Beavers Fall to Pepperdine in Asics/Coors Classic Title Match

The Beavers face the University of Portland next in a mid-week contest at the Chiles Center on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Salem-News.com Sports

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Despite a 33 combined kill total between senior Rachel Rourke (Queensland, Australia) and junior Jill Sawatzky (St. Andrews, Manitoba), the Oregon State volleyball team fell to Pepperdine in the Asics/Coors Classic title match on Sunday morning.

“We just made too many errors and we need to work on our patience and controlling the ball on our side of the court,” head coach Taras Liskevych said. “It was an outstanding tournament for Jill, and it was a good all-around performance by Lexie and Camilla. It’s just another step in the process.”

Oregon State is now 2-1 on the season, while Pepperdine improves to 3-0. Set scores were 16-25, 25-19, 17-25, 17-25.

Sawatzky paced all hitters with 17 kills, while Rourke added 16. Freshman Camille Saxton (Balzac, Alberta) got her first substantial rallies, finding the floor six times.

The Beavers got off to a rough start, allowing Pepperdine to build a lead by as many as six in the first set on 16 Oregon State unforced errors. Saxton was a bright spot for the team, tallying a pair of kills and back-to-back service aces.

Oregon State rebounded in the second set, hitting .333 as a team with Sawatzky leading the way with six kills and senior Camilla Ah-Hoy (Laie, Hawai’i) quickly earning a double-double for the match with 14 assists and eight digs in the set. Rourke put the set away to tie the match up at one set each.

Coming out of the break, Oregon State struggled to find its rhythm, quickly falling behind the Waves. Sawatzky continued to terminate the ball, adding defense at the net to help try to get the Beavers back into the match, but Oregon State was unable to recover, falling behind one set.

The two teams traded points throughout the fourth set before Pepperdine built a five-point lead that it held onto through most of the set. Oregon State battled back to string a pair of points together but was unable to recover.

Defensively, libero Betsy Devich (Kirkland, Wash.) led the Beavers with 15 digs. Ah-Hoy added 13, while Sawatzky notched 10. Ah-Hoy and Sawatzky both earned their second double-doubles of the season with Ah-Hoy earning a season-high 42 assists. At the net, junior Kiersten Sambrailo (Watsonville, Calif.) continued to build on her block numbers, adding four block assists.

Pepperdine, who was ranked 26th in the AVCA preseason poll with 75 votes, was led by outside hitter Rachel Grochmal with 14 kills and 16 digs. Libero Stevi Robinson posted a match-high 19 digs.

The Beavers face the University of Portland next in a mid-week contest at the Chiles Center on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Oregon State Notes – Senior Camilla Ah-Hoy earned her second double-double of the season … Junior Jill Sawatzky tallied her second double-double of the season … Oregon State was the only team of the tournament to take a set off of Pepperdine.

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