COMING UP: at Vipers Sports Academy Classic (West Palm Beach, Fla.) – Saturday vs. Webber International (Fla.), 6 p.m. (EDT); vs. Truett McConnell (Ga.), 8 p.m. (EDT). Monday vs. Keiser (Fla.), 10 a.m. (EDT); vs. Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.), 12 p.m. (EDT).

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION: Live Video of all four matches in Florida will be available through the Sun Conference Digital Network (PPV - $10.00 per game), with Live Stats via OIT's SIDEARM Stat Portal.
 
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.
 
SEASON OPENERS: Since volleyball returned to OIT in 1998, the Lady Owls are 15-11 in their regular-season openers – but have lost their last two opening matches. Tech will open at a neutral site for the 17th time – having played their first game of a season at Danny Miles Court just twice – in 2001 (a win over Warner Pacific) and in 2021 (a win over Simpson).
 
FIRST TIME EAST OF THE ROCKIES: Prior to this weekend, the Lady Owls have never played a game beyond the Rocky Mountains – with the furthest trips east in 2005 (Salt Lake City for the NAIA Region I Tournament) and 2008 (Las Vegas for a preseason tournament). Last year, Tech made the longest trip in program history – playing three matches in Hawaii at the Magic Island Classic.
 
ABOUT THE VIPER SPORTS ACADEMY CLASSIC: A total of 20 teams are headed to West Palm Beach, Fla., as Keiser University is hosting the Viper Sports Academy Classic. The event will feature 38 matches over two courts spanning four days, with teams from 12 different states making their way to the beach.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – WEBBER INTERNATIONAL: Coming off a 14-14 season in 2023, Webber International was picked in a tie for third in the 2024 Sun Conference preseason poll. The squad, from Babson Park, Fla., reached their conference tournament semifinals last year, averaging 2.4 blocks per set, while hitting at a .174 percentage. It may be a new-look club (the 2024 roster has not been revealed), with the 2023 roster featuring 10 seniors. Top underclassmen on the Warriors squad include 6-foot-2 blocker Savanna White (1.28 k/s, 0.97 b/s) and 6-foot-6 outside Cintia Lorena (1.78 k/s, 0.78 b/s). It is the first-ever meeting between the Lady Owls and WIU.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – TRUETT MCCONNELL: Following a successful 2023 season, posting a 22-12 overall record, Truett McConnell was picked to finish fifth in the 14-team Appalachian Athletic Conference preseason poll, a year after averaging 12.1 kills per set and racking up 16.6 digs a set. The Bears, from Cleveland, Ga., have a new head coach in Joe Herrera, featuring a roster including All-AAC outside hitter Katie Williams (3.47 k/s, 2.07 d/s), along with middle blocker Jordan Roberts (2.08 k/s, 0.72 b/s) and libero Rachel Kessler (3.75 d/s, 35 aces). OIT and TMU met last season at the Magic Island Classic in Hawaii, with the Lady Owls earning a three-set victory.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – KEISER: The host of the Viper Sports Academy Classic will host Tech, as a new-look Keiser team continues a long homestand. The squad from West Palm Beach were picked second in the Sun Conference preseason poll, coming off a stellar 30-11 season, but will have to replace their top-five hitters from 2023 - a team that averaged over 12 kills a match. Setter Hannah Heide (9.62 a/s, 2.53 d/s, 34 aces) is a 3-year starter, with outside hitters Mandee Wisenburger (1.47 k/s) and Frederica Silva (1.45 k/s, 1.94 d/s) the top offensive options. It is the first-ever meeting between Tech and the Seahawks.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – BENEDICTINE MESA: A 2024 NAIA Tournament team closes out the Owls trip to Florida, facing a Benedictine Mesa squad that finished 29-4 last year, dropping an Opening Round match at Nationals to Vanguard. The Redhawks, now a member of the Great Southwest Athletic Conference, return two-time all-conference pick Kylie Bartel (3.65 k/s, 2.12 d/s, 46 aces) and Cal Pac Freshman of the Year Jewel Carling (1.48 k/s, 0.62 b/s), with libero Hattie Patton (4.13 d/s) and setter Annika Wallace (5.18 a/s, 1.26 d/s, 51 aces) both back. BenU met OIT for the first time last season at the Magic Island Classic in Hawaii, earning a 3-set sweep of the Owls.
 
AGAINST THE LEAGUES: The matchups with Webber International and Keiser will be Tech's first-ever against the Sun Conference, while Truett McConnell is the lone Appalachian Athletic Conference foe the Lady Owls have faced. Benedictine Mesa joined the newly named Great Southwest Athletic Conference – with OIT previously playing five current league members (The Master's, Life Pacific, Embry-Riddle, Hope International, and BenU).
 
LADY OWLS PICKED EIGHTH: OIT will start the 2024 season exactly where they finished last year, as the Owls were picked eighth in the Cascade Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, released last week. Tech received 68 voter points from the 12 league coaches – just behind No. 6 Northwest (78) and No. 7 Lewis-Clark State (74). The top-four teams in the poll were ranked in the NAIA Preseason Top-25 – No. 3 Eastern Oregon, No. 10 Southern Oregon, No. 12 Corban, with College of Idaho receiving votes.
 
PRESEASON OUTLOOK - SETTERS / DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS: Click for Full Preview
 
PRESEASON OUTLOOK - HITTERS / BLOCKERS: Click for Full Preview
 
WHALEN DIGS STREAK ON THE LINE: Kaley Whalen will put a school-record streak on the line Saturday, as the junior takes a string of 5-straight matches with 20-or-more digs into the new year. No other OIT player in the rally-scoring era has matched the feat, with Whalen starting the run with 30 digs in a win over Northwest last October and ending the year with 24 digs in a playoff loss at Bushnell.
 
RECORD BOOK: Four players enter 2024 ranked in the Top-20 of the OIT career record book – with Kate Hicks No. 6 in blocks (263), Molly Grace No. 11 in kills (687), Paige Tevelde No. 11 in assists (1,163) and Kaley Whalen No. 14 in digs (761).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Owls close out the non-conference schedule with a trip to the Hope International Summer Slam in California, with matches scheduled for next Friday and Saturday.