Aug. 31, 2011

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LOOKING AHEAD — Oregon State (2-2) hosts its annual Active Ankle Challenge on Sunday and Monday. The Beavers will take on CSU Bakersfield (0-3) and Loyola Marymount (2-1) on Sunday at 12:30 and 7:30 p.m. And the team will wrap up play in the tournament against Seattle (1-2) on Monday at 12:30 p.m.

PROMOTIONS THIS WEEK — Special only for this tournament, tickets are $3.50 for adults, $2 for children/seniors per session. There are three total sessions. And all GenBeavs members will receive free admission to the entire tournament.

TRACKING THE BEAVS — Full results from this weekend’s tournament can be found through osubeavers.com. Gametracker will be available for all four matches and can be found by clicking on the ‘Gametracker’ link located on the Oregon State volleyball schedule page. All home matches will also be streamed live through osubeavers.com for free.

MATCH FIVE: CSU BAKERSFIELD — Sunday, Sept. 4 (12:30 p.m.): Oregon State is 1-0 all-time against CSU Bakersfield. The two teams haven’t met since 1983 when the Beavers won 2-0 at the Western State Tournament in Davis, Calif.

The Roadrunners enter this weekend’s tournament after going 0-3 at the Utah Valley Wolverine Invitational, falling to Northern Arizona, Utah Valley and Illinois State. Sophomore outside hitter Haleigh Haratyk racked up a team-high 43 kills (4.78 kps), adding 17 digs (1.89 dps) and a pair of blocks. Head coach Jolene Shepardson begins her first season at the helm.

MATCH SIX: LOYOLA MARYMOUNT — Sunday, Sept. 4 (7:30 p.m.): Oregon State is 1-2 all-time against Loyola Marymount. The Lions took the last meeting in 2007 at the ASICS Invitational, hosted by University of the Pacific.

Loyola Marymount finished opening weekend with a 2-1 record, defeating Cal State Fullerton and Quinnipiac before falling to No. 11 UCLA in three in the Four Points by Sheraton LA Westside Invitational. Senior outside hitter Jasmine Rankins had the best outing for the Lions, earning 34 kills (3.40 kps) on 94 attempts for a .255 hitting percentage. Defensively, senior Lauren DeGrandmont recorded 31 digs (3.10 dps), while freshman Litara Keil led the team at the net with eight blocks. Tom Black is in his second season at the helm of the Loyola Marymount program.

MATCH SEVEN: SEATTLE — Monday, Sept. 5 (12:30 p.m.): Oregon State is 3-0 all-time against Seattle. The Beavers defeated the Redhawks last year on the road, also beating them in 2009 at the Active Ankle Challenge.

Seattle opened up 2011 going 1-2 at the Seattle University Tournament, sweeping Eastern Washington but falling to Santa Clara and Washington State. Senior outside hitter Cristin Richards paced the Redhawks with 51 kills (4.64 kps), averaging 2.27 digs per set and adding five blocks. Senior Jordan Keller led the defense at the net with 11 blocks, while sophomore Lani Beadle had a team-high 30 digs. Seattle is led by head coach Shannon Ellis, who is in her eighth season. The Redhawks face Portland State on Wednesday and Oregon on Friday before beginning play in the Active Ankle Challenge.

REWIND TO LAST WEEKEND — The Beavers finished .500 (2-2) at the UniWyo Wyoming Invite, defeating DePaul 3-0 in the season opener before beating Wyoming 3-2 on Friday. But Oregon State couldn’t sustain back-to-back five-set matches against South Dakota and Gonzaga, falling in both on Saturday. Junior middle blocker Ashley Eneliko was named All-Tournament.

DEFOE JOINS DIG CLUB — Sophomore Becky Defoe joined the AVCA 30-Dig Club with 30 at Wyoming on August 26. The digs also tie the seventh most in school history in a single match. She becomes the first player since 2007 to earn a spot in the top 10. Overall, Defoe is ranked third in the Pac-12 for digs, averaging 4.17 per set.

ODDS & ENDS — The Beavers boast one of the youngest teams in the Pac-12 with the average age being 19.

The team also has its tallest roster to date under Liskevych, with the average height of the 18-player roster being 6-0.

Junior Ashley Eneliko was the lone Oregon State player to be named to the All-Tournament Team at the UniWyo Wyoming Invite.

