COMING UP: at No. 11 Lewis-Clark State, Friday, 6 p.m.; at Walla Walla, Saturday, 8 p.m.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Both weekend matches will feature Live Stats through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal and a live stream on the Cascade Sports Network. Links to both stats and video can be accessed at OregonTechOwls.com. Note – Saturday's match vs. Walla Walla will be played at Walla Walla Community College, as WWU is hosting a high school tournament.
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ABOUT THE OPPONENT – LEWIS-CLARK STATE (12-4, 6-4) | LCSC LEADS SERIES, 12-11 | LAST MEETING IN 2026 (LCSC 3, OIT 2): The Lady Owls open up a 4-game road trip in Lewiston, Idaho, meeting No. 11-ranked Lewis-Clark State. The Warriors completed the gauntlet of CCC games, going 1-3 against other four top clubs (EOU, C of I, Corban, Bushnell), with the success of the team hinging on a stellar attack averaging 13.6 kills per set at a .253 hitting percentage. LC features two of the top-five hitters in the league – Taylor Boyce (3.35 k/s, 0.51 b/s) and Mikale Roy (3.05 k/s), with Hadyn Smith (2.69 k/s, 0.69 b/s) and Karissa Lindner (1.13 k/s, 0.96 b/s) key at the net. Teagan Scott (5.73 a/s, 1.96 d/s) is one of three setters in the Warrior rotation, with Ella Stosich (3.73 d/s, 21 aces) the libero. LC topped OIT in five sets during the first weekend of the league season.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – WALLA WALLA (3-9, 3-7) | OIT LEADS SERIES, 25-0 | LAST MEETING IN 2026 (OIT 3, WWU 1):  Tech closes out the first half of the trip late Saturday night against Walla Walla – as the Wolves will play their fourth home match of the season at a neutral site. WWU has played top teams tough – taking both Southern Oregon and Bushnell to five sets – thanks to the play of All-America outside hitter Sahara Browning (3.93 k/s, 2.49 d/s, 0.58 b/s). Three others – Femke Eising (2.31 k/s, 0.32 b/s), Kianna Stepper (1.44 k/s, 1.00 b/s) and Alina Shawgo (1.36 k/s, 0.43 b/s) provide options for top setter Olivia Cheek (5.50 a/s, 1.89 d/s). The Owls earned a four-set win over WWU in Klamath to start league play – their 25th-straight win over the Wolves (WWU swept Tech last year, but had to forfeit the wins due to usage of an ineligible player).
 
AT THE MIDWAY POINT: The first half of the Cascade Conference schedule was completed last week, with Eastern Oregon posting a perfect 10-0 record and are the lone unbeaten team remaining the NAIA. College of Idaho, who had a 15-match win streak snapped last week by EOU, is a game back, while Corban and Bushnell are tied for third, three games out the lead. Tech finished the first half at 4-6 – alone in seventh-place, with the Top-8 teams in the league earning a playoff spot. The Lady Owls will play six of their final 10 matches on the road, including four-straight, beginning Friday night at LC State.
 
HOME SWEEP: The Lady Owls returned to the win column last weekend, picking up back-to-back home victories over Evergreen and Northwest. Playing in front of the biggest crowd of the season, Tech held Evergreen to a negative hitting percentage (-.071), the lowest mark of the season, while adding nine blocks in the 3-set win. One night later, the Owls posted their highest kill total (63), including 21 kills in Set 2 alone, as the squad topped NU in four sets. OIT improved to 5-2 at Danny Miles Court this season.
 
MIDDLES LEAD THE WAY: The blocker tandem of Aleksen Thayer and Alexa Gugliotta led the Owls in the victories against Evergreen and Northwest, each providing a big boost at the net. Thayer had 16 kills on 36 swings, with just three attack errors (.361 percentage), posting nine kills vs. Evergreen and seven kills vs. Northwest. Thayer continues to lead the NAIA in blocks per set (1.50), becoming the first OIT player to post three seasons of 100-or-more blocks and is 29 blocks from cracking the CCC all-time Top-10 blocks list. Gugliotta combined for 15 kills and 10 blocks in the two matches, upping her season blocks average to 0.93, ranking No. 12 in the CCC.
 
AT THE PINS: Tech attacked at the outside and opposite pins, as transfers Kaliko Schilling and Larryn-Alexis Joseph-Rodrigues paced the way. Schilling had 22 kills in the two matches, including a game-high 14 kills against Northwest, while Joseph-Rodrigues reached double-digits in kills for the first time, recording 12 against NU.
 
RAMSAY HAS QUALITY WEEKEND: Taryn Ramsay continued solid play from the setter role, recording consecutive quality matches in the Owls two victories. The sophomore had five kills, 30 assists and three digs vs. Evergreen, upping the numbers to six kills, a career-high 52 assists and nine digs against Northwest. Ramsay currently ranks second in the CCC, averaging 9.04 assists per set.
 
WHALEN IN STRIKING DISTANCE: Kaley Whalen continued her outstanding play, combining for 45 digs in the two weekend wins, without recording a receiving error. The fifth-year senior, who leads the CCC with a 5.15 digs per set average, moved into the No. 2 spot on OIT's all-time digs list – now 95 digs away from the all-time record. Whalen also cracked the CCC's all-time Top-10 list, with her 1,744 digs ranking No. 9 in league history – with the potential to climb to No. 6 by season's end.
 
SERVICE RUNS: The Lady Owls got a big boost from their defensive specialists at the service line, as Alison Miller, Brooklynn Thesenvitz and Emma Kness each had big weekends. Miller was the catalyst against Northwest, recording service runs of 11 and eight points, while logging a season-high 18 digs. Thesenvitz had five aces in the win over Northwest and provided 11 digs, with Kness recording three aces against Evergreen and finished the weekend with 19 total digs.
 
STANDINGS: Eastern Oregon 10-0, 21-0; College of Idaho 9-1, 16-1; Corban 7-3, 14-5; Bushnell 7-3, 12-5; Lewis-Clark State 6-4, 12-4; Southern Oregon 6-4, 14-6; Oregon Tech 4-6, 10-8; Walla Walla 3-7, 3-9; Northwest 2-8, 6-13, Evergreen State 1-9, 2-12, Warner Pacific 0-10, 0-11.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: Kills/Set – Sahara Browning (WWU) 3.93, Keira Vaughn (EOU) 3.84, Emma Bischoff (CRB) 3.55, Taylor Boyce (LC) 3.35, Mikale Roy (LC) 3.06. Assists/Set – Shayne McWilliams (CI) 9.33, Taryn Ramsay (OIT) 9.02, Katelyn Bogetti (NU) 7.94, Kate Stidham (EOU) 6.59, Teagan Scott (LC) 5.93. Digs/Set – Kaley Whalen (OIT) 5.15, Dani Street (CRB) 4.27, Chloe Farr (BU) 3.80, Ella Stosich (LC) 3.73, Maelle Garon (SOU) 3.66. Blocks/Set – Aleksen Thayer (OIT) 1.50, Soleil Sands (BU) 1.32, Julie Whitley (EOU) 1.22, Gracee Robertson (CRB) 1.16, Alexa Wheeler (CI) 1.12.
 
RECORD BOOK: Four current Lady Owls rank among the Top-25 in the OIT career record book. Aleksen Thayer leads the way, holding the all-time blocks (440) mark, with Kaley Whalen No. 2 in digs (1,744), No. 13 in aces (90) and No. 18 in assists (256), while Lucy Boyd is No. 9 in assists (1,595) and No. 21 in aces (72) and Taryn Ramsay is No. 16 in assists (721). Two players sit just outside the Top- 25 as Sumerlyn Spencer is set to crack the list in aces (66) and Alexa Gugliotta in blocks (131). Thayer also sits at No. 12 on the single-season blocks list with 102 on the year.
 
NEXT WEEK: The second half of the 4-game road swing starts with a midweek match at Southern Oregon (Oct. 13) and weekend date at Warner Pacific (Oct. 17).