COMING UP: vs. Northwest, Friday, 6 p.m.; vs. Evergreen State, Saturday, 4 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION: All Cascade Conference matches will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network. Stats of all Cascade Conference matches will be available through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
SENIOR DAY SET FOR SATURDAY: Saturday afternoon marks the final home match for the 2025 OIT volleyball senior class – as four-year seniors Kaley Whalen, Savanna Sterck, Willow Jacobson and Abigail Sorensen, along with second-year senior Lex Boccia will be honored in a post-match ceremony.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – NORTHWEST: The final weekend at home opens against a Northwest team that was ranked in the Top-25 over the past month before dropping 4-straight contests and five of their last six games. The Eagles (13-9, 7-9 CCC) are coming off home losses to Corban and Bushnell – as the team looks to improve on a 11.1 kills per set average and a .197 attack percentage.  NU has a multi-faceted attack, as Kaitlyn Mickle (3.44 k/s, 0.32 b/s) and Delaney Sparks (2.05 k/s, 0.51 b/s) are the top-two hitters, with Aubrie Dees (1.96 k/s, 2.60 d/s, 43 aces) leading the team in aces and Kali Budge (1.31 k/s, 0.96 b/s) topping the team in blocks. Morgan Harter (7.05 a/s, 2.40 d/s) is the top setter, with Ellie Van Berkum (3.79 d/s) the libero. The Eagles topped Tech in three sets earlier in the month and holds a 30-28 series edge.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EVERGREEN STATE: The Owls will close out the home schedule Saturday against Evergreen State, as Tech looks to complete a season sweep of the Geoducks (1-19, 1-15). Evergreen earned their lone win (and lone set wins) of the season in a 5-set victory over Warner Pacific, with the club struggling offensively (6.8 kills per set), with the opposition posting a .291 hitting percentage and averaging three aces per set. The Geoducks have three players averaging over one kill per set – Zofia Formella (1.89 k/s, 0.42 b/s), Sophia Scroggins (1.61 k/s, 1.84 d/s) and Ashley Walker Campbell (1.41 k/s, 0.34 b/s), with setter Jayden Vaimaona (3.16 a/s, 1.32 d/s) directing the offense and Amaialyne Cepeda (2.80 d/s) the top defender. OIT takes a 5-match win streak against Evergreen into the weekend, with the Owls holding a 36-11 all-time series lead.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Seven of the eight spots in the Cascade Conference Tournament are solidified – with only the No. 8 seed still in play. Northwest will clinch the final spot with a win in one of their final four matches – while for Tech, the Lady Owls must win out (against NU, Evergreen, Corban and Bushnell), while NU must lose out (to OIT, Southern, Evergreen and Warner Pacific). EOU holds a one-game lead on Corban atop the division, with LC State sitting two games back and both Bushnell and Walla Walla tied for fourth. The top-four teams earn first-round tournament byes, while the top-two teams earn byes into the semifinals.
 
TOUGH TRIP EAST: The road swing to Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho was a tough one for the Lady Owls, as the two Top-25 foes swept 3-set matches against Tech. The OIT offense was unable to get on track against either team, averaging just 6.6 kills per set while hitting at a combined .065 clip, while the two opponents averaged 3.3 blocks per set.
 
HOW TOUGH IS THE CCC GAUNTLET: With OIT sitting in ninth-place in the Cascade Conference standings, the difficulty of games week in and week out is evident – as no other league in the NAIA has the depth as the CCC. The league currently has eight teams in the NAIA Top-25 poll (six in the Top-25, two in the others receiving votes section), with all eight teams in the Top-26 of the Massey Rating (No. 1 Eastern Oregon, No. 5 Corban, No. 11 Lewis-Clark State, No. 14 College of Idaho, No. 18 Bushnell, No. 20 Northwest, No. 24 Walla Walla, No. 26 Southern Oregon), the top metric for at-large bids for the national tournament. The Lady Owls have played 14 of their 23 matches this season against teams in the national poll – posting an 0-8 record vs. Top-25 team and a 2-4 mark vs. teams receiving votes.
 
RECORD BOOK WATCH: The Lady Owls four players nearing school records or milestones – all potentially in reach during the final homestand. Aleksen Thayer sits 16 blocks away the OIT all-time blocks record of 338, established last year by Kate Hicks; libero Abigail Sorensen is 21 digs away from becoming the 11th player to record 1,000 digs in a career; outside hitter Savanna Sterck sits four kills away from becoming the 11th player with 800 career kills; with opposite hitter Willow Jacobson needing four blocks to become the 17th player with 200 career blocks.
 
AROUND THE CCC: Week 8 in the Cascade Conference saw a major upset at the top of the standings, as Southern Oregon toppled No. 1-ranked Eastern Oregon in La Grande. Both Corban and Bushnell swept Northwest and Evergreen, while College of Idaho earned key home wins over SOU and OIT. The final weekend in October will feature C of I traveling to EOU, with both teams squaring off in Portland vs. Warner Pacific, LC State and Walla Walla hosting Corban and Bushnell, with Northwest and Evergreen at Southern and Tech.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS  (TOP-5): Kills Per Set – Sahara Browning (WWU) 4.51, Juliauna Forgach Aguilar (LCSC) 4.24, Kaitlyn Mickle (NU) 3.45, Keira Vaughn (EOU) 3.38, Taylor Boyce (LCSC) 3.37; Attack Percentage – Kiauna Mack (EOU) .393, Gracie Boeder (CRB) .318, Keira Vaughn (EOU) .310, Makayla Roginski (CRB) .301, Alexa Gugliotta (OIT) .291; Assists Per Set –Teagan Scott (LCSC) 8.70, Lucy Boyd (OIT) 8.00, Shaynee McWilliams (C of I) 7.57, Yaimaris Garcia (WWU) 7.44, Kate Stidham (EOU) 7.22; Digs Per Set – Kaile'a Ontai (CRB) 4.59, Abigail Sorensen (OIT) 4.50, Ella Stosich (LCSC) 4.50, Ellie Van Berkum (NU) 3.72, Kailey Shirley (BU) 3.72; Blocks Per Set – Kiauna Mack (EOU) 1.69, Karissa Lindner (LCSC) 1.39, Alexa Wheeler (CI) 1.25, Soleil Sands (BU) 1.22, Cora Young (CI) 1.20.
 
OIT IN THE CCC TOP-10: As a team, the Lady Owls rank No. 4 in the CCC in digs per set (15.02); No. 6 in blocks per set (2.04) and aces per set (1.79); No. 8 in kills per set (11.50) and assists per set (10.80), ranking No. 9 in hitting percentage (.175). Individually, Abigail Sorensen ranks second in the CCC in digs per set (4.50); Lucy Boyd is No. 2 in assists per set (8.00), Alexa Gugliotta is No. 5 in hitting percentage (.291), with Aleksen Thayer No. 6 in blocks per set (1.16).
 
RECORD BOOK: Six players on the 2025 roster rank among the Top-25 in the OIT career record book – as Kaley Whalen is No. 4 in digs (1,395), Aleksen Thayer is No. 3 in blocks (322), Lucy Boyd is No. 10 in assists (1,445), Abigail Sorensen is No. 11 in digs (979) and No. 12 in aces (86), Savanna Sterck is No. 11 in kills (796), with Willow Jacobson is No. 18 in blocks (196) and No. 22 in kills (582).
 
NEXT WEEK: OIT closes out the regular-season next weekend in the Valley with road dates at Bushnell (Nov. 7) and Corban (Nov. 8).