COMING UP: at Raider Invitational (Ashland, Ore.) – Friday vs. Arizona Christian, 9 a.m.; Friday vs. Park Gilbert, 3 p.m.; Saturday vs. Simpson, 2 p.m.
COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
GAMEDAY INFORMATION: All three matches from Lithia Motors Pavilion will be streamed on
RaiderVision ($5.00 PPV per day), with Live Stats from the tournament available through OIT's
SIDEARM Stats Portal. For fans attending games in Ashland, tickets for the event are digital and must be purchased online through
SOU's Ticket Portal.
SEASON OPENERS: Since volleyball returned to OIT in 1998, the Lady Owls are 16-11 in regular-season openers, with the team playing their first game on a neutral court for the 18th time. During the previous 27 seasons, Tech opened the year at home just twice – in 2001 vs. Warner Pacific and 2021 vs. Simpson.
MAKING THE TRIP OVER THE HILL: For the ninth time, Tech will compete in a preseason tournament hosted by Southern Oregon – traveling to Ashland for the Raider Invitational. It is the third time in the past four years that the Lady Owls will start the year in the Rogue Valley, competing in an event hosted by SOU in 2022 and 2023. In 2019, OIT played in two separate events hosted by the Raiders, while also competing in Ashland during the 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012 seasons. Overall, the Owls are a combined 9-16 in tournament play.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – ARIZONA CHRISITIAN: The 2025 season opens up with the first-ever meeting between OIT and Arizona Christian, as the Firestorm (15-17 in 2024) look to rebound from a 3-11 league mark in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference. ACU must replace their top two hitters and libero from last season's squad, but return a pair of opposite hitters in Madison Van Wie (1.90 k/s, 0.49 b/s) and Haley Tedrow (1.65 k/s, 0.55 b/s), outside hitter Ryan Coughlin (1.81 k/s, 1.46 d/s) and setter Becca Thomson (3.52 a/s, 1.57 d/s, 48 aces). The Firestorm were picked to finish seventh in the GSAC preseason poll.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – PARK GILBERT: Game 2 of opening day has the Lady Owls meeting a second GSAC team, as Park Gilbert makes the trek from Arizona to the Rogue Valley. The Buccaneers (6-13) are coming off a tough 2024 season – winning just one league game and allowing 2.4 aces per set – and having to replace their top setter and libero. Park will turn to opposite hitter Laila Lee (2.55 k/s) to anchor their attack, along with outside hitters Porche Bauer (1.56 k/s) and Keep Williams (1.45 k/s). The two teams met for the first time in 2022, with the Bucs earning a 4-set win over Tech – also at the Raider Invite.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SIMPSON: Day 2 of the tournament has the Owls squaring off against regional rival, Simpson, as the Redhawks (17-14) are coming off a quality season – advancing to the title game of the California Pacific Conference. Simpson returns their top two hitters from last season, All-Cal Pac outside hitters Tiara Manns (2.48 k/s, 1.32 d/s) and Mariah Napoleon (2.77 k/s, 1.63 d/s), along with setter Abigail Shackleford (3.89 a/s, 1.96 d/s, 44 aces). The two teams did not meet the past two seasons, with Tech holding a 34-1 all-time series lead, including wins in 13-straight match-ups.
EVER CHANGING LEAGUES: For years, OIT volleyball has played teams from the Cal Pac and the GSAC, but both leagues do not resemble the lineup they had in the past. The Cal Pac has dwindled down to three volleyball playing schools (Simpson, Pacific Union and Westcliff) – as Providence Christian dropped athletics, UC Merced moved to the NCAA and La Sierra joining the GSAC, with the league losing their automatic bid to the NAIA Championships. For the GSAC (once known as the Golden State Athletic Conference), only two schools (Hope International and The Master's) remain from the original group.
LADY OWLS PICKED SEVENTH: A year after a quarterfinal appearance at the CCC Championships and an at-large bid to the NAIA Opening Round, OIT was picked seventh in the 11-team CCC Preseason Coaches' Poll, released on Aug. 8. The Owls were just six voter points behind fifth-place Bushnell and five points behind sixth-place LC State. Corban, who returns a pair of All-CCC picks, was the favorite, followed by Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon – with the Raiders losing all seven starters from their 2024 team that reached the NAIA semifinals. College of Idaho was picked fourth, while Walla Walla, Northwest, Evergreen State and Warner Pacific rounded out the poll. Of note – the CCC has 11 teams this season, as Multnomah dropped athletics following the 2024-25 season.
PRESEASON POLL: The Lady Owls earned 17 voter points from the 19 national raters in the 2025 NAIA Volleyball preseason poll – one of seven CCC teams in the rating. It marks the second time in program history that Tech finds themselves in the preseason poll – as the 2022 club opened the year ranked No. 19. Corban opens at No. 3, Eastern Oregon at No. 5, Southern Oregon at No. 6, College of Idaho at No. 18, with OIT, Bushnell and LC State all receiving votes.
ABOUT THE LADY OWLS: Click Here for the 2025 OIT Season Preview.
RECORD BOOK: Seven 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. 14 in blocks (229),
Lucy Boyd is No. 15 in assists (789),
Savanna Sterck is No. 19 in kills (609),
Abigail Sorensen is No. 22 in digs (610) and
Willow Jacobson is No. 24 in blocks (143).
SCHEDULE CHANGE: Two changes were made to the original volleyball schedule for the 2025 season – as the Aug. 30 match-up vs. Cal Poly Humboldt is now a scrimmage and will be held in Klamath Falls, while the Oct. 10 match-up vs. Lewis-Clark State will begin at 7 p.m. (instead of 6 p.m.)
NEXT WEEK: Tech will travel to Milligan, Tenn., competing in the Milligan Mountain Madness tournament, joining seven other teams in the two-day event.
