Beavers to Host No. 12 Bruins for Dam Change, Trojans on Sunday in Gill
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State volleyball returns home this weekend, hosting No. 12 UCLA on Friday, Oct. 12 for its annual Dam Change match at 5 p.m. before welcoming USC into Gill Coliseum on Sunday, Nov. 14 with a 12 p.m. first serve.
ON TAP
• Oregon State (4-20, 2-12 Pac-12) returns home to Gill Coliseum, hosting Los Angeles schools in UCLA and USC on Friday, Nov. 12 and Sunday, Nov. 14.
• First serve for Friday's Dam Change match against UCLA is slated for 5 p.m. before the Beavers wrap-up weekend action hosting USC on Sunday at 12 p.m. Friday's match will be aired on OSU's Live Stream while Sunday's game is available on the Pac-12 Insider.
• OSU has played 18 of its 24 matches in unfamiliar territory, including last weekend's matchups at California and at No. 19 Stanford.
• The Beavers hosted Colorado and No. 19 Utah on Oct. 29 and Oct. 31 for games four and five inside Gill Coliseum during the 2021 campaign. Oregon State was 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.
• Before hosting Stanford on Oct. 8, OSU came off a 14-match road stretch to begin the 2021 season that included 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 Dam Change match is available to watch on OSU's Live Stream while Sunday's game against the Trojans will be aired on the Pac-12 Insider. 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, 1-15 at home against UCLA, looks to even the season series with the Bruins in their first matchup in Corvallis since Oct. 20, 2019 when OSU lost a five-set heartbreaker (23-25, 15-25, 30-28, 26-24, 14-16). Earlier this season, the 17th-ranked Bruins swept the Orange & Black in Los Angeles on Oct. 24. Senior Maddie Goings topped the Beavers with 12 kills while Kateryna Tkachenko added 10 on a .400 attacking percentage. Freshman Izzi Szulczewski did her thing with a team-high 31 assists with two errors to propel the Beaves.
• Oregon State aims to halt USC's two-game winning streak in the head-to-head series on Sunday after falling earlier this season by a score of 3-1 in Los Angeles. The Orange & Black's last win over USC occurred on Jan. 29, 2021 in Corvallis (3-1) as the victory also marked the first win against the Trojans in the last 10 matchups. Earlier this season in LA, Goings once again led OSU with her fourth straight double-digit kill game with 16 while also finishing with 11 digs to tally her first double-double of the season.
MASSEY'S MILESTONES
• Oregon State 2020-21 roster is highlight by the return of senior Grace Massey for a fifth season.
• Massey became the OSU's all-time digs record holder against Colorado on Friday, Oct. 29, surpassing the previous record of 2,029 that was set by Becky Defoe in 2013. The Beaverton, Ore. native needed 12 against the Buffs and collected 16 on Friday night in front of Beaver Nation and now has 2,074 digs and counting.
• So far in 2021, Massey has 296 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 (4.17) 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 1,285 career kills to sit eighth all-time at OSU and has 3,933 career attacks to sit sixth. Goings also needs just seven digs to surpass the 1,000th dig mark in her career.
• Junior Lindsey Schell returns for another season in the Orange and Black. This season, the Temecula, Calif. native has 222 kills off 526 attacks, along with 68 blocks to average 0.83 per set.
• Szulczewski has been a crucial part of OSU's team with 707 assists on the season to lead OSU. She has posted nine double-doubles this season to sit with 19 on her career. On the year, she has 65 kills, 15 aces, 47 blocks and 210 digs.
• Tkachenko made her debut vs LSU. She has recorded double-digit kills in 12 of the 21 matches she has seen time in this season, including tying a career-high 17 at No. 19 Stanford last time out. On the year, she has 223 kills, 58 digs, six aces and 15 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 returned to the court at Cal and at No. 19 Stanford after missing matches dating back to Sept. 9 due to an 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 112 kills, 24 blocks and 21 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 36 kills, 26 blocks, 15 digs and six aces. Bourne has 31 kills, 12 digs and 16 blocks through 24 matches this season.
• Unal made her first appearances in 2021 against Penn State. Unal has started 15 matches and has 46 blocks, including a career-high seven at California (11/5). She also has six aces, eight assists, 17 kills and 17 digs on the season.
• White has appeared in 24 matches and every set this season, seeing time as both a defensive specialist and libero. With 10 starts under her belt, the Richland, Wash. native has 142 digs and five aces on the season.
LAST TIME OUT
• Oregon State split its matches in the Bay Area after sweeping California (3-0) and coming up short in four sets at No. 19 Stanford in its 17th and 18th matches on the road during the 2021 campaign.
• The Beaver's swept the season series with California to begin the weekend as senior Maddie Goings led the way with her game-high 18 kills, one shy of tying a season-high, while Lindsey Schell added 11 and Kateryna Tkachenko chipped in 10. Sunday, Oregon State took a set from the Cardinal for the first time since the 2018 season but it wasn't enough as the nationally-ranked Pac-12 foe sealed the 3-1 win inside Maples Pavilion.
NEXT UP
• Following this weekend, Oregon State hits the road one last time during the regular-season as the Beavers travel to Washington on Nov. 19 and conclude the weekend on Sunday, Nov. 21 at Washington State. OSU returns home the following weekend to conclude the regular-season and honor its three seniors. Season and single game tickets are available by visiting BeaverTickets.com/volleyball or by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS.streamed by the home institutions.