Oregon Tech celebrates after defeating Evergreen State College. (photo by Kelly Caleb)
Oregon Tech gets by Evergreen State in Four Sets
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Kelsey Sampson tallied a match-high 19 kills and Oregon Tech pulled away from The Evergreen State College to earn a four set victory 3-1 (26-24, 25-9, 21-25, 25-22) tonight in Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball action at Danny Miles Court.
Oregon Tech improved to 6-5 in CCC play and 11-6 overall. The Geoducks fell to 3-9 in the conference standings and 3-14 on the season.
A sluggish start to what was the 4
th Annual “Pink Out” game at Danny Miles Court, saw the Owls fall behind TESC 17-11. A pair of Whitney Webster kills during a 4-0 run drew Tech back to within three at 18-15. Six of the next seven points, including three additional Webster spikes, also went to the Owls, as the home team took their first lead since early in set 1, 20-19.
The Geoducks used a Kelsey Delagrange kill and one by Natalie Taylor to retake a 23-22 lead, but Tech capitalized on three TESC attack errors down the stretch, with the final point coming off a Kristin DePaoli ace, to give the Owls a 1-0 advantage with the 26-24 win.
Set 2 was all Tech, as the Owls raced to a 12-6 lead. The Owls would score 10 of the next 11 points to take control 21-7. A Mykala Rubey ace sealed the win at 25-9 with the Owls taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
Tied at 12-all in set 3 it was TESC moving up 17-12 on a 5-0 run. The Owls, behind the serving of Waverly Green, strung together seven-straight, taking 19-17 lead.
Four in a row by Evergreen gave them the momentum to finish it out, as Natalie Taylor recorded four kills in the final run to the finish to pull the Geoducks to 2-1 with a 25-21 win.
The teams went back-and-forth, in what would be the final set, and after the 17
th tie, the last at 21-21, Tech would put it away. A Webster kill, along with a block by Alexa Burdett and Rubey, made it 23-21.
A service error pulled TESC to within a point, 23-22, but a Bailey Nelson kill and a Geoduck miscue on the final rally gave the Owls the match, 25-22.
Sampson’s 19 kills came on 41 swings for a .415 attack percentage. Whitney Webster finished with 10 kills, including six in the opening set, while hitting at a .500 clip, to go with three aces. The Owls finished with a .192 attack rate compared to .098 for Evergreen. Tori Porter and Waverly Green combined for 36 assists with Green coming up with a team-high seven digs in the win.
For the Geoducks Natalie Taylor led the offense with 13 kills, followed by Jorden Porter with nine and Matisse Davis with eight. Kylie Kytan recorded 30 assists with Cheyenne Baird adding a match-high 13 digs. In the loss.
Oregon Tech will host Northwest University on Saturday at 5 p.m., while Evergreen State College takes on Southern Oregon University in Ashland tomorrow.