COMING UP: vs. No. 1 Eastern Oregon, Friday, 6 p.m.; vs. No. 8 College of Idaho, Saturday, 4 p.m.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Both matches this week will feature Live Stats through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal and a live stream on the Cascade Sports Network with Mike Safford on the call. Links to both stats and video can be accessed at OregonTechOwls.com.  
 
NOTE FOR FANS: Saturday's match vs. College of Idaho will be followed by a men's basketball exhibition game vs. the Seattle Mountaineers. Volleyball fans are asked to leave Danny Miles Court at the conclusion of the match – but their admission hand stamp from the volleyball match good for a free general admission ticket to the basketball game.
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ABOUT THE OPPONENT – EASTERN OREGON (24-1, 13-1) | EOU LEADS SERIES, 33-26 | LAST MEETING IN 2026 (EOU 3, OIT 0): The weekend homestand starts against the top team in the NAIA, as Eastern Oregon brings their No. 1 ranking to the Basin. The Mountaineers opened the season on a 23-match win streak before a loss last Friday to Corban. EOU has a potent attack, leading the NAIA in attack percentage (.307) and ranking second in kills per set (13.6), thanks to the play of hitters Keira Vaughn (3.93 k/s, 0.46 b/s), Brooke Womack (2.88 k/s, 2.96 d/s), Akyiah Kaino (2.43 k/s, 0.66 b/s) and Jule Whitley (1.84 k/s, 1.23 b/s). Kate Stidham (6.86 a/s, 1.99 d/s) is one of two setters used by the Mounties, with Jaycee Villastrigo (3.49 d/s, 32 aces) the libero. OIT is searching for their first win over EOU since 2021.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – COLLEGE OF IDAHO (20-1, 13-1) | C OF I LEADS SERIES, 52-13 | LAST MEETING IN 2026 (C OF I 3, OIT 0): Saturday night, Tech hosts a College of Idaho team that is off to their best 21-match start in program history and sits tied atop the Cascade Conference standings. The Yotes have an efficient attack (.236), averaging 12.7 kills, 2.1 aces and 2.2 blocks per set, with the league's leading setter, Shaynee McWilliams (9.03 a/s, 2.56 d/s) running the show. A balanced offense is led by Jessica Stires (2.46 k/s, 0.66 d/s), Abigail Flerchinger (2.31 k/s, 0.75 b/s), Alexa Wheeler (2.11 k/s, 1.11 b/s) and Cierra Bohrn (1.97 k/s, 0.76 b/s), with Avery Lewis (3.68 d/s, 29 aces) the libero. OIT looks to snap a 7-match losing streak to C of I, dating back to 2022.
 
AGAINST THE TOP-25: The Owls welcome in a pair of Top-10 opponents this weekend, the ninth and tenth Top-25 foes on the season. OIT is searching for an elusive win against a ranked team, having dropped 10-in-a-row, dating back to an October 2025 home victory over No. 21-ranked Northwest. If EOU remains No. 1 in the Top-25 poll set to be released this week, it would mark the 12th time Tech has met a top-ranked foe, posting a 1-10 all-time record (defeating No. 1-ranked Fresno Pacific in 2011).
 
ARC RATING: The first NAIA West ARC rating was released Oct. 8, with the Lady Owls sitting at No. 14 – one of seven CCC teams in the 14-team rating. Six of the Top-10 teams hail from the CCC (No. 1 Eastern Oregon, No. 2 College of Idaho, No. 4 Corban, No. 5 LC State, No. 7 Southern Oregon, No. 9 Bushnell), with the league having five teams in the Top-25 poll – EOU (No. 1), Corban (No. 5), C of I (No. 8), LCSC (No. 20), SOU (No. 22). The second ARC is expected to be released this Wednesday.
 
HIGHS AND LOWS OF LONG TRIP (PART 2): A four-match road trip, spanning two weeks, finally came to a close for the Lady Owls, with Tech finished the grind with a 2-2 mark. Last Tuesday, the club traveled to No. 22-ranked Southern Oregon and had one of their better sets of the season, dominating the Raiders, 25-14 – hitting at a 33% clip and holding SOU to a negative attack percentage. Unfortunately, the two teams completely flipped sides in the other three sets – SOU hitting at the high percentage and holding the Owls offense in check to claim the victory. Four days later, OIT dominated Warner Pacific, handing the Knights their 15th-straight loss on the strength of a season-high 15 aces – the 13th time the Owls have posted 15-or-more aces in a match. Emma Kness, Alison Miller, Leilani Kench and Kaley Whalen all recorded three aces in the road victory.
 
