COMING UP: vs. Walla Walla, Friday, 2 p.m.; vs. No. 23 Lewis-Clark State, Saturday, 5 p.m.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Both weekend matches will be streamed live on the Cascade Sports Network, powered by Hudl, with Mike Safford on the call. Live Stats will be available through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal. Links to both video and stats can be accessed at OregonTechOwls.com.  
.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – WALLA WALLA (0-1) | OIT LEADS SERIES, 24-0 | LAST MEETING IN 2025 (WWU 3, OIT 0, FORFEIT): Tech opens the league schedule on Friday, hosting a Walla Walla team that on the court had their best season in program history – qualifying for the NAIA Championships – before having to vacate every win due to the usage of an ineligible player. Five starters from that team are gone, but All-America outside hitter Sahara Browning (4.33 k/s, 3.33 d/s) is back – a 3-time All-CCC pick, as is setter Olivia Cheek (7.00 a/s, 2.33 d/s). WWU has turned to Femke Eising (3.00 k/s) and Kienna Stepper (2.00 k/s, 0.67 b/s) at the net, with Zoe Cessna (3.67 d/s) handling back-row duties. Though the Wolves earned straight-set wins over OIT in both meetings in 2025, the Owls claimed forfeit wins following the season and remain a perfect 24-0 all-time against WWU.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – LEWIS-CLARK STATE (6-0) | SERIES TIED, 11-11 | LAST MEETING IN 2025 (LCSC 3, OIT 1): The weekend closes with the Lady Owls second Top-25 match-up of the season, as No. 23-ranked LC State makes the long trip to Klamath. The Warriors are coming off a tremendous 2025 season, advancing to the final site of the NAIA Championships, with the returning trio of outside hitter Taylor Boyce (3.00 k/s, 0.58 b/s), setter Teagan Scott (5.70 a/s, 1.80 d/s) and libero Ella Stosich (4.10 d/s) leading the team. Newcomers Hadyn Smith (3.11 k/s, 0.72 b/s) and Mikale Roy (3.50 k/s, 0.56 d/s) have been key, as LC averages 14.14 kills a set and hits at an impressive .263 percentage. The Warriors are perfect through six matches, including an upset win over Providence.
 
CONFERENCE SEASON IS HERE: Preseason work for all 11 teams in the Cascade Conference is over, with the 20-game double round-robin schedule awaiting the league. The Top-8 finishers in the final CCC standings will advance to the CCC Championship, with a bid to the NAIA Tournament on the line.
 
TECH EXTENDS WIN STREAK: The Lady Owls opened their 11-match home schedule with a victory, outlasting Simpson in four sets – withstanding 29 attack errors in the win. OIT improved to 6-2 on the season thanks to 18 blocks – taking over the NAIA's lead in blocks per set (3.10) while topping Simpson for the 15th-straight time.
 
THAYER SETS BLOCKS MARK, LEADS NAIA IN BLOCKS: The all-time leader in blocks continues to distance herself from the competition, as Aleksen Thayer set a new OIT record in the win over Simpson. The blocker had 12 blocks in the victory, becoming the first Lady Owl to have four career matches with 10-or-more blocks. Thayer also becomes the first player with multiple games with 12-or-more blocks and sits four blocks from reaching the 400-block mark for her career. She currently leads the NAIA in blocks per set (1.90).
 
SCHILLING CONTINUES RUN: Tech's top hitter continued to put up quality numbers, as Kaliko Schilling extended a string of matches with 10-or-more kills to five, racking up 12 kills, eight digs and three blocks against Simpson.  The transfer leads the Owls, averaging 3.03 kills per set.
 
RAMSAY FILLS STAT SHEET: Serving as the lone setter for a second-straight weekend, Taryn Ramsay posted a big statistical contest vs. Simpson. The sophomore had 35 assists in the win, adding four kills, six digs and a career-high tying five blocks.
 
WHALEN A DIG MACHINE: Libero Kaley Whalen recorded a season-high 27 digs in Saturday's win over Simpson, the 27th time the fifth-year senior has recorded 20-or-more digs in a match. Whalen, the CCC's leader in digs per set (4.93) pushed her career dig total to 1,542, sitting 297 digs away from the all-time OIT record – needing to average 15 digs per match during CCC play to reach the milestone.
 
AROUND THE CCC: The final week of non-conference play had both Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho sweep three matches against Montana Western, Dickinson State and The Master's; Southern Oregon was 4-0, with both Corban and Bushnell going 3-1 at the Corban/Bushnell Invite (losses were to Taylor), with Northwest going 3-1 at the OUAZ Classic. The opening weekend of CCC play has Corban and Bushnell playing a travel partner game before both meet Warner Pacific, C of I and Eastern travel to Evergreen and Northwest, with LC and Walla Walla off to OIT and SOU.
 
STANDINGS: Eastern Oregon 11-0, College of Idaho 7-0, Lewis-Clark State 6-0, Southern Oregon 8-2, Corban 7-2, Oregon Tech 6-2, Bushnell 5-2, Northwest 4-4, Evergreen State 1-3, Warner Pacific 0-0, Walla Walla 0-1.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: Kills/Set – Sahara Browning (WWU) 4.33, Keira Vaughn (EOU) 3.72, Mikale Roy (LC) 3.50, Emma Bischoff (CRB) 3.45, Maya Watters (SOU) 3.23. Assists/Set – Shayne McWilliams (CI) 8.77, Taryn Ramsay (OIT) 8.23, Katelyn Bogetti (NU) 8.03, Olivia Cheek (WWU) 7.00, Kate Stidham (EOU) 6.76. Digs/Set – Kaley Whalen (OIT) 4.93, Dani Street (CRB) 4.81, Chloe Farr (BU) 4.64, Ella Stosich (LC) 4.10, Jaci Yamada (TESC) 3.71. Blocks/Set – Aleksen Thayer (OIT) 1.90, Alexa Wheeler (CI) 1.48, Tessa Zimmerman (SOU) 1.38, Julie Whitley (EOU) 1.35, Jenna Konzelman (CRB) 1.17.
 
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: 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 (396) mark, with Kaley Whalen No. 3 in digs (1,542), No. 17 in aces (77) and No. 19 in assists (229), while Lucy Boyd is No. 9 in assists (1,595) and No. 21 in aces (72) and Taryn Ramsay is No. 17 in assists (352).
 
NEXT WEEK: Tech hits the road for the first time in league play, making the trip to Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho.