HONOLULU, Hawaii – Oregon Tech used their best hitting performance of the season to earn a victory in the final match of the Magic Island Hawai'i Classic at Hawaii Pacific University.
After dropping a 25-18, 25-20, 25-20 morning decision to Benedictine Mesa, the Lady Owls (2-5) hit at an efficient .272 percentage in a 25-22, 25-21, 29-27 win over Truett-McConnell.
Molly Grace had 13 kills with just one error,
Savanna Sterck added 12 kills and
Willow Jacobson posted nine kills in the victory over the Georgia school.
OIT had to rally from deficits in the first two sets, as TMU (0-3) held a 20-19 lead in Set 1 – only to have
Kate Hicks tie the score with a kill,
Abigail Sorensen break the tie with an ace and consecutive Jacobson kills give Tech a lead they would not squander. The Bears lead in Set 2 was 19-14 – but Tech closed the frame on a 11-2 run, including a 7-point push – as Hicks recorded two kills and combined on four blocks in the rally.
Set 3 was tight, as the two squads combined for 18 ties and nine lead changes. The Lady Owls had match-point at 24-23, 25-24 and 26-25, with TMU recording a set-point at 27-26. Grace tied the score with a kill, Hicks followed with a stuff block and Grace ended the match with a kill.
Hicks finished with six kills and six blocks, with
Aubrey Stennett finishing with 39 assists and seven digs. Tech benefited by recording seven aces and nine blocks in the victory.
Katie Williams led all players with 14 kills and Ranavia Neal had 11 kills in the loss.
Earlier in the day, Tech ran into an unbeaten Redhawks (5-0) team – as BenU used a 48-30 edge in kills to pick up the win.
The Arizona team built on a 17-16 lead in Set 1 with a 6-1 run, thanks to two kills and an ace from Kylie Bartel – part of a 16-kill performance. Tech had a 14-11 lead in Set 2 after a Hicks-Sterck tandem block, but Bartel struck again, ripping four kills in a 11-2 run that flipped the momentum.
OIT looked to extend the match in Set 3, as two early Grace kills built the Owls a 9-3 lead. Brianna Rivera answered in a big way, recording 4-straight kills to pull BenU within 14-13. Following an OIT side out, Bartel had consecutive kills and a block – as the 6-0 run helped the Redhawks close out the match.
Grace led Tech with 11 kills, Jacobson had six kills and three blocks, Hicks posted seven blocks, with Stennett finishing with 22 assists, seven digs, three blocks and three aces in her first collegiate start.
The Owls return to the mainland next week, opening up Cascade Conference play with road games Friday at No. 3-ranked Eastern Oregon and Saturday at College of Idaho.
