FROM OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE TELEPHONE: 541-737-3720 COPY BY ROB SLAMAN WEBSITE: WWW.OSUBEAVERS.COM Oct. 2, 2015
Mary-Kate Marshall’s 30 Kills Lead Oregon State Past Utah, 3-2
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Mary-Kate Marshall had 30 kills on .266 hitting and added 14 digs to lead the Oregon State volleyball team to a 3-2 win over the Utah Utes on Friday night at Gill Coliseum.
In Friday night’s decisive fifth set, OSU (3-10, 1-2 Pac-12) found itself in a hole early, down 8-4 in the frame to Utah (7-7, 1-2 Pac-12). After the two teams changed sides, the Beavers went on a 5-1 run to tie up the score at nine, and behind four consecutive kills from Marshall, went up 13-10 in the set. Utah committed a pair of errors down the stretch, accounting for the final two points the Beavers needed to claim the set, 15-12, and the win, 3-2.
Marshall is the first OSU player since Rachel Rourke to post 30 or more kills in a match, as Rourke buried 31 against Arizona on Nov. 7, 2009. The record is 36 kills, also set by Rourke against Oregon on Oct. 30, 2009.
“We went to our best player and she performed and got us over the hump,” Oregon State head coach Taras Liskevych said. “Scoring 32 points and getting 30 kills in a double-double – that’s a great game. That’s what we want to see.”
Marshall was one of three OSU players with a double-double in the match, as junior outside hitter Lila Toner buried 15 kills with 11 digs, and redshirt freshman setter McKenna Hollingsworth tallied 46 assists and 16 digs in her second collegiate start. Freshman libero Kayla Ellis registered a season-high 24 digs and added six assists, while redshirt senior middle blocker Haley Clarke racked up six total blocks, including three solo efforts.
“We really made a great push there after we switched sides, when we were down 4-8 and Darby Reeder came in to serve in that fifth set,” Liskevych said. “She did a great job. Kayla did a very good job digging today. McKenna came in and hung in there and dug well, which was great to see. Kudos to Haley, who did a really good job blocking. We held their best player (Adora Anae) to 13 percent hitting.”
As a team, OSU recorded 62 kills, edging out 56 by Utah. The Beavers held additional statistical edges in hitting percentage (.185-.144), assists (58-53) and in digs (89-87). Each team recorded six service aces, while the Utes recorded more blocks than the Beavers (12.5-8).
In the opening set of the match, the two teams matched each other up to a tie at 11, before OSU used a 4-0 run to lead 15-11 at the first media timeout. The Beavers held a four-point advantage until 22-18, but Utah used a 4-0 run to knot it up at 22 apiece and then took four of the final six points to win the opening set, 26-24.
After a back-and-forth opening frame, OSU opened the second set with an 8-3 lead. Three OSU errors helped Utah close the gap to 10-9 before the Utes closed within one at 12-11 and tied it up at 15. The Beavers broke the tie with a 4-1 run to go up 20-16, and held the lead for the remainder of the set, tying the match with a 25-21 second set win.
The third set returned to back-and-forth play, with OSU taking the set’s first run to go up, 13-9. Utah cut the deficit to one at 14-13 and hung within one until taking the lead at 19-18. The Utes won every point remaining in the third set to close out the frame, 25-18.
OSU set the tone for a big fourth set by opening with a 9-4 run and never let off the pedal, taking a 10-point lead at 23-13. The Beavers knotted up the match at two sets each with a 25-13 fourth set win, setting up the Beavers’ big five-set victory.
“It’s a good win for us,” Liskevych said. “We have to go back after it on Sunday and not be satisfied.”
The Oregon State volleyball team returns to action on Sunday for the second half of its weekend homestand, as the Beavers host the Colorado Buffaloes at Gill Coliseum. The match is slated to begin at 11 a.m. PT.
For more information on the Oregon State volleyball team, follow the club’s official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeavsVolleyball, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateVolleyball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/OregonStateVolleyball.
Rob Slaman Athletic Communications Assistant Oregon State University Cell: 407-462-8662 [email protected]
OSU Remains Undefeated, Downs Michigan 3-2 CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State volleyball team (7-0) came out on top of a 5-set thriller against the visiting Michigan Wolverines Friday evening (25-17, 21-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13). The Beavers 7-0 start to the season is the second best start in school history.
“It was a gutsy comeback by us,” said head coach Taras Liskevych. “We were down in a lot of those sets and the team didn’t give up, they just kept grinding. It was great to see Mary-Kate Marshall really pick it up as the match went along. It’s always good to win against the Big-10 and we’re looking forward to playing Michigan State tomorrow night.”
The first set saw four lead changes and seven tied scores. With the score tied 9-9 the Beavers went on a 12-5 run to take a 21-14 lead. Junior libero Darby Reeder stepped to the service line with the score 23-17 OSU. Reeder downed an ace to give the Beavers set-point and Laura Schaudt supplied the finishing blow with a kill to give OSU the first set 25-17. Schaudt had four kills and no errors with 10 attacks in the first set, while middle blockers Arica Nassar and Amanda Brown combined for a perfect six kills on six swings.
The second set remained close early, with the Wolverines going on a 10-5 run to in the middle of the set to take a 19-14 lead. The Beavers made a late push in the set, with kills from Schaudt, Nassar and Katelyn Driscoll, but Michigan were able to hold off the OSU rally and take the set 25-21 and tie things up at 1-1 heading into the break.
The teams came out of the break into the third set equally fired up, with each team holding a lead in the first half of the third set. With the Wolverines leading 14-11 the Beavers jumped on a 5-0 run to take the lead at 16-14. After the Wolverines tied the score back up at 16-16, Marshall made it 17-16, downing her fifth kill in the set and 10th of the night. She finished the set with seven kills and no errors. The Beavers maintained that lead and took the set 25-22.
The fourth set saw four lead changes with the score being tied 15 times. Michigan was able to pull away at the end of the set, going on a 5-2 run to close things out at 25-22 and push things to a deciding fifth set.
After totaling five kills with three errors on 20 swings through the first two sets and bouncing back to the tune of 10 kills with no errors on 23 swings in sets three and four, Marshall dominated the deciding set. The freshman from Coppel, Texas was involved in eight points including the last three of the match. She downed six kills with no errors on 12 swings while adding two digs, a service ace and a block assist on the way to the 15-13 finish.
Marshall finished the match with 21 kills and 10 digs, for her second double-double on the season. Tayla Woods finished her superb night with 55 assists and 17 digs for her third double-double on the year. Schaudt hit .367 while totaling 13 kills on 30 swings. Driscoll and Nassar finished the match with 10 kills each and added 11 block assists between the pair.
“It was great to persevere and show that we can come through to earn a win as a team against a very tough opponent,” said Schaudt. “Now we’re focused on facing Michigan State tomorrow night.”
The Beavers return to action Saturday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. against No. 23 Michigan State. OSU will look to remain undefeated on the year while playing a tough Spartan team that dropped a 4-set loss to No. 18 University of Oregon Friday night.
For more information on the Oregon State volleyball team, follow the club’s official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeavsVolleyball , Instagram at OregonStateVolleyball or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateVolleyball.