KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Facing their second nationally-ranked opponent of the weekend, Oregon Tech got eight kills from
Tiffini Goss and
Shalyn Bliss, but Corban University proved to be too much, holding off the Lady Owls, 25-23, 25-18, 27-25, to close out the regular-season at Danny Miles Court.
Despite the loss, OIT (15-13, 9-11 CCC) earns the No. 7-seed into the Cascade Conference Championships and will travel to Eugene on Tuesday for a rematch against Bushnell – a team Tech toppled in five sets on Friday night.
Against Corban (23-6, 16-4), who will earn a bye into next week's quarterfinals in Caldwell, Idaho, Tech had their opportunities, but the veteran Warrior club made key plays late in sets.
The Lady Owls controlled much of Set 1, opening the match on a 5-1 run and building a 21-17 lead, only to see Greta Van Gemert and Kendra Bittle each post two kills in a 6-0 run. OIT got even at 23-23 on a combo-block from
Aleksen Thayer and
Laci Hoylman, but the visitors scored the final two points to secure the set win.
The middle set was even at 16-16 when All-America outside Emma Bischoff used a pair of aces to start a 9-2 run for the Warriors to give Corban the two set lead.
An entertaining third set saw the Lady Owls build a 22-19 lead on a
Kaliko Schilling kill, but after a time out, Corban rattled off five points to earn match point. OIT didn't falter, answering with a pair of
Alexa Gugliotta kills to earn set point at 25-24, but following a Van Gemert kill, the Warriors converted back-to-back points from their middle Eliana Klos, to end the match.
Lucy Boyd finished with 25 assists and
Kaley Whalen had 18 digs in the loss for Tech, while Bischoff, Bittle and Van Gemert all had 10 kills for Corban. The Warriors finished with a slight 40-39 edge in kills, while OIT had eight aces in the loss.
