Sept. 8, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

LOOKING AHEAD — Oregon State (3-4) begins its long stretch on the road to finish out non-conference play at College of Charleston’s Holiday Inn Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Beavers will face Auburn (7-2) first on Friday at 1:30 p.m. PT before taking on Cincinnati (7-1) on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. PT and wrapping the tournament up against College of Charleston (6-2) at 4:30 p.m. PT.

TRACKING THE BEAVS — Full results from this weekend’s tournament can be found through the newly redesigned osubeavers.com. Gametracker will be available for all six 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 EIGHT: AUBURN — Friday, Sept. 10 (1:30 p.m.): Oregon State is 1-0 all-time against the Tigers. The Beavers took the 2004 meeting in sweeping fashion.

Auburn has won its last three matches, earning wins at the Blue Raider Bash over Middle Tennessee and Southern Miss before a single-match win on Tuesday over Troy. Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Bullock paces the Tigers’ offense with 73 kills (2.81 kps), while also leading the defense in the backcourt with 71 digs (2.73 dps). Senior middle blocker is the top defensive player at the net with 21 blocks (1.00 bps). Junior setter Christina Solverson directs the offense with 193 assists (6.66 aps) with freshman Chelsea Wintzinger also collecting 131 assists (4.37 aps). Head coach Wade Benson is in his third season with a 183-97.

MATCH NINE: CINCINNATI — Saturday, Sept. 11 (7:30 a.m.): Oregon State and Cincinnati will meet for the first time on Saturday.

Cincinnati is currently riding a six-match winning streak going into this weekend’s tournament after upsetting No. 16 Kentucky on Tuesday. The Bearcats are received 10 votes in this week’s AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll. In the win over the Wildcats, senior outside hitter Stephanie Niemer posted a match-high 18 kills, while junior Missy Harpenau dug a match-high 17 balls. Overall on the season, Cincinnati’s only loss has been to San Diego State at the Aztecs’ tournament in the opening weekend. Reed Sunahara is in his 11th season as head coach, compiling a 239-94 record leading the Bearcats.

MATCH 10: COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON — Saturday, Sept. 11 (4:30 p.m.): Oregon State is 1-0 all-time against the Cougars. The Beavers swept College of Charleston two seasons ago at home in the Corvallis Invitational.

College of Charleston is coming off of a 2-1 showing at the Winthrop Classic, dropping the final match against Clemson, but picking up wins over South Carolina and Winthrop. The team rebounded on Tuesday against Presbyterian in a sweep. Senior outside hitter Whitney Russell leads the team on offense with 117 kills (4.03 kps), while adding 65 digs (2.24 dps). Junior libero Emily Shelton leads the defense with 91 digs (3.14 dps), while junior middle blocker Elyse Chubb has 32 blocks (1.10 bps). Senior setter Cole Dawley has 251 assists (10.04 aps). Jason Kepner begins his fourth season as head coach of the Cougars.

ODDS & ENDS — The Pac-10 Conference is celebrating its 25th year of volleyball. The conference expanded to include women’s competition in 1986-87 in 10 sports. The Pac-10 now sponsors both 11 men’s and women’s sports.

3-2-10? — Sophomore Megan McBride chalked up her first career triple-double at Portland State on Tuesday, Aug. 31, with 10 kills, 45 assists and 19 digs. All three categories also marked career bests for the left-handed setter at that point in the season. McBride’s triple-double is the first since October 18, 1997, when Magan Prieto had 11 kills, 10 digs and 10 blocks.

JILL WITH THE KILL SAWATZKY — Senior outside hitter Jill Sawatzky returns as the only player who has started every year of her career. Sawatzky has amassed 1,019 kills prior to the start of the 2010 season, becoming the 12th player ever to reach 1,000. Honing her defensive skills, Sawatzky is primed to have a strong final season, emerging as the top all-around player on the squad.

SAMBRAILO STUFFS — Senior Kiersten Sambrailo was held off the court for part of last season due to injuries, but she still managed to rank seventh all-time for the most blocks per set by a junior (1.23), joining school record holding names like Tanya Lifa and Staci Hintze. Continuing to perfect her offensive game in front and behind the setter will make Kiersten the perfect all-around threat at the net.

