COMING UP: at Bushnell, Friday, 7 p.m.; at No. 6 Corban, Saturday, 5 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION: Live Video of both weekend matches will be available for fans not traveling to the Willamette Valley – Friday's match will be carried on the Owls Sports Network (produced by Bushnell), while Saturday's match will be carried on Team 1 Sports (produced by Corban). 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 – BUSHNELL: The final road trip of the regular-season opens at Bushnell, as the Beacons (14-10, 12-8 CCC) are trying to hold off OIT for the No. 6 seed in the CCC Tournament. BU has struggled down the stretch, dropping 3-of-4 matches, but have an offense that averages 11.3 kills and a defense that posts nearly two aces and two blocks per set. The trio of Halle Neumann (2.32 k/s, 0.64 b/s), Maddy Ladd (2.31 k/s, 1.01 b/s) and Leah Agost (2.21 k/s, 0.35 b/s) anchor the attack, with setters Katie Belitz (4.66 a/s, 1.35 d/s, 26 aces) and Peyton Ritchie (4.68 a/s, 1.57 d/s) key to the Beacons success. Defensively, Bella Parque (4.86 d/s, 27 aces) serves as the libero.
 
HISTORY VS. THE BEACONS: OIT and Bushnell meet for the 36th time, with the Lady Owls holding a 19-16 series edge. The Beacons hold a 9-7 series lead in matches in Eugene, with their 5-set win over Tech in September the fifth win over the Lady Owls in the two teams last six meetings.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – CORBAN: The regular-season closes at Corban, the No. 6-ranked team in the NAIA. The Warriors (24-4, 18-2) are perfect against all CCC teams not named Eastern Oregon, despite four road matches extended to 5-sets (including one at OIT). Rylee Troutman (4.25 k/s, 2.52 d/s, 26 aces), the odds-on favorite for CCC Player of the Year, leads an attack that leads the circuit with a .239 hitting percentage, averaging 12.7 kills a set. Both Makayla Roginski (2.50 k/s, 0.83 b/s) and Emma Bischoff (1.75 k/s, 1.13 b/s) are key options, setters Abby Guindy (5.73 a/s, 1.74 d/s) and Nedeiah Howard (4.41 a/s, 1.66 d/s, 25 aces) run the offense, with libero Marissa Uehara (3.77 d/s, 34 aces) the top defender.
 
HISTORY VS. THE WARRIORS: Saturday's match-up between the Lady Owls and Corban is the 58th time the rivals have played, with the Warriors holding a 31-26 series edge – including September's 5-set marathon in the Basin. Corban has had the recent momentum, winning 15-of-16 meetings, as Tech is searching for their first win in Salem since 2014.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE HEADING INTO FINAL WEEKEND: The Cascade Conference postseason race will come to a close this weekend – as Eastern Oregon can clinch the league title and hosting rights to the postseason tournament with a win over Walla Walla or Lewis-Clark State. Corban can secure the No. 2 seed with a win over either OIT or Southern Oregon, while SOU can lock-up the No. 3 seed with a win over Bushnell or Corban. College of Idaho earns the No. 4 seed with a win over LCSC or WWU, while Northwest and Bushnell are locked in a tie for fifth – NU hosting Warner Pacific and Multnomah, while BU hosts SOU and OIT. Tech can take the No. 6 seed with wins over BU and Corban and a BU loss to SOU, while securing the No. 7 seed with a win in one of their final two matches or a LCSC loss. LCSC can only earn the No. 7 seed with a sweep of C of I and EOU and two OIT losses.
 
LADY OWLS POSTSEASON HISTORY: With their win at Walla Walla on Oct. 20, OIT clinched their third CCC 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).
 
WHALEN DIGS UP CONFERENCE AWARD: For the second time this season, Kaley Whalen was honored by the CCC as Defensive Player of the Week, as the Lady Owls libero piled up 51 digs in the two weekend wins. The sophomore had a match-high 30 digs vs. Northwest – her second 30-or-more dig match of the season, adding 21 digs vs. Evergreen, her 10th 20-or-more dig match of the year. Whalen takes a 20-match double-figure dig streak into the weekend, needing 22 digs to become the fifth OIT player to amass 500 digs in a season.
 
CAREER NIGHT FROM STERCK: Tech got a monster performance from Savanna Sterck in Friday's win over Northwest, as the outside hitter recorded a career-high 20 kills in the victory. The sophomore added her 13th match with 10-or-more kills in Saturday's win over Evergreen, finishing with 11 kills – upping her season total to 242.
 
GRACE CONTINUES LATE SEASON RUN: Since transitioning to a 6-rotation player, Molly Grace has become a double-double machine, recording seven double-doubles in her last 10 matches – logging 10-or-more digs in 10-of-11 contests. The outside hitter had 15 kills and a career-high 21 digs vs. Northwest, adding 12 kills and 12 digs vs. Evergreen, while posting two aces in each match.
 
HICKS ON A BLOCK STREAK: Middle blocker Kate Hicks has been a force at the net, combining for 11 blocks in the two weekend wins. The junior pushed her season total to 103 – the first Lady Owls player since 2014 to surpass 100 blocks in a season – recording 5-or-more blocks in 3-straight contests.
 
CASSIDY MAKES MOST OF SENIOR WEEKEND: The lone senior on the OIT squad had a banner senior weekend, as Brooke Cassidy the Owls in both assists and aces. The setter had a season-high 31 assists and 10 digs, tying a career-high with four aces against Northwest, following it up with 21 assists and five digs vs. Evergreen. Cassidy has recorded an ace in 6-straight matches, combining for 13 aces during the streak.
 
CONFERENCE NUMBERS: As a team, the Lady Owls rank No. 4 in the CCC in digs per set (15.88), No. 5 in hitting percentage (.165), No. 6 in kills per set (11.37), blocks per set (1.84) and aces per set (1.38), ranking No. 7 in assists per set (10.49). Individually, Paige Tevelde is No. 3 in the league in assists per set (5.65), Molly Grace is No. 3 in kills per set (3.48), Kaley Whalen is No. 4 in digs per set (4.69) and Kate Hicks is No. 7 in blocks per set (1.02).
 
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 (257). Brooke Cassidy is No. 11 in aces (90), 13 in assists (874) and No. 24 in sets played (322), Paige Tevelde is No. 11 in assists (1,115), with Molly Grace No. 13 in kills (657) and Kaley Whalen No. 17 in digs (695). Three players have cracked the single-season Top-25 – Whalen ranks No. 7 in digs (478), Hicks is No. 8 in blocks (103) and Grace is No. 12 in kills (320).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Lady Owls open up Cascade Conference Tournament action on Tuesday, against a team (at a site) yet to be determined. A win would send the squad to the tournament final site (most likely La Grande, Ore.) for the quarterfinals, set for Friday morning.