and the link to watch the matches via your computer, smartphone or tablet, visit osubeavers.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
• Fans are encouraged to follow the Oregon State volleyball program via social media. There are several platforms to follow the team including:
• Twitter: @BeaverVBall
• Instagram: @BeaverVBall
• Facebook: /BeaverVBall
TICKETS
• Season and single game tickets are available by visiting BeaverTickets.com/volleyball or by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS.
AGAINST THE FIELD
• Oregon State has a 68-120 overall record against this weekend's opponents.
• The Beavers are 44-53 against WSU. Last season, the Beavers dropped both matches to the Cougars in Corvallis. The last time OSU defeated WSU was on Nov. 19, 2017. OSU won 3-1 in Corvallis.
• Against Washington, OSU is 24-67. The Beavers dropped both matches to the Huskies during the 2020-21 season. The last time OSU defeated Washington was on Nov. 17, 2017, 3-2.
MASSEY'S MILESTONES
• Oregon State 2020-21 roster is highlight by the return of senior Grace Massey for a fifth season.
• With this, Massey has the ability to claim the top spot on Oregon State's career digs list. The top spot is currently held by Becky Defoe (2010-13) with 2,029. After the California match, Massey (1,970) is 59 digs away from tying the record and 60 from claiming the top spot outright.
• So far in 2021, Massey has 192 digs. In her first three season in the Orange and Black, Massey finished in the top-10 for each grade (Freshman: 2nd with 433; Sophomore: 1st with 560; Junior: 3rd with 524). As a sophomore and junior, Massey's numbers rank her third and fifth, respectively, on OSU's single-season digs record list. Massey also holds a top-10 spot on digs per set each year she has been a Beaver.
• Against Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Massey set the three-set match record for digs in a set with 33 - tying a career-high that was previously set against Arizona on Nov. 17, 2019.
• Currently, Massey sits fourth in the Pac-12 for digs per set (4.47) and seventh for total digs. She is also 25th in the NCAA for career digs amongst active players.
RETURNERS
• Maddie Goings made her 2021 debut vs LSU and recorded a team-high 19 kills. After the Oregon match, she has 1,172 career kills to sit 12th all-time at OSU and has 3,627 career attacks to sit seventh.
• Junior Lindsey Schell returns for another season in the Orange and Black. This season, the Temecila, Calif. native has 145 kills off 347 attacks, along with 46 blocks to average 0.85 per set.
• Szulczewski has been a crucial part of OSU's team with 437 assists on the season to lead OSU. She has posted seven double-doubles this season to sit with 17 on her career. On the year, she has 46 kills, nine aces, 38 blocks and 142 digs.
• Tkachenko made her debut vs LSU. She has recorded double-digit kills in eight of the 13 matches she has seen time in this season, including a career-high 17 at Colorado State. On the year, she has 144 kills, 43 digs, five aces and eight blocks.
• Vernon made her 2021 debut at the Colorado State Tournament starting against UAB. During her debut, she recorded 14 kills to lead OSU. She posted 17 kills at Colorado State to finish the weekend with 40 kills, nine digs and five blocks. At the Boise State Classic, she finished with 17 kills and 12 digs. Most recently, she posted seven digs at Oregon.
NEWCOMER POWER
• The freshman class has hit the ground running since joining the squad.
• All-seven true freshman have seen time in at least seven sets this season, and six have made appearances in the starting lineup (Emily Bourne, Iris Coba, Madison Kelly, Vivian Light, DiLara Unal and Ryan White).
• Light attacked opening weekend starting her career in the Orange and Black by leading the Beavers with 16 kills against Oklahoma. She has 61 kills, 13 blocks and 13 digs on the year.
• Bourne and Kelly made an impact in their roles this season, including starting in both games at the Oklahoma Classic. On the year, Kelly has 27 kills, 19 blocks, 12 digs and six aces. Bourne has 31 kills, 11 digs and 16 blocks through the first 16 matches of the season.
• Unal made her first appearances in 2021 against Penn State. Unal has started nine matches and has 27 blocks. She also has four aces, seven assists, eight kills and nine digs on the season.
• White has appeared in 16 matches, seeing time as both a defensive specialist and libero. The Richland, Wash. native has 96 digs and five aces on the season.
LAST TIME OUT
• Oregon State split action against Stanford and Cal during the first home weekend of the year.
• The Beavers fell to the Cardinal on Friday, Oct. 8 in three sets before bouncing back on Sunday, Oct. 10 by sweeping Cal in three sets.
• Last Friday's match marked the first time OSU had played a home match in front of fans in 690 days (Nov. 17, 2019).
NEXT UP
• Oregon State is back on the road next week traveling to the LA schools. The Beavers will be at USC on Oct. 22 on the Pac-12 Network at 7 p.m. and at UCLA on Oct. 24 at 12 p.m.
For more information on the Oregon State volleyball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverVBall, by Facebook at Facebook.com/BeaverVBall or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverVBall.
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).