COMING UP: at Lewis-Clark State, Friday, 6 p.m.; at Walla Walla, Saturday, 9 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Fans unable to make the trip to Lewiston and Walla Walla will be able to follow the Lady Owls online. Friday night, Live Video (PPV) will be available through the LC State SIDEARM Sports Portal, while Saturday night, Live Video will be available through WWU's Presto Sports Portal. Live Stats will be available for both matches through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Link.
 
NOTE SATURDAY VENUE CHANGE: Fans traveling to the Saturday night match vs. Walla Walla – the match will not be played on the WWU campus in College Place (due to previously scheduled events at Windemuth Court). The OIT-WWU match will be played at the Dietrich Athletic Center (500 Tausick Way) on the campus of Walla Walla Community College. Start time is set for 9 p.m. to accommodate WWU's observance of the Seventh Day Adventist Sabbath (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday).
 
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 – LEWIS-CLARK STATE: Tech hits the road for the first time in league play with their longest trip – a 10-hour jaunt to Lewis-Clark State – as the Warriors (8-3, 5-1 CCC) bring a 4-match win streak into the contest. LC played a competitive non-conference slate, earning wins against quality teams from Hastings and the College of Saint Mary, with the team averaging 11.9 kills per set, 1.6 aces per set and 1.7 blocks per set. The attack is led by All-CCC outside hitter Juliana Forgach Aguilar (4.58 k/s, 1.12 d/s), with the tandem of Taylor Boyce (2.31 k/s) and Missy Mortensen (1.37 k/s, 0.72 b/s) key to the LC success. Setters Esther Kaliponi (4.31 a/s, 1.86 d/s, 16 aces) and Abbey Neff (3.33 a/s, 1.29 d/s) run the 6-2 offense, with libero Natany Guimara (4.53 d/s) the top defender. The two teams split last season's matches, with OIT holding a slim 9-8 series edge – with the Owls searching for their first win in the LC Valley since 2021.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – WALLA WALLA: The surprise of not only the Cascade Conference, but possibly the NAIA, is the play of Saturday's opponent – Walla Walla, as the Wolves (6-2, 5-1) are off to their best start in program history. WWU heads into the weekend on a 5-match win streak – including victories over LC State and Northwest – equaling the total number of league wins the club had posted in their entire history in the circuit (2015-23). The Wolves are potent offensively, hitting at a .220 clip and averaging 13.6 kills per set, thanks to the play of Sarara Browning (4.76 k/s, 2.45 d/s), Natalia Jimenez (3.45 k/s, 2.55 d/s) and Femke Eising (2.28 k/s, 0.38 b/s). Setters Danielle Faamusili (6.10 a/s, 2.31 d/s) and Melissa Monterroza (3.79 a/s, 2.21 d/s) are much improved, with Idalis Bedore (3.97 d/s) serving as libero. OIT puts a perfect 20-0 record on the line against WWU.
 
TOUGH HOMESTAND: Heading into the 5-match homestand to start the league schedule, OIT knew the task was daunting – playing each of the five teams picked atop the CCC's preseason poll. In the end, the Lady Owls took College of Idaho to five sets, took Bushnell to four sets – while going toe-to-toe with Southern Oregon, Eastern Oregon and Corban – but dropped all five match-ups. This past weekend, Bushnell and Corban combined for a 123-81 edge in total kills, while becoming the first teams against Tech to post a .200 or better hitting percentage since Aug. 17.
 
SET TO BE ROAD WARRIORS: After playing their first five Cascade Conference matches at home, the Lady Owls will get used to traveling, as the club will play seven of their next nine contests on the road and end the season playing 11 of their final 17 matches away from Klamath Falls.
 
OUT OF THE POLL: Two weeks after making their first appearance in the NAIA Top-25 Poll, the Lady Owls dropped out of the "others receiving votes" category in Wednesday's tabulation. OIT had received nine voter points in the September 4 ranking – their first appearance in the rating since 2021.
 
GREEN HAS QUALITY WEEKEND: The Owls got a boost off the bench on Friday from transfer Courtney Green, as the outside hitter was inserted into the rotation in Set 2 and immediately made an impact – tying a season-high with 10 kills, while hitting at a .364 percentage. Green continued her strong play against Corban, leading the way with nine kills – improving her season averages to 2.14 kills per set.
 
BLOCK STILL AMONG THE BEST: Play at the net has been crucial to the success of the Lady Owls this season, as the team ranks No. 4 in the NAIA in blocks per set (2.67) – one of five Cascade Conference teams in the Top-6 in the NAIA. OIT has posted at least two blocks per set in 11 of 13 matches, while recording at least 10 blocks in a match on six occasions. Seven different players (Molly Grace, Willow Jacobson, Lex Boccia, Kate Hicks, Courtney Green, Aleksen Thayer, Tiana Barrett) average at least 0.50 blocks per set, with Hicks, Thayer and Barrett all averaging over one block per set.
 
WHALEN SET TO HIT 1,000-DIG MARK: Libero Kaley Whalen had a big weekend at home, averaging 7.43 digs per set in the matches vs. Bushnell and Corban – moving within three digs of becoming the tenth OIT player to crack the career 1,000-dig mark. The junior posted a season-high 27 digs Friday against BU, following it up with 25 digs on Saturday night – extending a streak of double-digit dig matches to a school-record 36, while posting at least 15 digs in each of the last 10 contests.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Three teams in the Cascade Conference are currently ranked in the Top-10 of the NAIA Top-25 poll, as Eastern Oregon (No. 2), Southern Oregon (No. 5) and Corban (No. 7) are among the elite teams. Corban is the lone unbeaten team in conference play – having knocked off SOU on Friday night, while SOU, EOU, College of Idaho, LC State and Walla Walla sit one game back in the standings. C of I and EOU hit the road this week to face Corban and Bushnell, while Warner Pacific and Multnomah head to Evergreen State and Northwest.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS:  As a team, the Lady Owls rank No. 3 in the CCC in blocks per set (2.67), No. 4 in digs per set (16.48), No. 5 in hitting percentage (.189) and No. 8 in kills per set (11.69), assists per set (11.15) and aces per set (1.60). Individually, five players rank in the CCC's Top-10 – paced by Kaley Whalen, who ranks No. 2 in digs per set (4.92). Aleksen Thayer ranks No. 5 in blocks per set (1.35), Lucy Boyd is No. 6 in assists per set (5.21), Molly Grace is No. 7 in kills per set (2.96) and No. 10 in aces per set (0.40), with Kate Hicks No. 9 in attack percentage (.278) and No. 10 in blocks per set (1.11).
 
RECORD BOOK: Six players are currently ranked in the Top-25 of the OIT career record book – with Kate Hicks No. 5 in blocks (303) – 25 blocks away from the all-time school record, Paige Tevelde is No. 9 in assists (1,361), Molly Grace is No. 9 in kills (829), Kaley Whalen is No. 10 in digs (997) and No. 23 in assists (153), Lucy Boyd is No. 16 in assists (251), with Aleksen Thayer No. 22 in blocks (147). Two players are just outside the Top-25 in digs, with Grace (490) and Abigail Sorensen (451) on pace to crack the record book in October.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Tech will close out the month of September at home, hosting Evergreen State (Sept. 27) and Northwest (Sept. 28).