COMING UP: Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank (first-round) - at No. 25 Bushnell, Tuesday, 6 p.m.; with win – final site at College of Idaho, Friday-Saturday.
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Tuesday's match at Bushnell will feature Live Stats through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal and a live stream on the Beacons Sports Network via YouTube. Links to both stats and video can be accessed at OregonTechOwls.com. If Tech advances to the tournament Final Site, it will be streamed (PPV) on the Cascade Sports Network.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – BUSHNELL: Just four days removed from a 5-set victory over Bushnell, the Owls and Beacons (17-10) will meet again to determine a spot in the CCC quarterfinals. Bushnell looks to rebound after losses to Tech and Southern Oregon, as the team averages 12.1 kills, 2.1 aces and 2.3 blocks per set – with the club falling short of all three benchmarks during their recent road swing. The talented duo of Amyah Semau (2.86 k/s, 2.34 d/s) and Taya Blankenship (2.54 k/s, 1.48 d/s) key the attack, along with one of the top middles in the CCC in Soleil Sands (1.67 k/s, 1.24 b/s). Setters Avery McAllister (4.71 k/s, 1.42 d/s) and Emma Fa'alogo (4.86 a/s, 2.33 d/s) share duties in the two-setter rotation, with Chloe Farr (3.63 d/s) the libero. It is the 44th all-time meeting, with the Owls win on Friday giving the club a 22-21 all-time series lead.
VS. BUSHNELL IN POSTSEASON: The two teams have met once in the playoffs, with Bushnell defeating the Lady Owls 27-25, 31-29, 25-23 in the 2023 first-round. Three current players saw action in that match – OIT's
Kaley Whalen and
Aleksen Thayer, along with Bushnell's Amyah Semau.
HISTORY IN THE POSTSEASON: The Lady Owls have clinched their fifth postseason berth in the last seven seasons and their 18th all-time trip to the CCC Championships. OIT is a combined 10-21 in the CCC event, reaching the title match in 2004, while advancing to the semifinals on nine occasions, the last in 2021. Tech has advanced to two NAIA National Tournaments, winning an Opening Round match in 2021 vs. Westmont, before going 0-2 in Sioux City, Iowa, at the tournament final site, while in 2024, Tech dropped a 4-set match at Montana Western in the Opening Round.
A STATEMENT WIN: The gauntlet of a league schedule that the Lady Owls play is grueling – 12 matches against Top-25 opponents. After taking dropping tight five-set matches to No. 12 LC State and No. 6 Corban, Tech finally got on the right side of a lengthy match, outlasting No. 25-ranked Bushnell on Friday on Senior Night. OIT finished with a 63-60 edge in kills against a potent Beacons attack, allowed just one ace, while finishing with 10.5 blocks.
ON THE ATTACK: The Lady Owls got key production from sophomore opposite
Tiffini Goss and junior outside
Shalyn Bliss during the weekend, leading Tech's offensive attack. Goss extended a string of matches with 8-or-more kills to five, posting a career-best 17 kills in the win over Bushnell (and tying a career-high with six blocks), while adding eight kills vs. Corban. Bliss came off the bench late in Set 1 vs. Bushnell and instantly made an impact, tying a career-high with 13 kills and joining Goss with eight kills vs. Corban.
A WINNING SEASON: Tech has clinched a winning season with their 15-13 mark heading into the postseason – the sixth winning record in the last seven years.
SURVEYING THE FIELD / WHAT'S AT STAKE: A wild final day of the regular-season set the pairings for the CCC Tournament – as a Southern Oregon win over Bushnell and an Eastern Oregon win over LC State gave the Raiders the final first-round bye and the No. 4 seed. LC claimed a tiebreak over Bushnell for the No. 5 seed and will host Walla Walla on Tuesday, while College of Idaho's sweep of LC and Walla Walla gave the Yotes their first league crown in 13 years – and the right to host the 6-team tournament final site, beginning Friday. No. 5-ranked C of I (25-2) is led by middle blocker Alexa Wheeler (2.16 k/s, 1.16 b/s) and setter Shaynee McWilliams (9.06 a/s), while No. 2-ranked EOU (29-2) is led by talented outside Keira Vaughn (3.90 k/s, 0.45 b/s). No. 6-ranked Corban (23-6) earned the No. 3 seed, with the Warriors led by All-America outside Emma Bischoff (3.43 k/s, 2.60 d/s), while No. 21-ranked Southern Oregon (21-9) is paced by outside Friley Curtiss (2.68 k/s). The first-round pairing between LC State (18-8) and Walla Walla (5-17) feature two top hitters in the Warriors Taylor Boyce (3.36 k/s) and the Wolves Sahara Browning (4.22 k/s). C of I has claimed the CCC's first automatic bid to the NAIA Championships, with the tournament champ earning the league's second bid.
LEAGUE LEADERS: Two Lady Owls lead the CCC in statistical categories – as
Aleksen Thayer ranks No. 1 in blocks per set (1.47), ranking No. 2 in the NAIA, while
Kaley Whalen sits at No. 1 in digs per set (4.89).
FINAL STANDINGS: Eastern Oregon 18-2, 29-2; College of Idaho 18-2, 25-2; Corban 16-4, 23-6; Southern Oregon 13-7, 21-9; Lewis-Clark State 12-8, 18-8; Bushnell 12-8, 17-10; Oregon Tech 9-11, 15-13; Walla Walla 5-15, 5-17; Northwest 5-15, 9-20; Evergreen State 2-18, 3-21; Warner Pacific 0-20, 0-21.
RECORD BOOK: Seven current Lady Owls rank among the Top-25 in the OIT career record book.
Aleksen Thayer holds the all-time blocks (490) mark and is No. 23 in kills (583), with
Kaley Whalen No. 1 in digs (1,898), No. 13 in aces (88) and No. 18 in assists (275).
Lucy Boyd is No. 6 in assists (1,729) and No. 19 in aces (77),
Taryn Ramsay is No. 14 in assists (925),
Sumerlyn Spencer is No. 17 in aces (77),
Alison Miller is No. 21 in aces (73), with
Alexa Gugliotta No. 24 in blocks (147). Thayer also sits at No. 2 on the single-season blocks list with 152 on the year, Whalen at No. 7 in digs (504) and Ramsay No. 12 in assists (819).
NEXT WEEK: If the Lady Owls win the entire CCC Tournament and claim a bid to the NAIA Championships, the Opening Round pairings would be announced next Monday.
