Beavers Falter Against Trojans
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Beaver volleyball concluded the two-game home stand with a setback against Southern California Sunday afternoon, falling in straight sets (13-25, 17-25, 17-25) during Pac-12 play at Gill Coliseum.
The Trojans hit .376 compared to the Beavers, who were led by freshman Kateryna Tkachenko's nine kills, hit just .078. The Beavers were outhit in the match 26 kills to 47 and two USC players notched double-digit kills hitting better than .378.
Senior Maddie Goings did not appear in today's match while 12 other OSU student-athletes appeared in the game. Freshman Mychael Vernon chipped in eight kills with two blocks and five digs while junior Lindsey Schell added five kills to go along with a game-high five blocks.
On defense, OSU's all-time digs record holder Grace Massey led all OSU players with 15 digs while freshman Izzi Szulczewski added three rejections and eight digs. Szulczewski also dished out 17 assists and served up two aces.
The Trojans used a four-point scoring run to lead in the opening frame, 5-1. The run stopped on a kill from Vernon but USC had five of the next six points to take a seven-point lead, 10-3. After the Beaver timeout, both teams traded points but another four-straight by USC gave it a 16-5 lead. Back-to-back aces from Szulczewski brought the Beavers within eight, 17-9, but a 4-1 Trojan surge helped USC reach set point, 24-12. The set was sealed two plays later giving USC the set, 25-13. Oregon State was held to a .030 hitting percentage while USC attacked with a .436 clip.
Back-to-back kills from Vernon, an Ellie Turner ace and an OSU rejection gave the Orange & Black the early lead in the second at 5-3. The Trojans responded with the next seven points to take a five-point advantage, 10-5, but the run was stopped on a USC service error while Emma Villaluz followed it up with an ace. The Beavers looked to halt USC's run with their first timeout of the set after the Trojans rattled off seven of the next nine points as OSU trailed 17-10. Out of the break, Oregon State took five of the next seven cutting the deficit to four, but the Trojans increased their lead late, 23-16. USC won the set on a Beaver attacking error, 25-17.
A 7-2 run by USC gave them the early edge, 10-5, in the third set, leading to an Oregon State timeout. Back-to-back kills by Tkachenko cut the lead 12-7 but three-straight by the Trojans pushed their lead back to eight. Three straight points by Oregon State made the score, 19-15, and forced USC to take its first timeout of the game. Tkachenko sent another kill out of the timeout, 19-16, however the Trojans would take the set and match off a kill, 25-17.
UP NEXT:
Oregon State hits the road for the last time this season next weekend, traveling to both Washington schools on Friday and Sunday. The final regular-season matches for the Orange & Black will be at home on Nov. 24 & 26 with Senior Night slated for that Friday against the Oregon Ducks at 5 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).