WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Playing their first-ever games east of the Rocky Mountains, Oregon Tech opened the 2024 volleyball season with a pair of victories at the Viper Sports Academy Classic inside the Keiser Student Life Center.
The Lady Owls (2-0) earned a 4-set victory over Webber International (25-21, 18-25, 26-24, 25-23) in their opener – delayed by two hours due to prior contests on the court – before rolling to a sweep of Truett McConnell (25-10, 25-21, 25-15).
"Today was a great way to start our season," said second-year head coach Alexis Garrison. "We were able to close out close games when we needed to and work out the kinks. The two matches showed our team that we have grown from last season and are starting the year at a higher point."
Molly Grace combined for 25 kills and 26 digs in the two victories, with fellow senior Kate Hicks finishing the day with 17 kills and seven blocks.
Meeting the Warriors (0-2) in the opener, Tech traded runs with the Florida school in Set 1 – as OIT got two Grace kills in a 7-3 run to start the game, but Summer Wilhite answered with three kills as WIU battled back to grab a 13-11 lead. Trailing 18-17, Hicks and Willow Jacobson posted back-to-back kills to give the Owls the lead, with transfer Lex Boccia adding two kills and a block to end the set.
WIU controlled Set 2, as Nadia Reid smashed two kills in a 5-0 run to break a 9-9 stalemate and the Warriors held the lead throughout. The momentum continued through a tight Set 3, as WIU held set point at 24-22 – but Tech flipped the script as consecutive kills from Hicks and Grace were followed by a Warrior hitting error and an Aleksen Thayer spike to hand the Owls the win.
Set 4 was close until the Owls rattled off three points late to take a 24-20 lead. WIU made a final push, staving off three match points, before a back-row attacking error ended the match.
Grace had 16 kills and 14 digs in the win, with Hicks posting nine kills, three blocks and a career-high six digs. Both Boccia and Jacobson had nine kills, with Paige Tevelde recording 22 assists, seven digs and three aces. Reid led all players with 17 kills in the loss for WIU.
OIT continued their momentum directly into the match-up with the Bears (0-4) from Georgia, routing the Appalachian Athletic Conference foe in Set 1. Hicks had three kills, a block and an ace in a 14-2 surge to close out the period.
TMU answered the charge in Set 2, forcing Tech to take a pair of time outs and grabbing a 20-15 lead. Grace started a rally with two kills and Savanna Sterck finished the 9-0 run with 3-straight kills, as the Owls stole the frame.
Set 3 was all Tech, with Sterck powering home three kills in a 12-4 run to start the period, with the lead ballooning to 19-7.
Sterck led the Owls with 12 kills, Jacobson added nine kills and five blocks, Grace had nine kills and 12 digs, with Hicks finishing with eight kills and four blocks. Tevelde had 19 assists, Lucy Boyd added 18 assists and Kaley Whalen had 19 digs.
The Owls hit at a commanding .385 clip, while holding the Bears, who had 24 different players hit the court, were limited to a .086 percentage.
"Our offense did amazing and did their job," Garrison said. "Molly showed up today as a 6-rotation outside and was key to our success."
Tech will have Sunday off before closing out tournament play Monday against host Keiser and Benedictine Mesa.