Western Oregon Beats Willamette in Straight Sets
WOU, which competes in NCAA Division II, improved to 1-3 on the season. Willamette, which plays in NCAA Division III, fell to 5-4.
(SALEM, Ore. ) — Western Oregon University defeated Willamette University, 3-0, in a non-conference volleyball match at Cone Field House on Tuesday.
It was Willamette's home opener after playing eight matches in tournaments. The Wolves won, 25-14, 25-21, 25-16.
WOU, which competes in NCAA Division II, improved to 1-3 on the season. Willamette, which plays in NCAA Division III, fell to 5-4.
Three players achieved 11 kills during the match -- Hannah Deede and Cherene O'Hara for the Wolves and Sarah Fincher (Jr., OH, Reno, NV/Bishop Manogue HS/Southwest Baptist Univ.) for the Bearcats. The Wolves earned 44 kills and a .320 team hitting percentage, as Deede hit .417 and O'Hara hit .611 with no attacking errors on 18 attacks.
Western Oregon led 5-4 early in the first set, but built a 13-6 lead. The 8-2 run by WOU included kills by Samantha Moore, Alisha Bettinson, Jordan Ramos and Deede. The Bearcats were unable to recover as the Wolves took a 25-14 win. Fincher registered three kills for Willamette during the set.
In the second set, WOU was in front 9-4, but WU rallied to get within 12-11 on a kill by Fincher. The Bearcats also trailed by a single point at 15-14 after a service error by Bettinson. The Wolves countered with a 3-0 run and remained in front the rest of the set.
Even so, Willamette pulled within 22-21 on a WOU attacking error. The Wolves closed out the set with a kill by Deede and back-to-back service aces by Lani Kalalau.
WU rallied from an 8-3 deficit in the third set to cut the margin to 11-10. Western tallied the next two points, before Alida Holt (So., OH, Honolulu, HI/Roosevelt HS) produced a kill to cut the margin to 14-12. WOU pulled away with a 11-4 run to close out the match.
In addition to her 11 kills, Fincher also contributed six digs for the Bearcats. Holt finished with five kills and six digs. Tynan Gable (Fr., S, Woodinville, WA/Woodinville HS) recorded 19 assists, while Peyton Wahl (Fr., DS/LIB, Richland, WA/Richland HS) led WU with nine digs. Macy Hayashi (Jr., OH, Hilo, HI/Waiakea HS) earned eight digs.
Deede and O'Hara were followed by Moore and Christie Colasurdo on Western's offensive chart with six kills each. Jaryn Ramos supplied the Wolves with 15 digs. Jordin Ramos achieved 14 assists, while Kiana Cash gained 13 assists. Moore led all players with five block assists, helping WOU attain 10.0 team total blocks. WU finished with 3.0 blocks.
Willamette will play its Alumni Game on Friday, Sept. 12. Match time at Cone Field House is set for 7:30 p.m. (PDT).
Source: Willamette Athletics
