COMING UP: at Hope International SummerSlam (Fullerton, Calif.) – vs. La Sierra, Friday, 1 p.m.; vs. Simpson, Friday, 5 p.m.; at Hope International, Saturday, 1 p.m.; vs. Life Pacific, Saturday, 5 p.m.
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Each of the Lady Owls four matches in California will be streamed live on the GSAC Sports Network, with live stats via SIDEARM Stats. Links to both video and stats can be accessed at OregonTechOwls.com.
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ABOUT THE OPPONENT – LA SIERRA (1-1) | FIRST ALL-TIME MEETING: The trip to Orange County begins with the first-ever meeting with La Sierra, as the Golden Eagles head into 2026 with a new leader, former Walla Walla head coach, Kiana Krumm. LSU is coming off a 6-13 season and were picked seventh in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference poll. Only two players return from last season's club – outside hitter Julissa Rodriguez (1.92 k/s, 0.58 b/s) and defensive specialist Herluda Casanova (2.00 d/s).
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – SIMPSON (2-4) | OIT LEADS SERIES, 35-1 | LAST MEETING IN 2025: Friday action ends with the first of two meetings this season between the Owls and Simpson, as the Redhawks are coming of their first trip to the NAIA National Tournament. SU picked up wins this week against Westcliff and La Sierra, thanks to the play of hitters Mariah Napoleon (3.63 k/s, 2.40 d/s), Louise Olivera (3.03 k/s) and Tiara Manns (2.46 k/s, 0.25 b/s), with setters Ella Perry (4.50 a/s, 1.17 d/s) and Brooke Sahahira (5.08 k/s, 1.91 d/s) directing the attack. Tech takes a 14-match win streak against SU into the match-up.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – HOPE INTERNATIONAL (0-1) | OIT LEADS SERIES, 2-0 | LAST MEETING IN 2024: Day 2 opens with a date against host Hope International, who finished 9-16 in 2025 and lost their season opener this week in three sets to Westcliff. Returners Olivia Samaniego (1.79 k/s) and Manaia Mamea (2.30 k/s) are the top hitters, with Rita Nua (6.00 a/s, 0.67 d/s) and Alyssa Bishop (4.00 a/s, 1.67 d/s) sharing time at setter. The Owls last met HIU in 2024, a 3-2 OIT win – their second 3-2 win over the Royals , with the first in 2016.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – LIFE PACIFIC (3-0) | OIT LEADS SERIES, 2-0 | LAST MEETING IN 2019: Tourney play ends against a third GSAC foe, as undefeated Life Pacific looks to build off a 16-9 season. The Warriors, picked fifth in the GSAC preseason poll, have two prolific hitters – Kendal Collins (3.20 k/s, 2.45 rpg) and Kate Smith (2.40 k/s, 3.55 d/s) – with setter Jadyn Armstrong (4.61 a/s, 2.02 d/s) orchestrating the attack and Kelsey Gamarko (3.47 d/s) the top defender. The Owls are perfect against LPU, with wins the 2016 and 2019.
OFF TO CALIFORNIA: Tech heads back to the West Coast, competing at the Hope International Summer Slam for the fourth time and first time since 2024. Playing in the Golden State is nothing new for the Owls, as OIT have played in California in 26-of-29 seasons since volleyball returned – including trips to the Summer Slam in 2009 (going 0-4), 2016 (going 2-2) and 2024 (going 4-0). The 2026 tournament has 11 teams in attendance – four Great Southwest Conference clubs, four Cascade Conference teams and teams from Simpson, Northwestern and Crestmont.
EVER CHANGING LEAGUE: Three of the four teams the Lady Owls play in California hail from the Great Southwest Athletic Conference – a league that has had a mass exodus of teams over the last 15 years, followed by a revival. Friday's match vs. La Sierra marks the eighth of nine current GSAC members that OIT has faced before (have not met OUAZ), logging a combined 9-9 record. Tech has previously played 10 former GSAC teams – as Cal Baptist is in the NCAA Division I; Biola, Concordia, Fresno Pacific, Jessup, Menlo, Vanguard and Westmont are in the NCAA Division II; Azusa Pacific is in the NCAA Division III; while San Diego Christian dropped athletics.
