COMING UP: at Raider Invitational (Ashland, Ore.) – Thursday vs. No. 11 Concordia (Neb.), Noon; vs. Park-Gilbert, 5 p.m.
VIDEO / STATS: Video will be provided for both matches Thursday through Southern Oregon's
StretchLive Platform (PPV), with Live Stats available via SOU's
SIDEARM Stats Portal.
SEASON OPENERS: Since volleyball returned to OIT in 1998, the Lady Owls are 15-9 in season openers – including a current 3-match win streak. The squad has played their first game at Danny Miles Court just twice (2001, 2021), while beginning 15 times at a neutral site.
OWLS HEAD OVER THE HILL: The 2022 season marks the sixth time the Lady Owls have began a season making the short drive over the hill to Ashland – competing in the latest variation of the Raider Classic. Tech is a combined 9-11 in their five previous appearances in the tournament, including a 2-1 record during the 2008 season and a 4-2 mark in 2019. In all, the squad will play their first six matches on the road.
AGAINST A TOP-25 FOE: Not only with the Owls square off against a pair of 2021 NAIA National Tournament teams in Ashland but will face a Top-25 opponent – as Concordia (Neb.) enters the season ranked No. 11. Tech finished 2021 with a 2-6 record against nationally-ranked opponents and open a season against a Top-25 team for the first time since 2011, when the OIT stunned No. 1-ranked Fresno Pacific in five sets.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – CONCORDIA: Not often does a season open with a rematch of the final game of the previous season, but for OIT, the Lady Owls earn a date with 2-time defending national quarterfinalist, Concordia (Neb.). The Bulldogs (19-12 in 2021) earned a tight 4-set win over Tech to close out Pool Play at Nationals in 2021 and return their top two hitters – Camryn Opfer (3.34 k/s, 3.30 d/s), an NAIA All-American, along with Gabi Nordaker (2.89 k/s, 1.08 b/s), an All-GPAC selection – a duo that had a combined 29 kills against the Owls. Fifth-year head coach Ben Boldt (77-37) returns opposite Carly Rodaway (2.20 k/s, 0.40 b/s), but is searching for a new setter after Tara Callahan graduated. CU was picked to finish fourth in the GPAC Preseason Poll – behind Jamestown (N.D.), Midland (Neb.) and Northwestern (Iowa).
AGAINST THE GPAC: OIT has met just two current teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference, facing Concordia last season and meeting Jamestown (N.D.) to start the 2019 campaign. Since 1998, Tech has met just two teams from east of the Mississippi River – Huntington (Ind.) in 2008 and Viterbo (Wis.) in 2021.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – PARK-GILBERT: No longer a surprise in the NAIA ranks, Park-Gilbert heads to the Rogue Valley a year removed from their first-ever trip to the NAIA National Tournament. The Buccaneers (18-7 in 2021), in their fourth season of existence, claimed the Cal Pac Tournament title and automatic berth, before dropping a straight-set decision to Corban in the NAIA Opening Round. Clay Webb (45-21) returns the bulk a team that averaged nearly two blocks and two aces per set – with Cal Pac Offensive Player of the Year Amanda Jonovich (3.55 k/s, 2.82 d/s, 42 aces) the Bucs go-to player. Opposite hitter Miranda Bacon (2.78 k/s, 0.47 b/s) and blocker Makenna Busse (1.68 k/s, 1.08 b/s) return – with three players sharing setting duties. It is the first-ever meeting between OIT and the Arizona squad.
AGAINST THE CAL PAC: The Owls have a stellar 49-4 record against current California Pacific Conference teams (Embry-Riddle, UC Merced, Simpson, Pacific Union). Tech has also competed against seven other schools (Bethany, CSU-East Bay, Dominican, Holy Names, William Jessup, Menlo, Notre Dame de Namur) that once called the circuit home.
TECH PICKED THIRD IN CCC PRESEASON POLL: For the first time since 2008, OIT was picked third in the Cascade Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, released in early August. Corban was the unanimous favorite, followed by Eastern Oregon and the Lady Owls, with Bushnell and Northwest rounding out the Top-5. Tech finished 18-4 in CCC play in 2021 – the fifth time in program history the Owls have placed third in the final league standings.
CHANGE TO THE CCC TOURNAMENT: The structure of the CCC Tournament has changed in 2022 – as for the first time since 2006, the entire event will be held at the regular-season champion. Quarterfinal and semifinal games are to be played on Nov. 11, with the championship game set for Nov. 12.
AROUND THE CCC: Six other CCC teams join OIT and Southern Oregon in making their debut this weekend. Corban travels to a tournament hosted by College of Idaho; Eastern Oregon, Bushnell and Northwest travel to the Big Sky Challenge in Butte, Mont., with Lewis-Clark State playing at Pacific Union's classic.
LADY OWLS OPEN IN TOP-25 FOR FIRST TIME: After ending a 13-year national poll drought in 2021, the Lady Owls made history last week, cracking the Preseason NAIA Top-25 for the first time ever. Tech opens the new year ranked No. 19 – the highest poll position since earning a No. 17 ranking in September of 2008. OIT is one of three CCC teams in the poll – joining No. 7-ranked Corban and No. 12-ranked Eastern Oregon.
PREVIEW – BACK ROW / SETTERS: Click Here for Defensive Specialist / Setter Preview
PREVIEW – HITTERS / BLOCKERS: Click Here for Hitter / Blocker Preview
RECORD BOOK: Six current players rank among the Top-15 in the OIT career record book.
Nicole Reyes leads the way, ranking No. 7 in kills (869), No. 9 in digs (932), No. 10 in aces (85) and No. 15 in sets played (359) – while ranking just outside the Top-15 in matches played (100).
Aubrey Kievit is No. 4 in digs (1,270),
Courtney Isom is No. 10 in assists (1,062),
Kaylin Talonen is No. 11 in kills (668),
Brooke Cassidy is No. 13 in assists (518), with
Ashley Ripplinger No. 14 in blocks (200).
LOOKING AHEAD: The Lady Owls head to California for four matches, meeting Simpson for a doubleheader on Tuesday, before facing William Jessup on Thursday and Menlo on Friday. The home opener at Danny Miles Court is set for Sept. 2 against Lewis-Clark State.
