Oregon State Falls to Arizona in Back-and-Forth Battle

BOISE, Idaho– Nearly taking Arizona to the brink of a fifth set to open the Boise State Classic, the Oregon State volleyball team fell in four (25-23, 23-25, 20-25, 25-27) on Thursday.

The Beavers (0-3) and Wildcats traded the lead a combined 14 times, including seven instances in the final set as well as tying on 34 occasions.

Lauren Rumel, a Tucson, Ariz., native, led the Oregon State offense with 19 kills – two shy of matching a career-high – and 20.5 kills. Annika Hester also put up double-figures (10) in kills while Jackie Matias and Emma Lilo each put up double-digit assists (22 and 19, respectively) to keep the attack up. Tia Shum led the defense with 11 digs (a season-best) while Alondra Paz had eight and Hester added six.

Oregon State utilized three timely scoring runs of 3-0 or better for the separation needed to win the first frame at 25-23. Shum showed her impact early, keeping the Wildcats in check with four first-set digs while Lilo and Matias combined for nine helpers. A total of 14 digs kept the Arizona offense to just a .226 hitting rate.

Looking for a 2-0 set lead, the Beavers nearly traded off points for the entire second set before yielding the final two to the Wildcats. The second frame saw just two lead changes but a match-high 13 ties. Matias and Rumel paced an efficient offense with nine assists and five kills, respectively, that hit at a .344 clip.

Six unanswered points in set three broke it open for the Wildcats on their way to the 25-20 win to make it 2-1 in their favor. Arizona took advantage of Oregon State miscues like service and block errors turned a 9-8 Beaver lead to a 14-9 lead that Arizona wouldn’t relinquish. A late surge from a 4-0 Oregon State run was not enough as the Wildcats used one last kill to put the Beavers on the brink. Once again, Matias and Rumel paced the attack, with a balanced defensive effort that had a combined 15 digs.

A 6-0 run was just not quite enough as the Oregon State effort to push it to five came short, falling 27-25. Following a 6-1 Wildcat run after being knotted at 18, the Beavers stormed back with clutch Rumel kills and blocks from Nathalie Scholz, and eventually took a 25-24 lead. Arizona stopped the charge with a 3-0 run after a timeout to seal the win.  

The Beavers will continue play in Boise tomorrow against UC San Diego at noon. Action will be streamed to the Mountain West Network.

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