Beavers Drop Civil War to No. 19 Oregon

Sophomore Sonja Newcombe led Oregon with 15 kills and 10 digs.

Photo courtesy: OSU Athletics

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Sophomore Rachel Rourke had a team-high 15 kills, but the Beavers (9-12, 2-7 Pac-10) dropped a three-game match (23-30, 21-30, 20-30) to the No. 19 Oregon Ducks (15-6, 4-5 Pac-10) in the Civil War, presented by the Northwest Dodge Dealers, Friday evening.

“It was an overall bad performance, meaning the staff and players didn’t prepare well for this week’s game,” Oregon State head coach Taras Liskevych said. “We didn’t play good side out volleyball. We have been inconsistent. We need to use our advantage and get the fans into it.”

The attendance for the evening’s match was 2,861, setting a new school record. The previous record was 2,559, set on Nov. 15, 1996, against Oregon.

Junior Ashley Evans led the team on defense with 12 digs, and sophomore Lexie Rathgeber had four block assists and five kills.

The Beavers got off to a slow start in game one letting the Ducks gain a 5-0 lead.

Oregon State tied things up at 13-13 on Rourke’s fourth kill of the game and again at 14 all, but the Beavers were unable to take control of the game and capitalize on the Ducks’ six serving errors.

In game two, Oregon State looked to be hanging with Oregon from the first rally, taking its first lead of the match. Rourke nearly doubled her kill numbers adding six, while Evans added seven.

But Oregon’s Sonja Newcombe found the floor, picking up all three of her kills in the game within the team’s last 10 points. Oregon kept attacking with the Ducks closing out the game on a service ace just inside the back line.

Coming out of the break, Oregon continued to lead but with Oregon State close behind, never letting the Ducks build more than a four point lead and tying things up twice. But Oregon State was unable to recover, letting the Ducks continue to build on their lead.

Freshman Kiersten Sambrailo and junior Natalie Hooper both had strong performances off the bench with Sambrailo tying her career high two kills and adding a block solo, while Hooper had six digs.

Oregon hit .366 in the match, led by three players in double figures; Gorana Maricic (15 kills), Sonja Newcombe (15 kills) and Heather Meyers (13 kills). Junior Katie Swoboda added a match-high 18 digs.

Oregon State hosts the Arizona schools next week beginning with Arizona State on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.

Source: OSU Athletics/goducks.com

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