Oregon State Takes Five Set Thriller over Utah Utes
The Beavers split the first four sets, but came out on top of the deciding fifth set, earning the win.
(CORVALLIS, Ore. ) — Mary-Kate Marshall and Katelyn Driscoll set new bests in kills while Darby Reeder had a career night in digs as the Oregon State volleyball team (11-2, 1-1 Pac-12) took down the Utah Utes (10-3, 0-2 Pac-12) Saturday evening.
Marshall, a freshman from Coppell, Texas, led the Beavers with a season-high of 24 kills, while the redshirt sophomore Driscoll downed a career-best 18 kills. Reeder set a career-high with 35 digs.
The Beavers split the first four sets, but came out on top of the deciding fifth set, earning the win with the score 26-24, 25-20, 16-25, 18-25, 15-13.
“It’s really great to get a conference win at home,” said head coach Taras Liskevych. “That first set could have really set the tone for the entire match, coming back and taking that set was big. Utah played really well in the third and fourth sets; they served the ball tougher in those sets. They passed well all night and were in system a lot. I think there was resolve and guts by our team at the end to earn the win.”
The teams traded runs early in the first set, with the Beavers going on an early 5-0 run, but were countered by the Utes going on a 6-0 run. The Utes pulled ahead late in the set, taking a 22-19 lead. A 4-1 run from the Beavers tied the score at 23-23 and prompted the Utes to call a timeout.
Coming out of the timeout the teams traded points, but with the score tied 24-24 senior Arica Nassar downed a kill to give the Beavers set point and then teamed with Marshall for a block assist to take the set 26-24.
Driscoll led the way in the second set, with the Beavers jumping out to a 14-8 lead. The Utes made a push late in the set, but the Beavers were able to hold them off and take the set 25-20. Driscoll downed seven kills in just the second set. The teams went to the locker rooms with the Beavers leading 2-0.
The Utes came out of the break and took a quick lead in the third set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and were able to hold their lead to take the set 25-16.
The fourth set was close early, with the score tied four times in the first half of the set. The Utes used a 6-2 lead to pull ahead 16-10 and after the Beavers closed the deficit to 19-16 the Utes finished the set on another 6-2 run to push the match to a deciding fifth set.
OSU took a small lead to start the fifth set, but with the score 7-5 the team quickly put up five points to take a 12-5 lead. The Utes pulled within one point at 14-13 but Marshall put down her 24th kill of the match to give the Beavers the 3-2 win.
With 24 kills Marshall tallied her fifth match of the 2014 season of at least 20 kills and totaled the most kills for a Beaver since Dre Shaw scored 24 during the 2011 season. Driscoll bested her previous career-high of 11 kills set earlier this year against Idaho State.
Reeder had her best match of the year, leading the defense with the career-best night in digs while also adding three service aces, two assists and a kill that came in the fifth set.
The Beavers will return to action Friday, Oct. 3 when they travel to the bay area in California to take on the California Golden Bears (8-4, 0-2 Pac-12).
Source: Oregon State Athletics
