Oregon Tech Sweeps Weekend With Win Over Eagles
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore - The Oregon Tech volleyball team is climbing up the conference standing after picking up their second consecutive conference win, tonight over Northwest University 25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 25-10, in Klamath Falls. The Owls improved to 3-11 overall and 2-4 in conference play. Northwest University drops to 4-10 overall and 3-2 in conference action.
Megan Christensen and Joey Larsen were explosive tonight after they combined for 29 of the Owls 51 kills. Christensen added a match-high 16, while Larsen tallied 13 in the victory. Christine Bansen nearly reached double-digits with nine kills. Setters Sarah Svedin and Jackie Polette totaled 35 assists, with Svedin adding four aces at crucial times during the match. Christensen also led Tech in digs with 12, while Polette added 11.
Lauren Holtz led the Eagles offense with 13 kills, while Breanna Covey added eight. Ashley Peavey, Anu Akamine and Kacie Simpson combined for 21 kills with seven each. Lauryn Ernster finished the night with a match-high 39 assists. Holtz also led the Eagle defense with a match-high 14 digs, with Akamine tallying 12.
After holding on to a 6-5 lead, eight-straight points put Tech up 14-5. An Owl rally then gave Tech their first 10 point lead at 22-12. NU then came storming back to cut their deficit in half with five straight points, 23-17. A Larsen spike for Tech stopped the NU momentum to give the Owls set point, while an ensuing Eagle attach error ended set one 25-20.
The Owls fell behind 4-1 to begin set two but would comeback to tie it at 4-4. NU then doubled the score at 12-6 and held the same six point advantage, 18-12. A 5-1 run gave the Owls hope, but hitting errors proved costly as NU secured a second set 25-22 win.
After five ties to begin set three, the Owls took control 9-5. A scrappy NU squad clawed back to tie the set at 13-13. However, an ensuing 4-0 Tech run gave the home team a 17-13 cushion that propelled the Owls to a 25-18 that gave the Owls a 2-1 advantage.
Hitting errors and service errors plagued the Owls to begin set four, falling behind 8-3. A string of five points for Tech would tie it at 8-8. NU would take a 10-9 lead, but another five point run would push the lead to 14-10 for the home team. The Eagles once again fought back cutting the Owl lead to one, 20-19. A NU hitting error and back-to-back aces gave the Owls a 23-19 lead they would not relinquish, winning the set and taking the match 25-20.