Beavers Take Active Ankle Challenge Title Toppling the Titans

Oregon State heads to the UNLV Invitational next to face the UC Santa Barbara Gouchos on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in Cox Pavilion.

Salem-News.com Sports

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Needing a sweep of Cal State Fullerton (6-1) to win the Active Ankle Challenge, the Oregon State volleyball team (5-2) did just that, winning in set scores of 25-20, 25-19, 25-14, Monday afternoon in legendary Gill Coliseum, handing the Titans their first loss of the season.

“It was a great comeback after last night’s match,” head coach Taras Liskevych said. “We control our destiny, and we knew we needed to win, 3-0, to win the tournament. Great play by Bree after she’d been sick all weekend.”

Senior Rachel Rourke (Queensland, Australia) and junior Kiersten Sambrailo (Watsonville, Calif.) were named to the All-Tournament Team, while junior Jill Sawatzky (St. Andrews, Manitoba) was named Most Valuable Player.

Rourke led the Beavers with 13 kills, while Sambrailo added eight. Senior setter Camilla Ah-Hoy (Laie, Hawai’i) chalked up her second double-double of the weekend with 33 assists and 11 digs. Defensively, sophomore Betsy Devich (Kirkland, Wash.) posted a match-high 19 digs, while four players had five blocks each.

The Beavers and Titans exchanged seven lead changes and 11 tied scores, but Oregon State pulled ahead for the final lead at 20-19 behind Sambrailo’s serving and back-to-back kills by Rourke and Sawatzky. Knitter’s perfect 4-for-4 kills set and a pair of blocks finished off Fullerton to give the Beavers a 1-0 advantage.

The second set started off with a pair of ties, before Oregon State took the eventual lead, building it to as many as eight at 14-6. The Beavers posted 5.5 team blocks led by three players with three each. Knitter terminated her sixth ball of the set to close out the set, giving Oregon State a 2-0 lead.

Coming out of the break, Oregon State picked up where it left off, building a seven-point lead quickly, forcing the Titans to burn their first timeout of the set. The Beavers continued to build on their lead, tying their season high for team blocks with 13.5, three in the final set.

Fullerton’s Erin Saddler, one of the team’s All-Tournament selections, paced the offense with 13 kills, while libero Cami Croteau, the other All-Tournament selection, dug a team-high 14 balls.

Oregon State heads to the UNLV Invitational next to face the UC Santa Barbara Gouchos on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in Cox Pavilion.

Oregon State Notes – Sophomore Betsy Devich dug a career-high 19 balls … Senior Camilla Ah-Hoy set a new season high with five blocks. … Oregon State tied its season best for blocks with 13.5 … Oregon State is now 3-0 against Fullerton … Senior Bree Knitter was errorless for the second time this week, hitting 8-0-15, good for .533.

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