Oregon Tech setter Megan Holland. (photo by Kelly Caleb)
Oregon Tech Upset Bid Falls Short, No. 15 College of Idaho Takes Final 3 Sets
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Oregon Tech stormed out to take the first two sets, but fifteenth-ranked College of Idaho would battle back to take the final three winning tonight’s Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball match 3-2 (17-25, 25-27, 25-19, 25-13, 15-11) at Danny Miles Court.
Oregon Tech falls to 7-9 overall and 0-4 in the CCC standings, while C of I moved to 8-4 on the year and perfect in conference play at 5-0.
Tech fell behind early, 3-8, but would mount a comeback tying up set 1 on a Julie Pfeifer ace, 10-10, and then move up 13-11 on a Kristen Walters kill, Megan Holland ace and C of I hitting error. The Owls maintained a four point lead, 19-15, before using a four point run to take control 23-15. Walters and Kara Young recorded kills, while Marlee Smith capped it off with an ace. Walters’ third and fourth spike of the set would propel Tech to a 25-19 win in the opener.
After taking a 6-2 lead in set 2, the Yotes would take a 7-6 lead behind a solid serving effort from Janel Porter. The Owls quickly regained the lead after back-to-back kills from Krista Galloway and Walters.
Trailing by three, 12-15, the Yotes strung together four-straight taking the lead back from the home team eventually moving up 19-17.
Oregon Tech then used a six point run, thanks to back-to-back Jennifer Saltenberger kills, another Pfeifer ace and two-straight C of I hitting errors, to take a 23-19 edge. C of I scored the next two points before another Saltenberger kill gave Tech set point. The Yotes scored the next four in a row to take a 25-24 lead before the Owls closed the set with three straight points, including Saltenberger’s fourth kill of the set to move up 2-0.
Oregon Tech trailed 6-7 in set 3 before the Yotes scored six of the next seven points to double-up the Owls 14-7. C of I would maintain a 5-6 point lead for the remainder of the set winning 25-19. After hitting at a .419 clip in set 1 and .122 in set 2, Tech finished set 3 with just 6 kills and a -.036 hitting percentage.
Set 4 got no better for Tech as C of I jumped on top 13-4. The visitors moved up 19-9 before pulling out a 12 point win, 25-13, to tie it up at 2-2. Again, Tech managed just 6 kills in the set, including a -.077 attack effort.
The Owls looked to take early momentum after leading 4-2 in the nights final set, but a C of I four point run gave the Yotes a 6-4 advantage.
The Owls continued to battle the fifteenth-ranked team, eventually tying the set at 10-10. The set stayed tied, 11-11, before C of I scored four-straight to comeback from a 2-0 deficit and spoil the Owls’ upset bid.
Kara Young tied for match-high honors in kills with 14, followed by 11 kills from Kristen Walters. Kayleigh Whelchel and Megan Holland combined for 36 assists with Marie Baumann adding a team-high 14 digs in the loss for Tech.
Sofia Anxo led the Yotes with 14 kills, followed by 12 each from Liz Meyers and Torrey Hulsey. Sierra Porter added a match-high 43 assists with Janel Porter recording a match-high 23 digs and Jessica Peacock coming up with 12 digs in the victory.
Oregon Tech will host Eastern Oregon tomorrow beginning at 7PM, while the Yotes head to Ashland to face Southern Oregon University.