OLYMPIA, Wash. – Playing on the road without their top attacker, Oregon Tech battled back from a two-set deficit to stun host Evergreen State 23-25, 23-25, 25-12, 25-23, 15-9, inside Constantino Recreation Center.
Kennedy Kantola had 18 kills and 19 digs, Savannah Sterck added 18 kills and
Kaley Whalen set an new school-record with 41 digs, as the Lady Owls (7-10, 5-5 CCC) won in head coach
Alexis Garrison's first trip back to her former school.
The Geoducks (2-12, 2-8) played inspired throughout – as the two teams combined for 28 ties over the opening two sets. Tech held a 22-21 lead in the opening frame following a
Willow Jacobson kill, but the hosts rattled off 3-straight points to steal the set. In Set 2, OIT led 18-14, but TESC clawed back, with kills from Andee Nelson and Alice Bennett breaking a 23-23 tie to cap the set win.
The Lady Owls turned the tide in Set 3, jumping out to a 14-2 lead – limiting the Greeners to just four kills in the period. Evergreen looked to win the match in Set 4, using a 4-0 run to take a 23-21 lead. OIT answered with consecutive combo blocks involving
Aleksen Thayer, with a Sterck kill forcing the fifth set.
In the deciding frame, Kantola took over, recording four kills in an opening 11-4 push by the Lady Owls, as Tech earned their second 5-set win of 2023.
Playing without top hitter
Molly Grace, Kantola made the most of her first start – nearly logging Tech's first 20-20 match in a decade. Sterck added nine digs, while Thayer recorded career-highs with seven kills and seven blocks. Jacobson filled the stat sheet with 11 kills and career-highs with 18 digs and seven blocks.
OIT broke the school record for digs in a match with 136 – surpassing a mark from 2002 – led by Whalen, who surpassed Marie Baumann's previous record of 37 set in 2012.
Abigail Sorensen also got in the act, posting a career-high 24 digs, along with three aces.
TESC was paced by Nelson, who had 16 kills and 29 digs, with Lucendy Perez adding 13 kills, 18 digs and five blocks.
The Owls return to the court tomorrow, closing out the first half of the CCC season with a 7 p.m. date at Northwest.
