Knights Spoil Oregon Tech Victory Bid
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore – Warner Pacific College rallied from an 8-6 deficit in the fifth and final set to steal a victory away from Oregon Tech tonight in Cascade Conference play (25-19, 19-25, 24-26, 25-23, 12-15).
Megan Christensen tallied a career and match-high 26 kills, while Christine Bansen added 13 and Mikayla Morgan recorded 10. Sarah Svedin had 30 assists to go with 7 kills. Joey Larsen finished the night with a career and match-high 32 digs, followed by Christensen with another career-high 22 digs. Jackie Polette and Paige Wallachy added 12 digs each.
Warner Pacific had five players in double-digit kills led by Megan Marineau with 13, followed by Leah Gradwohl with 11 and 10 each from Sam Kolakowski, Michelle Egan and Claire Van Meer. Melita Elliot had a match-high 47 assists. Kolakowski led the Knight defense with 26 digs and close behind was Caitlyn McCall with 25.
Down 6-5 in the first set, Oregon Tech scored five straight to take control and lead 10-6. Tech would push the lead to 17-10 and not look back, recording a 25-19 win in set one. Warner Pacific would return the favor winning 25-19 in the second set.
Both teams battled evenly with ties at both 10-10 and 18-18 before the Knights took a slim 23-21 lead late in set three. Tech would then rally to tie it at 24-24, but WPC would score the final two points and settle for a 26-24 win.
Tech fell behind in set four 13-10, but would battle back to eventually tie it at 21-21. Warner Pacific would score the next point, but Tech would rally for three straight to take a 24-22 lead. The Knights got the next point, but the Owls would answer with the winner to take set four 25-23.
Oregon Tech jumped out to an 8-6 lead in the fifth and final set, but four straight points would give the Knights a lead they would not give back. Tech pulled to within one at 11-10, but WPC answered with a three point run to give them a 14-10 advantage. After a timeout, the Owls cut the deficit to 14-12, but the Knights answered with the winner to take the set and match.
The Owls dropped to 0-9 overall and sit at 0-2 in conference action. Warner Pacific is now 4-2 on the season and even in CCC play at 1-1.
Oregon Tech will host a non-conference match with Simpson University on Tuesday, September 8th at 7pm.