COMING UP: vs. No. 18 Southern Oregon, Thursday, 6 p.m.; vs. Warner Pacific, Friday, 6 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.
 
NOTE DAY / TIME: The rivalry matchup with Southern Oregon is set for a Thursday start – with Warner Pacific paired each week with whoever is meeting their travel partner (this week, SOU and OIT). Tech will meet WPU on Friday, with both matches set for 6 p.m., while Southern hosts WPU on Saturday.
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ABOUT THE OPPONENT – SOUTHERN OREGON (10-4, 2-2) | SOU LEADS SERIES, 58-8 | LAST MEETING IN 2025 (SOU 3, OIT 2): Thursday night, rival Southern Oregon heads over the hill, as the Lady Owls look to snap a 7-match losing streak against the Raiders. SOU enters play 8-0 against non-ranked teams and 2-4 against the Top-25, averaging 11.68 kills, 2.21 aces and 2.04 blocks per set. Returners Maya Watters (2.96 k/s), Tessa Zimmerman (2.12 k/s, 1.17 b/s) and Friley Curtiss (1.95 k/s, 0.54 b/s) are the top hitters, with Annie Hite (5.67 a/s, 1.57 d/s) and Isabelle Foote (4.12 a/s, 1.14 d/s, 18 aces) sharing setting duties and Maelle Garon (3.39 d/s, 29 aces) the libero. The two teams played a pair of tight matches last season, SOU winning in four sets in Ashland and outlasting Tech in five sets in Klamath.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – WARNER PACIFIC (0-5, 0-4) | OIT LEADS SERIES, 44-9 | LAST MEETING IN 2025 (OIT 3, WPU 0): OIT closes out the quick homestand Friday night, hosting a Warner Pacific team searching for their first win of the year. The Knights opened the season with a 5-set loss at Linfield but have posted just one set win in CCC play – averaging 7.39 kills per set and a .078 hitting percentage. Tayah-Anne Toa (2.22 k/s, 1.72 d/s) leads the attack, along with Naomi Johnson (1.54 k/s, 0.38 b/s) and Mia Carman (1.06 k/s, 1.94 d/s), while setters Amor Rapoza (3.22 a/s, 2.61 d/s) and Daisci Burrows (2.53 a/s, 2.24 d/s) share passing duties and Maya Moreno (2.56 d/s) anchors the back row. The Owls take a 14-match win streak against WPU into the contest and hold a 44-9 series edge.
 
TOUGH TRIP EAST: In the middle of a gauntlet of four-straight games vs. Top-25 teams, the Lady Owls made the long road swing to meet two undefeated teams - No. 9 College of Idaho and No. 1 Eastern Oregon. Friday at C of I, Tech had their chances, winning Set 2, 28-26, and holding late leads in Set 1 and Set 4, but couldn't pull the upset – as C of I hit for a .300 percentage over the final two periods (and limited OIT to a .065 attack percentage). At EOU, the Mounties showed why they are the top team in the NAIA, holding the Owls to season-lows in aces (0), digs (29) and blocks (5), completing the 3-set sweep.
 
BITTERSWEET HOMECOMING FOR TWINS: It was a return to the Treasure Valley of Idaho for Tiffini Goss and Steffini Goss, as Friday night, the OIT twin sisters played less than 30 minutes from their hometown of Parma. Both sisters had tremendous matches – Tiffini Goss posting 12 kills and three blocks, with Steffini Goss coming off the bench to recorded 12 kills – but the success was overshadowed by the 4-set loss to C of I. For the season, Tiffini Goss is averaging 2.44 kills and 0.87 blocks per set in 39 sets played, with Steffini Goss averaging 2.54 kills and 0.58 blocks per set in 24 sets played.
 
RAMSAY STAYS THE COURSE: Tech has been locked in a one-setter rotation for the past month, with Taryn Ramsay the benefactor. The sophomore continued to put up quality numbers against the Top-10 opponents, recording five kills, 37 assists and six digs at C of I, adding 22 assists at EOU. Ramsay ranks second in the CCC, average 8.61 assists per set.
 
THAYER RECORDS 100TH MATCH WITH BLOCK: With two blocks in the Saturday match at Eastern Oregon, it marked the 100th match in Aleksen Thayer's OIT career with at least one block – having logged a block in 100 of her 101 collegiate matches. The senior is averaging 1.67 blocks per set, No. 1 in not only the CCC, but also the NAIA.
 
WHALEN INCHES CLOSER: Over the weekend, Kaley Whalen surpassed the 1,600-dig mark for her OIT career, combining for 23 digs in the two matches. The fifth-year player, who leads the CCC in digs per set (4.78), is now 225 digs from establishing a new Lady Owls school record – needing to average 14 digs per match over the final 16 regular-season contests.
 
AROUND THE CCC: Three teams remained unbeaten through the first two weeks of the league schedule, as Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho swept Southern Oregon and Tech, while Bushnell topped the Seattle schools, as the three clubs sit at 4-0. Two other teams – LC State and Corban, had perfect weeks, while Walla Walla earned their first win of the year, stopping Warner Pacific. This week, first place is on the line as C of I and EOU head to Bushnell and Corban, Evergreen and Northwest travel to LC and Walla Walla, with OIT and SOU hosting Warner Pacific.
 
STANDINGS: Eastern Oregon 4-0, 15-0, College of Idaho 4-0, 11-0, Bushnell 4-0, 9-2, Lewis-Clark State 3-1, 9-1, Corban 3-1, 10-3, Southern Oregon 2-2, 10-4, Oregon Tech 1-3, 7-5, Walla Walla 1-3, 1-4, Northwest 0-4, 4-8, Evergreen State 0-4, 1-7, Warner Pacific 0-4, 0-5.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: Kills/Set – Sahara Browning (WWU) 4.48, Keira Vaughn (EOU) 3.77, Mikale Roy (LC) 3.48, Emma Bischoff (CRB) 3.37, Taylor Boyce (LC) 3.28. Assists/Set – Shayne McWilliams (CI) 8.90, Taryn Ramsay (OIT) 8.61, Katelyn Bogetti (NU) 7.52, Kate Stidham (EOU) 6.86, Olivia Cheek (WWU) 5.86. Digs/Set – Kaley Whalen (OIT) 4.78, Chloe Farr (BU) 4.50, Dani Street (CRB) 4.48, Ella Stosich (LC) 3.91, Avery Lewis (CI) 3.57. Blocks/Set – Aleksen Thayer (OIT) 1.67, Alexa Wheeler (CI) 1.36, Julie Whitley (EOU) 1.29, Tessa Zimmerman (SOU) 1.17, Soleil Sands (BU) 1.17.
 
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 (415) mark, with Kaley Whalen No. 3 in digs (1,614), No. 15 in aces (82) and No. 18 in assists (239), while Lucy Boyd is No. 9 in assists (1,595) and No. 21 in aces (72) and Taryn Ramsay is No. 16 in assists (501).
 
NEXT WEEK: Tech hits the road to the Willamette Valley with dates at Corban (Sept. 25) and Bushnell (Sept. 26).