Head Coach Terry Liskevych called this spring a success on two levels.
“First and foremost, we succeed this spring in getting our players a lot of playing time in the position they will be playing in the fall,” he said.
Liskevych, his staff and the players spent the offseason tweaking the offense and setting a new style of play-calling for setter Camilla Ah’Hoy.
“The girls put in a lot of hard work this offseason,” he said. “It’s been great.”
The team finished off the spring season in a four game match against Portland State. Rachel Rourke led all Oregon State hitters with 21 kills as the volleyball team defeated Portland State in an exhibition match, 3-1, Saturday evening.
Game scores were 25-17, 25-20, 25-27, 25-17. In game one, the Beavers held off Portland State the entire game, not allowing them to even tie the score.
Oregon State hit .264 as a team with 61 total kills while holding the Pilots to a .059 average with 40. Jill Sawatzky and Bree Knitter both reached double digits for kills with 13 and 10, and Camilla Ah-Hoy directed the offense with 44 assists.
Defensively, Knitter and Lexie Rathgeber both had six blocks each, with one solo block. Sawatzky and Ah-Hoy also tallied a solo block each. Libero Ashley Evans had 15 digs, closely followed by Lauren Rinderknecht with 13.
The match wrapped up the 2008 spring season for Oregon State after competing in a tournament at the University of Portland and Seattle University in April.
The game was a part of the Willamette Volleyball Classic, a camp the team puts on every May with the help of the Air Force ROTC.
“The Willamette Volleyball Classic was a success, as well,” Liskevych said. “There are great young people in the Air Force ROTC. I have faith in the future because of these great young men and women.”
The ROTC helped set up the multitude of courts that the teams use. There were 1,600 high school girls here for the event. And in the end, the ROTC helps the team with recruiting by showcasing the college.
“[All of the girls] who play here are club volleyball players,” Liskevych said, “They are all high school age. And it helps with recruiting because the girls get to come and see [Oregon State’s] campus. A lot of them for the first time.”
The Beavers kick off the 2008 season on August 29 as they host Wyoming at 6:00 p.m. as part of the Corvallis Invitational in legendary Gill Coliseum.
Coach Liskevych is excited about the fall because of the great spring the women’s volleyball players put together.
“This is the best spring we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
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