VERSATILE ENELIKO — Junior Ashley Eneliko can play any position at the net, starting at middle so far this season, where she’s played the past two seasons. She was named to the 2009 Pac-10 All-Freshman Honorable Mention squad, while last season she averaged 1.36 kills per set and 0.98 blocks per set.

MCBRIDE MAKES OPPONENTS GUESS — Junior Megan McBride is a unique setter in that she’s a southpaw that isn’t afraid to attack the second ball. Last season, McBride averaged 1.49 kills per set, while still ranking in the top 10 in the Pac-10 for assists with a 8.84 average. Defensively, she posted a 1.64 dig per set average, while posting 83 total blocks (0.68 bps).

KRESSL KILLS AND RESETS RECORDS— Sophomore Mona Kressl was the lone rookie honored last season on the Pac-10 All-Freshman squad after posting the team’s top hitting percentage (.297) and averaging 1.89 kills per set. Her 1.16 blocks per set with 22 solo and 116 assists ranked her in a number of single season school record categories.

FAMILIAR FACES — Oregon State returns five starters from last season plus its libero. Juniors Megan McBride, Alyssa O’Neil, Camille Saxton, Ashley Eneliko and sophomores Becky Defoe and Mona Kressl are the top players coming back for the Beavers. The one starter lost was outside hitter Jill Sawatzky.

FIVE NEWCOMERS — Oregon State welcomes five newcomers in sophomore transfer Niki Small and freshmen Haley Clarke, Corinna Mommert, Arica Nassar and Lexi Wilhelm. Small transferred from Northern Arizona before the last spring season. The group boasts three middle blockers, while Nassar is an outside hitter and Wilhelm is a setter.

CHASING RECORDS — Three juniors have broken into career top 30 lists, led by Megan McBride’s ninth-ranked assists number (1,309). Alyssa O’Neil is now 27th for digs with 543, while Ashley Eneliko has broken into a pair of blocks lists. Eneliko is tied for 19th for most block assists (176) and 25th for total blocks (195).

LISKEVYCH LIKES THE FIRST ONE — The Beavers are now 6-1 in season openers under head coach Taras Liskevych. Oregon State swept Portland it its season opener in Liskevych’s first season, won in four over Oral Roberts in 2006, took a five-set thriller from Colorado State in year three, swept Wyoming at home in 2008 and defeated Cal Poly in four in 2009. This season, Oregon State swept DePaul to open the slate.

SPIKE OUT CANCER — The Beavers will host their annual Spike Out Cancer match, sponsored by Corvallis Clinic’s Project H.E.R., against Utah on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 7:00 p.m. in legendary Gill Coliseum. Part of the proceeds of ticket sales and pink items will be donated. Last year, Spike Out Cancer, women’s basketball’s Pink Zone and gymnastics’ Pink Out raised over $12,000 for breast cancer organizations.

ATTENDANCE AVERAGE — The 2010 season brought about the 43rd best attendance in the nation, averaging 933 per match in legendary Gill Coliseum. And the Civil War attendance (3,287) ranks 89th best for a single-match and is the third best attendance in school history.

GET YOUR TICKETS — Season tickets are on sale now for the 2011 Oregon State volleyball season. The adult price is $75 and the youth/senior price is $50 for all 14 home matches, including all of the tough Pac-12 schedule. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-GOBEAVS or by visiting osubeavers.com.

BEAVS ON TV — Oregon State will be televised once this season. The Beavers’ match at Arizona on Nov. 4 will be televised via tape delay on FSN.

All home matches will be webcast for free through Beaver Nation Online (BNO), the audio/visual service of osubeavers.com.

OREGON STATE VS. THE RANKED — Oregon State will face six AVCA Preseason Top 25 opponents this season in USC, California, Stanford, Washington, UCLA and Long Beach State. Pac-12 opponents Arizona and Oregon also received votes.

PAC-12 PRESEASON POLL — The Beavers were voted to finish ninth in the Pac-12 Preseason Volleyball Poll with 41 total points just behind Arizona State and Arizona. USC was voted to finish first with 121 total points.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE BEAVERS — Oregon State completes the non-conference slate at the Long Beach State Baden Classic. The Beavers will face SMU and Utah State on Friday before taking on the host team, No. 23 Long Beach State, on Saturday.

Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to the Beaver Athletic Student Fund. For more information follow this link or call 541-737-2370. Former student-athletes are invited to join the Varsity O Facebook Page for upcoming Alumni events.

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