Beavers Give Scare to No. 1 Minnesota

Friday, September 15

Boise, Idaho

9:00 AM

Oregon State

8-2

Minnesota

9-0

Oregon State

Minnesota

Photo by: Dave Nishitani/Oregon State Athletics

September 15, 2017 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Athletic Communications

BOISE, Idaho – The Oregon State volleyball team gave top-ranked Minnesota a scare Friday morning in the opening match of the Boise State Classic. However, after taking an early lead the Gophers dealt the Beavers their second loss of the season.

Oregon State used a strong serve-receive game in the opening set and was able to run a smooth fast-attacking offense to take a 1-0 lead on No. 1 Minnesota. Mary-Kate Marshall registered seven kills while Haylie Bennett and Maddie Goings added three apiece in the first set.

The Beavers fell to 8-2 with the loss to the Gophers (9-0) by scores of 25-19, 18-25, 21-25 and 7-25.

Marshall, a senior outside hitter, led the Beavers' offense with a season-best 21 kills while Bennett added 11. Kayla Ellis and Kylee McLaughlin paced the team with 13 digs apiece and Kory Cheshire recorded four blocks.

"Overall we were good for 75-percent of the match," head coach Mark Barnard said. "Those first three sets we played quite well. The best thing to come out this morning may be that we proved that we can play with big, physical teams like we did early on. Minnesota wasn't bad; we just played extremely well in the first set."

The Beavers, who played four freshmen among their starters, received quality efforts from the youngsters especially early in the contest with Bennett, a redshirt freshman, and Goings, a true freshman, combining for 12 kills and four blocks through the first two sets. Including setter Kylee McLaughlin and defensive specialist Grace Massey, the quintet finished the match with 22 kills, eight blocks and 32 digs.

"The freshmen did a good job I thought," Barnard said. "Early on they were great. We just need to sustain that level of play."

The Beavers return to the court tonight to play their second match of the day when they face Idaho State at 6:30 p.m. PT.

"We need to come out ready to play this evening. It's easy to get excited to play the No. 1 team in the nation, we'll need to have that same mental frame of mind."

Game Notes: OSU secured the win in the first ever meeting between the two programs … Mary-Kate Marshall recorded a season-best 21 kills … three Beavers registered double digits in digs Friday morning with Kayla Ellis and Kylee McLaughlin each tallying 13 and Grace Massey digging out 11.

Next Up: Oregon State is back in action tonight at Bronco Gymnasium to face Idaho State (3-7) at 6:30 p.m. PT. The Beavers will face the host, Boise State, at 11 a.m. PT on Saturday to complete play at the Boise State Classic.

Season and single-match tickets for the 2017 season are available for purchase by visiting BeaverTickets.com or calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS.

For more information on the Oregon State volleyball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverVBall, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateVolleyball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverVBall.

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