News

Owls Open Home Schedule with Pair of Wins, Move to 3-3 Overall

08.20.2012

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – After a sluggish start to the 2012 home opener, the Oregon Tech volleyball team roared back from a 6-11 deficit in set 1 to gain momentum on the way to a sweep 3-0 (25-14, 25-6, 25-11) over Pacific Union College and then used a .228 hitting clip to defeat New Hope Christian, 3-1 (25-9, 25-9, 22-25, 25-14) in non-conference  volleyball action today at Danny Miles Court. 

Oregon Tech had much to celebrate after a pair of wins to open the 2012 home schedule. (photo by Kelly Caleb)

Kristen Walters led a Tech balanced attack with 7 kills, while Marlee Smith followed with 6 in the sweep over Pacific Union.  Aurora Penoyar tallied 5 in the win for the Owls with Kara Young adding 4.  Kayleigh Whelchel finished with 15 assists and Megan Holland 5.  Marie Baumann led the Owl defense with 10 digs to go with a match-high 6 aces, while Julie Pfeifer added 4 aces in the match.

Calai Brown led PUC with 5 kills, while Sarah Cusick and Jenna Glantz added 4 kills apiece in the loss.  Cusick finished with a team-high 9 digs and Lauren Woolley a team-high 7 assists.

Falling behind 6-11 to the visiting Pioneers, Oregon Tech managed to cut their deficit to just three points, 10-13.  After Marie Baumann finished her serve rotation, the Owls held a 24-13 advantage.  Baumann would record 5 aces during the 14-0 run, as Tech took set 1 by a 25-14 score.

It was all Owls in set 2, as the home team opened on a 7-0 run, recorded another seven point run to go up 15-2, and close the match on a 6-1 run to win 25-6.

Moving up just 8-6 in set 3, the Owls’ Julie Pfeifer recorded back-to-back aces during a 4-0 run to double up the Pioneers by a 12-6 margin.  After allowing PUC the next point, Oregon Tech strung together eight points in a row to take control of the set, moving on for a 25-11 win.

Owls Take Out New Hope Christian in Four

Kristen Walters tallied 9 more kills to go with 6 digs in the nightcap to lead the Owls offense.  Julie Peifer also added 9 kills and 4 more aces in match 2.  Walters finished the day with 16 kills and Peifer 8 aces.  Kara Young added 7 kills and Krista Galloway and Marlee Smith 6 each.  Megan Holland finished with 28 assists, 6 digs and an ace, while Marie Baumann finished with 15 digs.

Oregon Tech didn’t have much trouble through the first 2 sets, holding the visitors from Eugene to single digits in each, 25-9, 25-9.  The Owls, however, struggled in set 3 with a poor serve receive leading to a -.056 hitting percentage, after coming away with a .562 and .364 percentage in each of the first 2 sets.  The Owls dropped that set 22-25.

Oregon Tech used an 8-1 start in set 4 to take control, eventually moving out to a double-digit lead at 14-4.  NHC pulled to within nine points on two occasions, but were unable to get any closer as the Owls closed the match with a 25-14 victory.

Oregon Tech takes a five-match road swing through California beginning Wednesday at Simpson University in Redding.  The Owls will play at the UC-Merced Invitational before returning home to host William Jessup University on Saturday, Sept. 1^st at 1:00 pm.

Athletics

View Related News by Tag:

Athletics Home Archive Volleyball