COMING UP: at Warner Pacific, Friday, 7 p.m.; at Multnomah, Saturday, 5 p.m.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION: Live Video of Friday's match at Warner Pacific will be available through WPU's PrestoSports Portal, with Saturday's matchup at Multnomah available through MU's YouTube Channel. Both matches will 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 – WARNER PACIFIC: The road swing opens at C.C. Perry Gym, as Warner Pacific searches for their second league win of the season. The Knights (1-11, 1-4 CCC) opened the year with 9-straight losses before a home 4-set win over rival, Multnomah. WP has struggled offensively, averaging 7.1 kills per set and hitting at a .046 percentage – led by Elizabeth Reid (2.35 k/s) and Maryann Tulele (1.44 k/s, 2.19 d/s), setter Kyla Reiling (5.44 a/s, 1.16 d/s) and defensive specialist Alyssa Asuncion (2.48 d/s). OIT holds a 38-9 series edge, including a 16-6 mark in Portland – taking an 8-match win streak in the series into Friday's tilt.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – MULTNOMAH: Saturday afternoon, OIT puts an 18-0 all-time record on the line at Multnomah, facing a Lions (0-5, 0-5) team that did not play a preseason match and are still searching for their first win. MU averages 8.8 kills per set at a .048 hitting percentage – with the duo of Maya Blake (2.50 k/s, 1.75 d/s) and Tamia Allen-Greggs (1.56 k/s) headlining the attack. Aiyana Henderson (3.00 a/s) and Eliana Dean (2.93 a/s, 1.60 d/s) share setter duties, with Lauren Porter (4.06 d/s) the top defender.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Top-ranked Eastern Oregon remained unbeaten in league play with a home sweep of Multnomah and Warner Pacific, while No. 4-ranked Corban, No. 17-ranked Southern Oregon and Bushnell all remained one game back – as Corban and Bushnell swept Evergreen State and Northwest, and SOU swept three matches. This weekend, SOU and OIT head to Portland to meet WP and MU, EOU and College of Idaho head to NU and TESC, while LC State and Walla Walla host Corban and Bushnell.
 
PROTECTING THE HOME COURT: After playing their first nine matches away from the Basin, the Lady Owls made their home debut last Friday in convincing fashion – sweeping Lewis-Clark State in three sets. Tech would follow with a 4-set win over Walla Walla, before forcing then-No. 19-ranked Southern Oregon to four sets in a tough Tuesday loss. OIT is now 164-101 at Danny Miles Court since volleyball returned to the court in 1998.
 
WINS VS. LOSSES: A big difference between the two victories and the lone loss was the efficiency of the OIT offensive attack. In the wins over LC State and Walla Walla, Tech combined for 103 kills and 29 attack errors, however, in the loss to Southern, the Owls mustered 39 kills and 27 hitting errors.
 
GRACE HAS HUGE WEEK: Spearheading the Lady Owls attack was outside hitter Molly Grace, who combined for 50 kills and a .375 hitting percentage in the three matches. The junior opened the weekend with a career-high 19 kills in 3-set win over LC State, adding 16 kills against Walla Walla and finishing the homestand with 15 kills vs. SOU. Grace has recorded eight double-digit kill matches in 2023, including six of the last seven contests.
 
NEW HIGHS: Multiple players had big matches in the 3-game series – including opposite hitter Willow Jacobson, who posted a career-high 14 kills against Walla Walla, adding a career-best five blocks against Southern Oregon. Middle blocker Kate Hicks had her third 9-kill match of the season, equaling a career-high, defensive specialist Autumn Williams logged four aces against WWU, with Kennedy Kantola recording a season-high four kills vs. SOU.
 
MODIFIED SYSTEM: Tech turned to a modified 6-1 offense during the three home games – as Brooke Cassidy served as the setter in the back row, with Paige Tevelde handling setting duties in the front row. Both players had quality numbers – Cassidy recording 61 assists, 15 digs and three aces, while Tevelde finished with 54 assists, 10 kills and six blocks.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: As a team, OIT ranks sixth in the CCC in hitting percentage (.161), No. 7 in blocks per set (1.82) and No. 8 in kills per set (10.8), assists per set (9.8), aces per set (1.5) and digs per set (13.9). Individually, Paige Tevelde leads the league in assists per set (6.09), Molly Grace is No. 3 in kills per set (3.23), Kaley Whalen is No. 6 in digs per set (4.02), Abigail Sorensen is No. 7 in aces per set (0.38), with Savanna Sterck No. 9 in kills per set (2.68).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Lady Owls return home next weekend (Sept. 22-23), playing host to No. 4-ranked Corban and Bushnell.