GOSS NEAR PERFECT: Sophomore Steffini Goss paced the Lady Owls at Warner Pacific, recording nine kills on 11 swings with no attack errors – the third time this season the outside hitter has recorded a hitting percentage of 45% or better. Goss added a team-best 10 kills at Southern Oregon, with the weekend numbers pushing her matches with 9-or-more kills to seven and upping her kills per set average to 2.47.
 
BIG BLOCK: Aleksen Thayer continued her big season at the net, recording nine blocks in Tuesday's match at Southern Oregon – the 11th time in her OIT career the middle has recorded 8-or-more blocks in a contest. The senior leads the CCC and ranks No. 2 in the NAIA in blocks per set (1.46), with Thayer pushing her career kills total to 537 – 15 kills from cracking the OIT career Top-25.
 
RECORD IN REACH: Libero Kaley Whalen became the second OIT player to surpass 1,800 digs in a career, recording 12 against Warner Pacific to push her career total to 1,801. The CCC's leader in digs per set (4.90) sits 38 digs away from breaking the Lady Owls all-time mark, established 15 years ago by Krystie Vea. Whalen became the ninth player in CCC history to record over 1,800 digs in a career.
 
AROUND THE CCC: Corban pulled off the biggest win in the CCC this season, ending Eastern Oregon's 23-match win streak with a 4-set stunner in La Grande. However, the Warriors fell the next night at College of Idaho, as the Yotes swept the season series with both Corban and Bushnell. Northwest kept their postseason hopes alive with a home win over Walla Walla. This week, LC State hosts Walla Walla before both schools welcome Warner Pacific, Evergreen and Northwest travel to Corban and Bushnell, with C of I and EOU off to OIT and Southern Oregon.
 
STANDINGS: Eastern Oregon 13-1, 24-1; College of Idaho 13-1, 20-1; Lewis-Clark State 10-4, 16-4; Corban 10-4, 17-6; Southern Oregon 9-5, 17-7; Bushnell 8-6, 13-8; Oregon Tech 6-8, 12-10; Walla Walla 4-10, 4-12; Northwest 3-11, 7-16; Evergreen State 1-13, 2-16; Warner Pacific 0-14, 0-15.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: Kills/Set – Sahara Browning (WWU) 4.17, Keira Vaughn (EOU) 3.93, Emma Bischoff (CRB) 3.48, Taylor Boyce (LC) 3.41, Amyah Semau (BU) 2.93. Assists/Set – Shayne McWilliams (CI) 9.03, Taryn Ramsay (OIT) 8.87, Katelyn Bogetti (NU) 7.74, Kate Stidham (EOU) 6.86, Teagan Scott (LC) 6.01. Digs/Set – Kaley Whalen (OIT) 4.90, Dani Street (CRB) 4.16, Avery Lewis (CI) 3.68, Chloe Farr (BU) 3.66, Maelle Garon (SOU) 3.59. Blocks/Set – Aleksen Thayer (OIT) 1.46, Soleil Sands (BU) 1.26, Julie Whitley (EOU) 1.23, Alexa Wheeler (CI) 1.11, Gracee Robertson (CRB) 1.10.
 
RECORD BOOK: Seven current Lady Owls rank among the Top-25 in the OIT career record book. Aleksen Thayer leads the way, holding the all-time blocks (459) mark, with Kaley Whalen No. 2 in digs (1,801), No. 10 in aces (95) and No. 18 in assists (263), while Lucy Boyd is No. 9 in assists (1,595) and No. 21 in aces (72). Taryn Ramsay is No. 15 in assists (842), Sumerlyn Spencer is No. 23 in aces (70), Alison Miller is No. 25 in aces (68), with Alexa Gugliotta No. 25 in blocks (137). Thayer also sits at No. 7 on the single-season blocks list with 121 on the year.
 
NEXT WEEK: The Lady Owls hit the road for the final time during the regular-season, making the trip to Washington to meet Northwest (Oct. 30) and Evergreen State (Oct. 31).