Oregon Tech's Madisen Garlie. (photo by Kelly Caleb)
Eastern Oregon Rallies to Defeat Oregon Tech
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Oregon Tech got off to a quick start in tonight’s Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball match versus No. 11 Eastern Oregon, but after the Mountaineers rallied from a six point deficit in set 1, it was all Mountaineers in a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-19) sweep over the Owls tonight at Danny Miles Court.
Oregon Tech falls to 15-6 overall and even in CCC play at 3-3. EOU improved to 16-2 on the season and 6-1 in the conference standings.
Mykala Rubey finished with 11 kills, followed by 10 from Madisen Garlie. Tori Porter notched 34 assists with Jennifer Lakin leading Tech with nine digs.
Casey Loper and Katina Ferguson tied for team-high honors with 12 kills each. Setter Rachelle Chamberlain came away with 39 assists. Jessalyn Smith tallied a match-high 16 digs with Loper recording a double-double on the night after a 12 dig effort in the win.
Set 1 – Oregon Tech and EOU kept things close in the opener with the Owls holding an 18-16 advantage. Joelle Swanson ignited a 4-0 run with a kill for Tech, as the Owls looked to go up 1-0 on the Mountaineers to begin the contest. Swanson and Mykala Rubey would record a block each with Rubey finishing off the run with a spike to give the home team a 22-16 advantage.
EOU, however, used three Kendra DeHoog spikes during a 9-1 run, with her last giving Eastern a 24-23 lead. An Owl miscue on the final play gave the Mountaineers a 25-23 win in the opening set and all the momentum needed to sweep the Owls.
Set 2 – The Owls jumped out to an early advantage, 4-2, only to see EOU tally five-straight points behind four-straight hitting errors by Tech, as Eastern moved out to a 16-12 lead.
Tech closed to within two points on two occasions, the last at 24-22, but Katina Ferguson would power down set point to give EOU a 2-0 advantage and a 25-22 win.
Set 3 – Tied at 5-all, the duo of Ferguson and Casey Loper recorded a kill each in a 4-0 run to give the visitors a 9-5 advantage.
Tech’s Madisen Garlie stopped the run with a kill of her own, keeping the Owls within striking distance, 12-8. Five-straight points by Eastern, however, pushed EOU out to a 17-8 advantage.
The Owls looked poised for a comeback, after scoring six of the next seven points, and closing to four points, 18-14, but the Mountaineers methodically pulled away to sweep the Owls 25-19 in the final set.