COMING UP: at No. 21 Southern Oregon, Tuesday, Friday, 6 p.m.; at Warner Pacific, Saturday, 4 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Tuesday's match at Southern Oregon will be broadcast live on SOU's SIDEARM Video Stream, with Saturday's match at Warner Pacific carried live on YouTube. Live Stats from all Cascade Conference matches will be available through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SOUTHERN OREGON: Tuesday marks a rivalry match-up with OIT's closest foe, as the Lady Owls meet Southern Oregon for the 65th time since 1998. The No. 21-ranked Raiders (4-7, 1-3 CCC) are off to a slow start – thanks to an extremely difficult schedule, featuring 6-of-11 opponents in the NAIA poll – looking to rekindle the magic from 2024, where SOU reached the national semifinals. Six-rotation player Andressa Ribeiro Soares (3.12 k/s, 2.85 d/s) anchors the attack, along with Friley Curtiss (2.45 k/s, 0.62 b/s), Maya Watters (2.69 k/s) and Tessa Zimmerman (1.20 k/s, 0.90 b/s). Returning setter Annie Hite (4.76 a/s, 1.28 d/s) runs the attack, with Tais Vega (1.88 d/s, 17 aces) the libero. OIT is looking to end a 5-match losing streak to SOU, with the Raiders holding a 56-8 series edge.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – WARNER PACIFIC: Tech plays just one opponent on the weekend, as Warner Pacific lost their travel partner when Multnomah shuttered their athletic program. The Knights (0-5, 0-4) have struggled in 2025, winning just three sets – with an offense averaging 7.5 kills per set and allowing three aces a set. WPU will look to JahNay Jardine (2.06 k/s, 1.11 d/s), Tayah-Anne Toa (1.40 k/s) and Nicole Nikiforets (1.14 k/s, 0.71 b/s) to provide the attack, along with setter Audrey Histad (3.22 a/s) and libero Angel Camagay (3.28 d/s). OIT takes a 12-match win streak against the Knights and holds a 42-9 all-time series lead.
 
PLAYING RANKED TEAMS: Tuesday's match at Southern Oregon will be the Owls third-straight against a Top-25 team, with Tech trying to snap a 21-match losing streak to ranked opponents. Over the last 10 years, OIT is a combined 5-63 against ranked teams, including three wins vs. Eastern Oregon and single wins vs. Corban and SOU.
 
THE BIG-10 OF NAIA VOLLEYBALL: At the Division I level, the Big 10 has recently been the top volleyball conference in the NCAA. In the NAIA, the Cascade Conference holds that name – with two teams in the Top-5 (Eastern Oregon and Corban), two teams in the Top-25 (College of Idaho and Southern Oregon), with four others receiving votes (OIT, Bushnell, LC State and Northwest) – with all eight schools qualifying for the NAIA Tournament within the last 10 years.
 
SO CLOSE VS. TOP TEAMS: Over the weekend, the chance for an upset was there for the Lady Owls, but Tech was unable to close out tight matches against College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon. Friday vs. C of I, OIT had the lead in all three sets at 19 points, but were unable to hang on, while a night later, the Owls forced Set 5 with a big rally and led 7-6 in the clinching set, but EOU used a big push to claim the win. Tech was stellar defensively, combining for 25 blocks and holding both opponents under to a hitting percentage under .185.
 
30-POINT SETS: Tech lost Set 2 to C of I, 31-29 – the 14th time since college volleyball moved to 25-point rally scoring (in 2008) that the Owls saw a winning set score surpass 30 points. OIT has had a score reach 30 points five times, 31 points on eight occasions and 32 points once – vs. Viterbo at the 2021 NAIA Tournament.
 
THAYER HAS BIG BLOCKING WEEKEND: The Owls got huge production from middle blocker Aleksen Thayer, who had her best defensive weekend of the 2025 season. The junior opened the weekend with seven blocks vs. C of I, followed by nine kills and nine blocks vs. top-ranked EOU. The two matches pushed Thayer's career total of matches with 7-or-more blocks to nine.
 
