Oregon State Tangles with Colorado and No. 19 Utah, Friday and Sunday inside Gill
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State volleyball returns home this weekend, hosting Colorado on Friday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. before welcoming No. 19 Utah into Gill Coliseum on Sunday, Oct. 31 for an 11 a.m. start on Halloween.
ON TAP
• Oregon State (3-17, 1-9 Pac-12) is back home hosting Colorado and No. 19 Utah inside Gill Coliseum.
• Friday's match against Colorado will be on Pac-12 Oregon beginning at 7 p.m. before the Beavers wrap-up weekend action welcoming Colorado on Sunday at 11 a.m.
• OSU has played 16 of its 20 matches in unfamiliar territory and looks to get back on track this weekend at home. The Orange and Black are 1-3 in Corvallis.
• The Beavers hosted Stanford and Cal three weeks ago before welcoming both Washington schools. Oregon State was the last Power Five school to host a home competition after having the tournament scheduled for the second week of preseason canceled to force OSU on the road to Penn State.
• Prior to OSU's two home weekends, OSU was coming off a 14-match road stretch to begin the 2021 season that includes four tournaments and the first two weeks of the Pac-12 schedule. During this stretch, OSU 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 to watch on Pac-12 Oregon with Ben Creighton on the call. Sunday's match can be watch on OSU's Live Stream. Live stats are also available.
• 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
• The Beavers welcome Colorado into Corvallis for the first time since Sept. 27, 2019 as OSU defeated the Buffs 3-1. Colorado has owned the last three head-to-head matchups, sweeping the Beavers in the earlier meeting of the season that occurred back on Oct. 3 in Boulder. On the road, Maddie Goings led the Beaver offense with 14 kills off 34 attacks to go along with five digs, one ace and a block assist. Freshman Ashlyn Beaver made her fourth appearance of the season, leading the team with 22 assists and picking up her first collegiate kill to propel OSU.
• The Beavers aim to get back on track against 19th-ranked Utah, having dropped the last four to the Utes including a 3-0 loss in Salt Lake City earlier this season on Oct. 1. Last time Utah played in Corvallis, the teams battled it out into a decisive fifth set but the Beavers came up short on Nov. 16, 2018. Kateryna Tkachenko led Oregon State in Salt Lake in this season's previous matchup with 11 kills while Vivian Light and DiLara Unal each recorded two blocks.
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 UCLA match, Massey (2,018) is 11 digs away from tying the record and 12 from claiming the top spot outright.
• So far in 2021, Massey has 240 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 (4.29) and eighth for total digs. She is also 26th in the NCAA for career digs amongst active players.
• On top of her success on the court, Massey was also selected as one of 30 candidates for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award.
RETURNERS
• Maddie Goings made her 2021 debut vs LSU and recorded a team-high 19 kills. After the Oregon match, she has 1,226 career kills to sit ninth all-time at OSU and has 3,767 career attacks to sit sixth.
• Junior Lindsey Schell returns for another season in the Orange and Black. This season, the Temecila, Calif. native has 172 kills off 422 attacks, along with 58 blocks to average 0.87 per set.
• Szulczewski has been a crucial part of OSU's team with 551 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 53 kills, nine aces, 39 blocks and 168 digs.
• Tkachenko made her debut vs LSU. She has recorded double-digit kills in eight of the 17 matches she has seen time in this season, including a career-high 17 at Colorado State. On the year, she has 180 kills, 48 digs, six aces and 12 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 but has missed every match since due to injury.
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 88 kills, 19 blocks and 16 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, 20 blocks, 14 digs and six aces. Bourne has 31 kills, 11 digs and 16 blocks through 20 matches this season.
• Unal made her first appearances in 2021 against Penn State. Unal has started 12 matches and has 32 blocks. She also has four aces, eight assists, 14 kills and 13 digs on the season.
• White has appeared in 20 matches and every set this season, seeing time as both a defensive specialist and libero. The Richland, Wash. native has 120 digs and five aces on the season.
LAST TIME OUT
• Oregon State dropped both matches last weekend at USC and No. 17 UCLA in its 15th and 16th matches in unfamiliar territory during the 2021 season.
• The Beaver's took the third set on Friday night at USC but weren't able to finish the comeback. Sunday, the nationally-ranked Bruins took down OSU in straight sets by scores of 18-25, 23-25 and 19-25. The Orange and Black attacked at their best inside Pauley Pavilion during the second frame, hitting .310 off 12 kills but eventually dropped their ninth Pac-12 game.
NEXT UP
• Following this weekend, Oregon State returns to the road traveling to Berkeley, Calif. to face California on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. before facing No. 15 Stanford on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 12 p.m. Both matches will be streamed by the home institutions.