Owls Split at SOU Invite

ASHLAND, Ore. — After outlasting William Jessup University in five sets Friday, Oregon Tech 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 tournament.

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.

Oregon Tech 3, William Jessup 2

Tech attacked with a solid .250 effort against the Warriors in the first match of the weekend, and upped its season record to 3-0.

OIT pounded the ball at .414 percent in the fourth set, and then hit an outstanding .538 to dominate the fifth, and deciding, set to gain the win over a familiar foe for Tech athletes in numerous sports.

Ashley Ripplinger had 15 kills (attack effort at .636), and was involved in six blocks, two of which were solo efforts. Coming off Cascade Collegiate Conference Player of the Week honors, Melody Edwards added 13 kills for OIT, and was part of five blocks.

Jaime Toedtemeier finished the match with 41 assists,while Nicole Reyes and Aubrey Kievit both had 19 digs, and Lindsey Sampson 13. Toedtemeier added eight did and three blocks for the Hustlin' Owls.

Jamestown 3, Oregon Tech 1

OIT had a wash in its attack effort in the third and fourth sets against Jamestown, which entered the tournament ranked No. 20 in the national preseason poll. Tech finished at .070 for the match, while the Jimmies attacked at .230.

Camryn Johnson had 12 OIT kills,and Kaylin Talonen 10, while Toedtemeier finished with another 28 assists and had 14 digs. Reyes had 17 digs, Kievit 16 and Sampson 11. Ripplinger and Faith Houck-Wylie both were involved in five blocks.

Up Next

Oregon Tech meets Lewis-Clark State at 10 a.m., and California's Vanguard University at 4:30 p.m. in its two tournament matches today. Vanguard is ranked No. 18, and, along with Jamestown and league foes, will be among the eight nationally ranked teams Tech will meet this season.