KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Oregon Tech celebrated Senior Day with a 25-20, 25-16, 25-12 victory over Multnomah at Danny Miles Court – clinching a spot in the Cascade Conference Volleyball Championships for the fourth time in five seasons.
 
The Lady Owls (17-11, 10-10 CCC) reached the .500 mark in league play for the first time this season, holding their second-straight opponent to a negative attack percentage.
 
Savanna Sterck led Tech with nine kills and three blocks, Aleksen Thayer had six kills and a match-high eight blocks, Kaley Whalen finished with 19 digs, with Lucy Boyd posting 12 assists, nine digs and three aces.
 
Tech started slowly following the extended pregame ceremonies for their four seniors, as the Lions (2-21, 2-18) held a 13-11 lead – before the Owls found their rhythm. Kills from Thayer, Lex Boccia and Willow Jacobson, along with seven MCJU hitting errors fueled a set-clinching 13-1 run.
 
Sterck powered home a pair of kills in a 6-1 Set 2 run to give the hosts a 13-6 lead, with consecutive blocks from Thayer extending the margin to 21-11 in the lopsided win.
 
The Lions tried to battle back in Set 3, as a Emilina Merafuentes kill gave the Portland school a 6-4 lead – but three blocks from Thayer and two Boyd aces were part of a backbreaking 18-3 OIT run to cap the Owls 22nd-straight win over the conference foe.
 
The OIT seniors – Kennedy Kantola, Paige Tevelde, Molly Grace and Kate Hicks – were instrumental in the win.  Kantola finished with six digs, Tevelde had 15 assists, Grace had four kills and six digs, with Hicks recording seven kills and three blocks.
 
Grace moved within five kills of the 1,000-mark for her OIT career, with Hicks six blocks away from Tech's all-time blocks record.
 
Jade Ilaoa had five kills in the loss for the Lions, with libero Lauren Porter posting 18 digs and a pair of kills off overpasses.
 
The Owls close out the regular-season next weekend with road dates vs. Northwest and Evergreen State, before a first-round CCC Tournament match a week from Tuesday.