BOYD DOUBLES UP: Setter Lucy Boyd recorded double-doubles in both weekend matches – the eighth and ninth double-doubles of her career. Boyd had 31 assists and 11 digs vs. C of I, tying a career-high with five blocks, adding 25 assists and 13 digs vs. EOU.
 
SENIORS LEAD ATTACK: Senior pins Savanna Sterck and Willow Jacobson led the Owls offense, each recording 21 kills in the two matches. Sterck paced Tech with 12 kills vs. Eastern, with Jacobson recording double-digit kills in both matches – moving eight kills away from the 500 mark for her career.
 
FRESHMEN STEP UP: Four freshmen were key throughout the weekend for the Lady Owls against the Top-10 opponents. Steffini Goss filled an outside hitter role, setting career-highs with six kills vs. C of I, followed by nine kills vs. EOU, while twin sister Tiffini Goss had career-highs with four kills and four blocks vs. Eastern. Middle blocker Alexa Gugliotta combined for seven kills and seven blocks in the two matches, while setter Taryn Ramsay got extended action vs. EOU, recording a career-best 18 assists.
 
AROUND THE CCC: Three teams remain unbeaten in conference play – as Eastern Oregon, Corban and LC State each sit with 4-0 records, while three teams are 0-4 (OIT, Evergreen, Warner Pacific). Those marks will be altered this week, as Corban and Bushnell travel to EOU and College of Idaho, LC State and Walla Walla head to Evergreen and Northwest, with OIT and Southern meeting before traveling to Warner Pacific.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS  (TOP-5): Kills Per Set – Sahara Browning (WWU) 5.24, Juliauna Forgach Aguilar (LCSC) 4.85, Makayla Roginksi (CRB) 3.70, Hailey Heider (BU) 3.31, Kaitlyn Mickle (NU) 3.31; Attack Percentage –Gracie Boeder (CRB) .372, Makayla Roginski (CRB) .368, Chloe Kennedy (NU) .365, Kiauna Mack (EOU) .331, Alexa Gugliotta (OIT) .321; Assists Per Set – Lucy Boyd (OIT) 9.07, Teagan Scott (LCSC) 8.64, Kate Stidham (EOU) 7.38, Yaimaris Garcia (WWU) 7.33, Abby Guindy (CRB) 6.84; Digs Per Set –Abigail Sorensen (OIT) 4.53, Kaile'a Ontai (CRB) 4.47, Kailey Shirley (BU) 4.46, Ella Stosich (LCSC) 3.92, Ellie Van Berkum (NU) 3.88; Blocks Per Set – Kiauna Mack (EOU) 1.90, Karissa Lindner (LCSC) 1.60, Soleil Sands (BU) 1.33, Alexa Wheeler (C of I) 1.31, Aleksen Thayer (OIT) 1.20.
 
OIT IN THE CCC TOP-10: As a team, Tech ranks No. 3 in the Cascade Conference in digs per set (15.32), No. 4 in attack percentage (.208) and aces per set (2.05), No. 5 in kills per set (12.18) and assists per set (11.35), ranking No. 6 in blocks per set (2.02). Individually, Abigail Sorensen leads the CCC in digs per set (4.53) and Lucy Boyd leads the CCC in assists per set (9.07), with Alexa Gugliotta No. 5 in attack percentage (.321) and Aleksen Thayer No. 5 in blocks per set (1.20).
 
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. 7 in blocks (275), Lucy Boyd is No. 11 in assists (1,154), Savanna Sterck is No. 12 in kills (687), Abigail Sorensen is No. 13 in digs (791) and No. 16 in aces (77), with Willow Jacobson is No. 19 in blocks (161) and just outside the Top-25 in kills (492).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Owls return home next weekend for key conference matches against nationally-ranked foes from Corban (Sept. 26) and Bushnell (Sept. 27).