RECAP OF HAWAII: The Owls made the 2,500-mile trip to Oahu, competing in the Paradise Volleyball Classic, while traversing Hurricane Lala, which skirted the Hawaiian Islands. Tech struggled in the opening set of their opener vs. Oklahoma Wesleyan, but played the final two sets much closer in the 3-set loss. Saturday, the Owls had eight aces and 11 blocks in a 4-set win over Embry-Riddle and followed by taking Set 1 off of Dakota State, before the South Dakota school closed out a perfect tournament by winning the last three sets. OIT finished the weekend hitting at a .092 clip and recorded 26 blocks, but the three opponents combined had a sizable lead in kills, digs and aces.
SCHILLING NAMED TO ALL-TOURNEY TEAM: Headlining the Lady Owls in Hawaii was
Kaliko Schilling, as the former Division I player returned home and paced the OIT attack. The transfer averaged 2.67 kills and 1.73 digs per set, earning All-Tournament Team honors, leading Tech with a 15-kill performance in Saturday's win over Embry-Riddle.
BLOCKERS HAVE QUALITY TRIP: Solid play at the net throughout the Paradise Volleyball Classic was key for the Lady Owls, as four different athletes recorded 8-or-more blocks on the road swing, with the club averaging 2.36 blocks per set.
Aleksen Thayer led the way, recording a team-high 13 blocks and added 17 kills, with fellow middle blocker Alexa Gugilotta amassing 12 blocks and 13 kills. On the right side,
Tiffini Goss had nine blocks and 18 kills – including a career-high five blocks vs. Dakota State – with
Laci Hoylman finishing with eight blocks and 14 kills.
SPLITTING TIME: The Owls ran a two-setter attack throughout the trip to Hawaii, with junior
Lucy Boyd and sophomore
Taryn Ramsay taking back row turns in the rotation. Ramsay finished the trip with 52 assists and 20 digs, recording a career-best 25 assists in the win over Embry-Riddle, with Boyd posting 36 assists and 12 digs in the three matches.
WHALEN RETURNS: After missing the entire 2025 season due to injury,
Kaley Whalen made a triumphant return to the court, recording 14 digs in each of the Lady Owls matches. The fifth-year senior extended a streak of matches with 14-or-more digs to nine and posted double-digit digs for the 57th time in 59 matches.
AROUND THE CCC: Tech was one of four CCC teams to open the season last week, as Southern Oregon and Bushnell met St. Mary (Neb.) and Simpson – SOU sweeping the matches, with BU splitting the two (defeating Simpson) – while Eastern went to Kentucky and posted a perfect 4-0 record against teams in the preseason national poll. This week, SOU, EOU and College of Idaho join OIT in California for the HIU SummerSlam, LC State and Northwest head to Butte, Mont., for the Big Sky Challenge, while Corban (to Sioux City, Iowa) and Evergreen (to Wichita, Kan.) head to the Central Time Zone for matches.
OIT PICKED SEVENTH IN CCC POLL: After finishing ninth in the regular-season standings in 2025 (climbed to eighth after Walla Walla was forced to vacate wins due to an ineligible player), the Lady Owls open the new season picked seventh in the CCC Preseason Poll, released Aug. 6. Tech and Northwest share the position with 52 voter points, chasing Eastern Oregon (118), the defending national semifinalist, who received nine first-place nods. Corban (106) is second, followed by both Southern Oregon and College of Idaho with 92 points. Just ahead of the Owls are Lewis-Clark State (74) and Bushnell (69), with Walla Walla (28), Evergreen State (25) and Warner Pacific (14). The Top-8 finishers following the 20-game CCC schedule, will advance to the CCC Championships.
NAIA TOP-25 POLL: The NAIA announced the preseason Top-25 poll on Aug. 12, with seven OIT opponents opening 2026 in the national ranking. Eastern Oregon opens the year at No. 2, Corban at No. 5, Oklahoma Wesleyan at No. 12, College of Idaho at No. 18, Bushnell at No. 19, Southern Oregon at No. 22 and Lewis-Clark State at No. 23.
RECORD BOOK: Three current Lady Owls rank among the Top-25 in the OIT career record book.
Aleksen Thayer leads the way, holding the all-time blocks (352) mark, with
Kaley Whalen No. 3 in digs (1,437) and No. 19 in assists (214), while
Lucy Boyd is No. 9 in assists (1,595) and No. 20 in aces (72).
NEXT WEEK: Tech opens the home schedule next Saturday afternoon, hosting Simpson at 2 p.m. – the final non-league match before the 20-game Cascade Conference season.
