Cavaliers Drop Owls in Conference Opener
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The Oregon Tech volleyball team fell in four sets to Concordia University in the opening round of Cascade Conference play (25-11, 19-25, 25-20, 25-18) tonight at Danny Miles Court. Oregon Tech drops to 0-8 overall and 0-1 in league play. Concordia improved to 4-3 on the season and 1-0 in CCC action
The Owls were led by junior outside hitter Megan Christensen with 10 kills, followed by Christine Bansen with nine. Setters Sarah Svedin and Jackie Polette tallied 17 assists and 12 assists respectively. Miranda Weitz added three block assists. Christensen also finished the evening with a team-high 14 digs, followed by Sarah Svedin with 13 and Joey Larsen with 11 in the loss.
CU’s Erika Doremus came up with a match-high 16 kills, while Mariana Toscano followed with 12. Cavalier setter Skyler Kamaka totaled a match-high 41 assists, while Libero Kim Lindow tallied a match-high 20 digs in the victory.
Concordia set the pace for the match in the opening set, as CU reeled off eight straight points behind the serving of Raluca Dinca to lead 8-0. CU took their first 10 point lead at 13-3 and sustained that lead to 17-7. CU then scored six of the next seven to lead 23-8 and went on to win the opener 25-11.
The Owls fell behind again in set two 8-4, but four-straight points would tie the set at 8 apiece. CU would eventually take a slim 13-9 lead, but the Owls came back with a run of seven to jump up 16-13. CU closed to 16-15, but four-straight Owl points gave Tech a secure 20-15 lead they would not relinquish, winning set two 25-19.
It was the Cavaliers getting the momentum on their way to an 11-4 lead in set three. A five point run for Oregon Tech cut the deficit to two points, 11-9. Concordia then took over once again to take a 21-13 lead, but not before the Owls strung together six-straight to cut the CU lead to 21-19. The Cavaliers then came back with three-straight of their own to get to match-point, 24-19. Tech would score the next point, but CU would answer to win set three 25-20.
Set four was a see-saw battle with Tech only down 15-13 midway through. However, the Owls never got closer as CU jumped up 21-14. The teams would then trade points for the remainder of the contest, as the Cavaliers closed out the match with a 25-18 win in the final set.
Oregon Tech will welcome Warner Pacific College (3-2, 0-1 CCC) to Danny Miles Court on Saturday, September 5th at 7pm. Warner Pacific comes to Klamath Falls after dropping a three set decision at Southern Oregon on Friday.