Oregon State
College of Charleston
Volleyball Finishes Second at Holiday Inn Classic in Dramatic Fashion
September 11, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2010
Charleston, S.C. - The Oregon State volleyball team (5-5) battled back from behind to take a five-set thriller over College of Charleston (7-4) on Saturday evening to finish second at the Holiday Inn Classic in set scores of 28-30, 25-22, 14-25, 26-24, 15-10.
Senior Jill Sawatzky (St. Andrews, Manitoba) and freshman Mona Kressl (Langenzenn, Germany) were both named to the All-Tournament Team. Sawatzky finished the match with 20 kills, 19 digs and four blocks, while Kressl hit .308 with 12 kills and seven blocks.
"This team keeps fighting, and it was a great comeback in the first set that we should have put away after being down by 11 at 3-14," head coach Taras Liskevych said. "I thought Jill [Sawatzky's] hitting late in the match was key, as well as timely blocking and inspiring hitting by Ashley [Eneliko] in the middle. It was another good blocking and serving match for us."
Oregon State started the match slowly with College of Charleston building its lead to as many as 11 at the 3-14 mark. But behind the serving of freshman Becky Defoe (Bend, Ore.) and sophomore Alyssa O'Neil (West Linn, Ore.), the Beavers battled back to tie the set at the 16 point mark. Oregon State took the slim lead after the 18 all point, but after pushing the set into extra points, College of Charleston took the one-set advantage.
But Oregon State quickly tied things up in the second set after finally breaking the seven ties to take the eventual lead at 11-10 on a kill by Sawatzky. The Beavers racked up 14 kills, two aces and three blocks in the second set to push past the Cougars going into the long break.
The Beavers came out of the break unable to get into a rhythm, falling in the third set. Momentum shifted in what could be Oregon State's final set, but after falling behind by five with College of Charleston reaching 20 first. Kressl found the floor with a clutch shot to tie the fourth set at 24 before a kill by sophomore Camille Saxton (Balzac, Alberta) and block by Kressl and sophomore Megan McBride (Auburn, Wash.) pushed the match into a deciding fifth set.
Charleston took the first pair of points in the final set, holding the lead until it was tied at three all. Oregon State took it over behind big kills and back-to-back blocks before the Cougars tied things back up at the nine all mark. Sawatzky took over then, with big digs, three kills and two blocks to give the Beavers the win.
Defensively, Defoe added 14 digs, while sophomore Camille Saxton (Balzac, Alberta) had an 11 dig match. Eneliko added six blocks in the front court.
Whitney Russell paced the Cougars with a match-high 27 kills, while libero Paige Johnson dug 30 balls.
Oregon State will stay on the road, heading to Seattle on Wednesday to take on the Redhawks at 6:00 p.m.
Oregon State Notes - Senior Jill Sawatzky tallied her second double-double of the weekend, fifth of the season with 20 kills, 19 digs; Her 19 digs is a new season best ... Sophomore Ashley Eneliko set a new career high for kills with 10 ... Freshman Mona Kressl set a new career best for kills with 12 ... Oregon State is now 2-1 in five-set matches; 2-0 against College of Charleston all-time.
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