COMING UP: at No. 5 Southern Oregon, Wednesday, 6 p.m.; at Multnomah, Friday, 6 p.m.; at Warner Pacific, Saturday, 4 p.m.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: All three road games will have Live Video available – Tuesday's game at SOU on the Raiders Sports Network; Friday at Multnomah via YouTube and Saturday at Warner Pacific via YouTube. Live Stats for all three matches will be available through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Link.
 
MULTIMEDIA: All photos from the 2024 season will be posted online via the OIT Volleyball Flickr Page, while game highlight clips will be posted online via the OIT Volleyball You Tube Channel.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SOUTHERN OREGON: The 2-week road exodus starts with Part 2 of the Clash of the Cascades and a rematch with rival and No. 5-ranked Southern Oregon. The Raiders (14-1, 8-1) have dominated opponents – with their lone loss a reverse sweep by Corban. The top offense in the CCC averages 14.3 kills per set, 2.7 blocks per set, while hitting at a .259 percentage – led by hitters Marin Mackey (3.59 k/s, 3.41 d/s), Hannah Stadstad (2.70 k/s, 0.67 b/s), Megan Perry (3.09 k/s, 0.98 b/s) and Sadie Byrd (1.42 k/s, 1.33 b/s). Setters Annie Hite (5.67 a/s, 2.00 d/s) and Vitoria Matos (6.31 a/s, 1.65 d/s) share duties, with Kayla Neidigh (4.07) the top defensive player. SOU swept Tech in the first meeting in Klamath, with the Raiders holding a 54-8 series edge.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – MULTNOMAH: Day 1 in Portland bits the Owls against Multnomah, as the Lions (1-11, 1-8) are looking to snap a 6-match losing streak. MCJU (now know as Multnomah Campus of Jessup University – as the school was purchased by Jessup University last spring) averages 9.4 kills per set and hits at a .070 clip – led by hitters Jade Ilaoa (2.07 k/s, 2.00 d/s), Sydney Phiebe (2.10 k/s) and Mykayla Shaver (1.21 k/s, 0.82 b/s). The Lions offense is directed by setter Zoe Schuele (4.27 a/s, 1.58 d/s), with libero Lauren Porter (4.27 d/s) the top defender. OIT is a perfect 20-0 all-time vs. MCJU, including wins in 60-of-62 sets played.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – WARNER PACIFIC: The first half of the two-week road swing ends Saturday at Warner Pacific, as the Knights (0-11, 0-9) are searching for their first win of 2024. WPU has posted just three set wins (though they took a set off Eastern Oregon), with the team averaging just 8.1 kills a set an allowing nearly three aces a set. Veteran middle blocker Elizabeth Reid (2.08 k/s, 0.75 b/s) is the top player at the net, with Autumn Gabourey Parker (1.77 k/s) and Tayah-Anne Toa (1.67 k/s, 0.50 b/s) part of the rotation. Setter Kyla Reiling (5.00 a/s, 1.21 d/s) is the top setter, with Alyssa Asuncion (3.25 d/s) the libero. OIT takes a 10-match win streak over WPU into the match-up (including 27-straight set wins), with the Owls holding a 40-9 series edge.
 
AGAINST THE TOP-25: OIT looks to end a 14-match losing streak against Top-25 teams on Wednesday – including three losses to ranked foes in 2024. The Owls last win against a Top-25 team was a 4-set win over No. 17-ranked Southern Oregon in 2022, with their last Top-10 win a 5-set win over No. 10-Eastern Oregon in 2015.
 
AT THE TURN: This week closes out the first half of the Cascade Conference schedule, with the Lady Owls currently sitting at 3-6 in league play – tied with Evergreen State for the eighth and final postseason spot – but two games behind sixth-place College of Idaho and Walla Walla. Tech will have a tough second half schedule – playing eight of their final 12 matches on the road, including a 5-match trip that starts Wednesday.
 
LADY OWLS REBOUND: At the heels of a 6-match losing streak, Tech found their rhythm – flipping the script and take a 3-match win streak into the long week of matches.  OIT has posted a hitting percentage of .235 or better in each of the wins, held opponents to a .100 hitting percentage or less, while racking up a 27.5-to-10 edge in blocks.
 
BOYD HONORED BY CCC: A big weekend directing the Lady Owls offense netted setter Lucy Boyd Cascade Conference Setter of the Week honors. The true freshman combined for nine kills, 76 assists, 14 digs and six blocks in the two victories – establishing new career-highs with five kills vs. Evergreen State and six blocks vs. Northwest. In Saturday's win, Boyd had 43 assists in the 3-set win, the first time an OIT player has recorded 43-or-more assists in a 3-set match since 2015.
 
GRACE JOINS ELITE COMPANY: Molly Grace had a dominant performance against Northwest, opening the match with 11 kills in the first set, finishing the night with a season-high 21 – the fourth time an OIT player has recorded 21-or-more kills in a 3-set match. Grace added 25 total digs for the weekend, including her eighth double-double of 2024.
 
PRODUCTION FROM THE MIDDLE: Over the past two weeks, the Owls have made an emphasis to get the middle blockers involved in the offensive attack, as the middles combined for 33 kills and 17 blocks in the two weekend wins. Aleksen Thayer making the most of the opportunity, establishing a career-high with 10 kills vs. Evergreen State and matching the number against Northwest, adding 11 total blocks. Kate Hicks posted seven kills and five blocks on the weekend, with Tiana Barrett logging six kills in her lone set played.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Home teams dominated the action last week, going a combined 13-0 in matches, losing just six sets along the way. Those six home teams hit the road this week – as Southern and Tech head to face the Portland schools, Eastern and College of Idaho travel to Walla Walla and LC State, with Bushnell and Corban making the trip to Evergreen State and Northwest.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS:  As a team, the Lady Owls lead the CCC in digs per set (16.82), ranking No. 3 in blocks per set (2.63), No. 4 in hitting percentage (.197), No. 5 in aces per set (1.75) and No. 7 in both kills per set (12.15) and assists per set (11.52). Individually, Lucy Boyd leads the league in assists per set (6.49), Aleksen Thayer is No. 2 in blocks per set (1.39), Kaley Whalen ranks No.  3 in digs per set (4.85), with Molly Grace No. 6 in kills per set and No. 9 in aces per set (0.41), Savanna Sterck No. 10 in kills per set (2.76) and Kate Hicks No. 10 in blocks per set (1.00).
 
RECORD BOOK: Six players are currently ranked in the Top-25 of the OIT career record book – with Kate Hicks No. 4 in blocks (309) – 19 blocks away from the all-time school record, Kaley Whalen is No. 7 in digs (1,058) and No. 23 in assists (161), Molly Grace is No. 8 in kills (881), Paige Tevelde is No. 9 in assists (1,361), Lucy Boyd is No. 15 in assists (398), with Aleksen Thayer No. 18 in blocks (167). Two players are just outside the Top-25 in digs, with Grace (540) and Abigail Sorensen (483) on pace to crack the record book in October.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Lady Owls continue their 5-match road swing with dates at College of Idaho (Oct. 11 | 5 p.m.) and No. 2-ranked Eastern Oregon (Oct. 12 | 4 p.m.).