Lady Owls Settle for Saturday Split

ASHLAND, Ore. — Eighteenth-rated Vanguard University rallied for a long, five-set victory over Oregon Tech Saturday as each team played its final match of the Southern Oregon Invitational volleyball tournament.

"This weekend was a great test for our program," said Head Coach Andrew Clifton. "We learned a lot about ourselves and played a number of very good teams. We are looking forward to fixing a few things and playing next weekend at the William Jessup Tournament."

The Lions came from behind to post an 18-25, 25-20, 20-25, 26-24, 15-7 win over the Hustlin' Owls and dropped Tech to 4-2 both in the tournament and for the season. Vanguard had to rally from a deficit in the fourth set to force the match to its conclusion.

In Saturday's opener, Oregon Tech had another solid attack performance and beat soon to be Cascade Collegiate Conference rival Lewis-Clark State College, 25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 25-20.

In Friday's tournament play, OIT outlasted William Jessup University in five sets, and then had its poorest hitting effort of the season and dropped its first volleyball match of the season when it fell to 20th-rated Jamestown of North Dakota in the Raider Invitational.

Tech had opened its weekend with a come-from-behind 22-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 15-4 over William Jessup.
The Hustlin' Owls then fell to Jamestown, 15-25, ,25-22, 13-25, 14-25.

SATURDAY'S MATCHES

Oregon Tech 3, Lewis-Clark State 1

Against LC State, the Hustlin' Owls attacked at .210, with Kaylin Talonen leading OIT with 14 kills. Melody Edwards had 12, and Ashley Ripplinger nine.

Jaime Toedtemeier had 33 assists in the win, while Aubrey Kievit finished with a team-high 19 digs. Nicole Reyes added 10 digs, Lindsey Sampson nine and Alicia Volk eight. Ripplinger was involved in four blocks, one of which was the only solo block in the match.

There were 13 ties and three lead changes throughout the match.

Vanguard 3, Oregon Tech 2

Tech had taken a 6-0 lead in the fourth set before the Lions rallied. Vanguard, which upped its season record to 7-2, scored the final three points of the set forcing the deciding fifth contest.
In the final set, OIT's lone lead was at 1-0.

Vanguard then would pull ahead, 9-4. After Tech closed the margin to 9-7, the Lions scored the final five points of the match in which there were 28 ties and 15 lead changes. Of those, 13 ties and seven lead changes came in the fourth set.

Reyes finished with 14 kills, and Edwards 13, in a match in which Tech attacked at .172 as both sides battled in the even match in which the Lions finally outscored Tech, 104-101. Vanguard attacked at .192.
Toedtemeier notched a season high 47 assists, Kievit had a career high 26 digs, while Reyes added 20 digs and Sampson 13.
OIT had 12½ blocks in the match, a season high, with Ripplinger involved in six of the blocks, McKenna Woolley five and Edwards four. Ripplinger, Woolley and Toedtemeier each had a solo block for the Hustlin' Owls.

Tech returns to action next Friday at the William Jessup Invitational and will meet Simpson at 11 a.m. on opening day, with a 3 p.m. Friday match set against California Merced. OIT also will play Menlo College and William Jessup on the second day.