Oregon Tech senior Kai Evans-Bautista finished with seven kills in tonigh't conference match versus Southern Oregon. (photo by Kelly Caleb)
Oregon Tech Falls to No. 14 Raiders in Conference Opener
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Oregon Tech fell to No. 14 Southern Oregon University to open 2011 Cascade Collegiate Conference action 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-20) tonight at Danny Miles Court. OIT falls to 5-2 overall, while SOU improved to 4-2 with the win.
After falling behind 4-1 to the visitors, an 8-1 run gave the Owls a four point advantage. SOU eventually moved up 13-12 on Tech, and a lead they would not give up. OIT closed to 22-20, but SOU would close out set 1 with a 3-2 run to win 25-22.
Sarah Svedin started set 2 with an ace, while Marie Baumann served the Owls to the early 8-4 advantage. The Raiders eventually tied the set at 9-9, as the teams see-sawed to eight more ties, until OIT moved up 24-21. SOU then looked to Sarah Holgen to carry the team, and she did not disappoint, as the outside hitter then tallied four of her match-high 20 kills to lift SOU to a 26-24 win.
Tech continued to battle after falling behind 10-5 in set 3 and would finally tie the contest at 16-16, and take the lead on a SOU hitting error. Southern, however, would overpower the Owls, finishing the set on a 9-3 run and move on for the win to open conference play.
Joey Parnell led Tech with a team-high 12 kills, followed by Mindy Nalder with 11. Krystie Vea came up with 10 digs and setter Sarah Svedin finished with a match-high 36 assists for Tech.
Sarah Holgen led the Raiders to victory with a match-high 20 kills and added nine digs. Natalie Sheller added a double-double 11 kills and 11 digs, while Renee Yomtob tallied a match-high 16 digs in the win.
Oregon Tech remains idle until September 9th and 10th when they resume CCC play at home versus Concordia University and Warner Pacific College.