COMING UP: vs. Northwest, Friday, 7 p.m.; vs. Evergreen State, Saturday, 7 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Live Video of both weekend matches will be carried live on the Owls Sports Network with Mike Safford on the call. Both matches will also have Live Stats via OIT's SIDEARM Stat Portal.
 
MULTIMEDIA: All photos from the 2023 season will be posted online via the OIT Volleyball Flickr Page, while highlight clips and interviews will be posted online via the new OIT Volleyball You Tube Channel.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – NORTHWEST: The weekend opens against a Northwest squad that is battling for one of the final two byes into the CCC Tournament quarterfinals. The Eagles (15-8, 12-6 CCC) are the lone team this season to defeat Eastern Oregon, thanks to a potent offense (11.5 k/s) and the No. 1 serving team in the circuit (2.0 aces/set). Kaitlyn Mickle (3.17 k/s, 0.38 b/s) has been key to NU's success, with returners Karste Wright (2.04 k/s) and Kylie Lunday (1.55 k/s, 0.72 b/s) offensive options. The tandem of Allie Flynn (4.63 a/s, 1.96 d/s, 29 aces) and Morgan Harter (4.51 a/s, 2.12 d/s, 22 aces) share setting duties, with All-CCC libero Kelsey Moore (5.21 d/s) the top defender.
 
HISTORY VS. THE EAGLES: Northwest dominated the first meeting of the season in Washington, improving their all-time series lead against the Lady Owls to 28-26. OIT has had the upper hand on the Eagles in the Basin, holding a 14-10 series mark, including victories in each of the last four meetings at Danny Miles Court.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EVERGREEN STATE: The home finale in 2023 features Tech and Evergreen State, as head coach Alexis Garrison faces off against her former club. The Geoducks (3-19, 3-15) have played well despite their record, leading the CCC in digs per set (17.10), while averaging 9.4 kills and 1.7 blocks per frame. Andee Nelson (2.33 k/s, 3.75 d/s) is a 6-rotation player for TESC, with Marin Collins (1.60 k/s, 0.90 b/s) and Sophia Scroggins (1.25 k/s, 0.51 b/s) anchoring the middle. Setters Jessica Mitchell (4.19 a/s, 1.97 d/s, 23 aces) and Jenna Glenzel (3.63 a/s, 1.06 d/s) run the 6-2 offense, with Rylee Grams (4.14 d/s, 19 aces) serving as the libero.
 
HISTORY VS. THE GEODUCKS: OIT earned a come-from-behind 5-set victory in the first meeting of the season, improving their all-time record against Evergreen to 32-11 – including a 17-4 mark in Klamath Falls. Last season, the Geoducks recorded their first-ever 3-set sweep of the Owls at Danny Miles Court, with TESC winning seven of the last 10 overall meetings.
 
LADY OWLS CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH: With their win at Walla Walla, OIT clinched their third Cascade Conference Tournament berth in the last four seasons and their 16th all-time CCC Tournament bid. The Lady Owls have a 9-19 all-time record in the tournament – advancing to the championship game in 2004 and reaching the semifinals on nine occasions (the last in 2021).
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Tech currently sits in the No. 7 spot in the CCC standings, one game clear of Lewis-Clark State with four matches left in the regular-season. If the Lady Owls finish tied with LC, OIT owns the tiebreak with the Warriors - based on sets won during their head-to-head matchups (Tech won four sets, LC won three). The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds will travel to the No. 5 or No. 6 seeds for a first-round match on Tuesday, Nov. 7 – with the winners advancing to the final site (Nov. 10-11) at the regular-season champion. Four teams – Southern Oregon, College of Idaho, Bushnell and Northwest are all separated by two games for the No. 3 through No. 6 spots.
 
BIG HITTING WEEKEND: The Lady Owls had an offensive explosion at Walla Walla, finishing the afternoon with a season-best .429 attack percentage – the highest hitting mark in two seasons. It marked just the fifth time in the last 15 seasons that OIT had an attack percentage greater than .400 – joining wins vs. Multnomah and Warner Pacific in 2021, a win over Mills in 2018 and a win over Multnomah in 2017.
 
HICKS CONTINUES ROLL: Middle blocker Kate Hicks continued a big run over the weekend, combining for 21 kills on 40 swings – with just two attack errors against Walla Walla and LC State. The senior recorded a career-high 11 kills at LC, adding six blocks – the fourth time in the last five matches Hicks has posted double-digit kills. During that run, Hicks has recorded a stellar .364 attack percentage.
 
GRACE HAS HUGE TRIP: The Tech offense got a huge boost from Molly Grace, as the outside hitter recorded 16 kills in each of the two matches. The junior hit at a .520 clip at Walla Walla, while a night later, recorded a career-best 19 digs at LC State – her fifth double-double of the season and the eighth double-digit digs match in the Owls last nine contests.
 
CASSIDY LEADS SETTERS: It was a stellar road trip for setter Brooke Cassidy, who orchestrated the OIT attack. Cassidy averaged 6.5 assists per set while only playing a back row rotation – recording 23 assists at Walla Walla and posting 22 assists and a career-high 13 digs at LC State. The setter had two aces in both matches – running a string of matches with 2-or-more aces to four.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: The league title is on the line this weekend, as Corban travels to Eastern Oregon in a first-place battle – as Corban and Bushnell make the trip east for matches vs. EOU and College of Idaho. LC State and Walla Walla are off to Portland for games at Warner Pacific and Multnomah, with the Seattle teams (Northwest and Evergreen) headed to SOU and OIT.
 
CONFERENCE NUMBERS: As a team, the Lady Owls rank No. 4 in the CCC in digs per set (15.71), No. 6 in blocks per set (1.82), No. 7 in hitting percentage (.165) and aces per set (1.37), ranking No. 8 in kills per set (11.31) and assists per set (10.39). Individually, Paige Tevelde is No. 2 in the league in assists per set (5.76), Molly Grace is No. 3 in kills per set (3.49), with Kaley Whalen No. 4 in digs per set (4.54).
 
RECORD BOOK: Five OIT players currently rank among the Top-25 in the all-time career record book – as Kate Hicks leads the group, ranking No. 7 in total blocks (246). Brooke Cassidy is No. 11 in aces (85), 13 in assists (822) and just outside the Top-25 in sets played (314), Paige Tevelde is No. 11 in assists (1,079), with Molly Grace No. 15 in kills (630) and Kaley Whalen No. 18 in digs (644).
 
SENIOR NIGHT: Saturday night marks the final home match for the lone senior on the OIT team, Brooke Cassidy. Cassidy will be honored in a pre-match ceremony.
 
NEXT WEEK: The Lady Owls close out the regular-season with road dates at Bushnell and nationally-ranked Corban, before a Tuesday date in the CCC Championships.