ASHLEY AVAILABLE AT ANY POSITION  — Sophomore Ashley Eneliko is open to any position at the net after spending her freshman season as a middle blocker. The only rookie to be named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team, earning honorable mention status, Eneliko filled in for the injured Kiersten Sambrailo to average 1.00 blocks per set, helping the Beavers to rank second in the Pac-10 in stops at the net. This season, Eneliko will be seen mainly at opposite, but she can transition to any of the three offensive spots.

BROWN CONTINUES BALLIN — Sophomore Tami Brown was a three-sport athlete in high school (volleyball, basketball and softball), but after excelling in basketball - a McDonalds All-America nominee - chose to focus on volleyball post-high school. Used mostly as a serving specialist while developing her game at middle blocker as a freshman, Brown is prepped to be one of the Beavers starting fixtures at the net this season.

O’NEIL ON TOP OF HER GAME — Sophomore Alyssa O’Neil immediately made an impact in her rookie season, averaging 2.59 digs per set in her role as defensive specialist in the always tough Pac-10 Conference. She appeared in a number of matches as libero, and frustrated the opponent’s serve-receive with her lofty jump float serve. She returns for the 2010 season as the top defensive player in the backcourt.

LISKEVYCH LIKES THE FIRST ONE — The Beavers are 5-1 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 last year’s inaugural match.

NINE NEWCOMERS — The Oregon State volleyball family welcomes nine newcomers to its 2010 squad, making it the largest recruiting class in the Liskevych Era. Among the nine are seven freshmen, a sophomore and a junior. Junior outside hitter Dre Shaw joins the Beavers after earning success at two different schools, including AVCA and NJCAA All-America status. Sophomore Martie Massey attended Oregon State for a year, competing on the school’s club team before joining the team last spring. Freshmen Becky Defoe and Kelsey Zimmerman both greenshirted last season with Zimmerman joining the team in the winter and Defoe in the spring. Zimmerman became the first Fab 50 recruit in school history. Freshman Mona Kressl competed in the competitive Bundesliga in Germany before joining the Beavers, while freshman Natalie Morgan comes from Santa Cruz, but is currently nursing an ankle injury back to 100 percent. Freshmen Allie Rogers and Laura Schaudt chose to focus primarily on volleyball late in their careers, while freshman Tayla Woods competed at nearby Santiam Christian in volleyball and basketball all four years. All three are scheduled to redshirt to give them more time at the Division I level. Schaudt is a legacy to Oregon State after mom, Carol Menken-Schaudt, was an All-American for the Beavers in basketball.

ATTENDANCE AVERAGE — Oregon State finished the 2009 season ranked 26th in the nation for attendance, averaging 1,436 in its 12 home matches. The Beavers were third in the conference behind No. 5 Washington and No. 11 Stanford.

GET YOUR TICKETS — Season tickets are on sale now for the 2010 Oregon State volleyball season. The adult price is $80 and the youth/senior price is $50 for all 15 home matches, including all of the tough Pac-10 schedule. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-GOBEAVS or by visiting osubeavers.com.

CAN’T MAKE IT TO A MATCH? — Oregon State will be televised once this season at home. The Civil War in legendary Gill Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 12 will be show by FSN via tape delay.

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

OREGON STATE VS. THE RANKED — Oregon State will face eight preseason top 25 opponents with seven of those being in the always tough Pac-10 Conference. The eighth team is No 12 Michigan, who the Beavers swept last season in Ann Arbor to snap a 52-match non-conference winning streak. Three conference teams are ranked in the top 10 with Stanford leading the way sitting in fourth place.

PAC-10 PRESEASON POLL — The Beavers were voted to finish 10th in the Pac-10 Preseason Volleyball Poll with 11 total points. Stanford was voted to finish first receiving six first place votes and 77 total points.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE BEAVERS — Oregon State stays on the road for a single match on Wednesday at Seattle at 7:00 p.m. Then the team heads to Davis, Calif., for the Aggie Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Beavers will take on Cal Poly, UC Davis and Nevada.

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