EUGENE, Ore. – The Beacons tackled another pair of NCAA Division III opponents on Saturday and rolled to their third and fourth-straight sweeps in the Oregon Trail Classic to close out the 2024 non-conference schedule on a five-match winning streak.
Head Coach Jason Corwin said, “The weekend we learned that this team can win in a bunch of different ways which is encouraging. We also learned some things that we still need to get better at as well. It was a good weekend of volleyball, playing different styles of offense and defense. Our team showed a lot of resiliency and creativity as we adapted to what was working. We also got to see the depth of this team without dropping a set, which was a huge positive.”
BUSHNELL 3, PACIFIC 0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-18)
On Friday, the Beacons had put together separate strong offensive and defensive performances, while on Saturday all phases of the game were working in perfect unison. Bushnell rolled to the neutral-site win over Pacific University, hitting a season-high for the second straight match as they posted a .322 kill percentage with just six unforced attack errors. They also out-blocked the Boxers 6-5 and collected eight service aces.
Amyah Semau took over for the Beacons and hit .462 with 13 kills, adding four aces and seven digs. She said, “The team had high energy and we were ready to prove ourselves today. We kept up our standard of play and even when we were down, we still knew how to get out of the hole to win.”
Leah Agost continued to her string of untouchable performances with eight kills and no errors while Makenna Mosher went 5-for-6 on the attack and added four blocks.
Bella Parque posted a team-high 13 digs while Elijah Sanders and Kate Palelek combined for 34 assists in three sets. “I am proud of how we all played today,” said Sanders. “Everyone was working together and it has been rewarding to see the things we have been working on in practice show in the game.”
BUSHNELL 3, LINFIELD 0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-22)
Playing the Saturday hosts for the state-wide traveling tournament, Bushnell again rose to the occasion, hitting .202 despite the Wildcats out-blocking the Beacons 11-10.
Sanders and Palelek once again led the way at setter, earning 14 assists apiece and finding four different players for double-digit attack attempts. Sanders added a team-high ten digs for the double-double.
Hailey Heider led the offense with 11 kills, adding four blocks and two aces. “Linfield put up a big block and were able to keep a lot of balls alive,” said Heider. “Once we started swinging to tool off their hands we were able to find success. Our defense and serving kept heavy pressure on them all night.”
A different player has found a way to step up big in each match of the tournament and this time it was Ashlyn Tai, posting seven kills and three blocks. Tai said, “I am really proud of how we closed out the weekend in this match. We were able to execute tough service pressure, aggressive offense and good eye work on blocking throughout the match.”
Ariana Guerra also had a strong match for the Beacons with nine kills while Agost hit .500 with six more kills, giving her 38 kills over the weekend with a combined .427 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT
The Beacons (5-3), who have now won 15 straight sets during their five-match winning streak, will hit the road next weekend for Portland, starting the Cascade Collegiate Conference schedule at Multnomah (0-4) on Friday and Warner Pacific (0-0) on Saturday.