Oregon State
Seattle University
Sawatzky's Big Swings Propel Volleyball over Seattle
September 15, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 15, 2010
Seattle, Wash. - Senior Jill Sawatzky (St. Andrews, Manitoba) hit a career-high tying 26 kills in the Oregon State volleyball team's five-set victory over Seattle on Wednesday evening at the Connolly Center in set scores of 25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 25-27, 15-10.
"First of all, their team is so much better and they really groveled in this match," head coach Taras Liskevych said." This is a great place to play and important match for us to come back and hang in there to win. Spectacular performance by Jill [Sawatzky] - she did a lot of good things for us today. Ashley [Eneliko] had great attacking, and Megan [McBride] was another factor in attacking. The key to this match was really those final siding out efforts in that final set. These are important matches for us to win. I like the attitude of this team - we keep fighting and never give up. I think that's going to go a long way in the future."
Sawatzky added nine digs and three blocks, while sophomore Megan McBride (Auburn, Wash.) posted a double-double with 10 kills and a career-best 50 assists.
The two teams battled back and forth in the opening set exchanging a pair of lead changes before the Beavers (6-5) took over the final lead at 18-17. Seattle tied the set up three times after, but Oregon State came out on top to take the early 1-0 advantage. Sawatzky racked up a set-high five kills, while freshman Kelsey Zimmerman (Bend, Ore.) had three blocks.
Heading into the second set, it continued in the same way with 12 ties and seven lead changes. A late run for Oregon State behind the combined serving of freshman Mona Kressl (Langenzenn, Germany) and sophomore Tami Brown (Eugene, Ore.) put the team up by as many as five, reaching 20 first. But a final kill by junior Dre Shaw (Wailuku, Hawai'i) gave Oregon State a two-set lead.
Sophomore Camille Saxton (Balzac, Alberta) gave the Beavers a spark coming out of the long break, serving four straight points. Seattle answered back to tie it at four all, but behind sophomore Alyssa O'Neil's (West Linn, Ore.) serving, Oregon State easily garnered the lead back, capitalizing on Redhawk unforced errors. But Seattle battled back to take the third set.
Seattle continued its momentum into the fourth set, taking the lead by as many as five at the 13-18 mark, but there was a shift as the Beavers tied the Redhawks at 20 before taking a slim lead behind the consistent serving of Brown. The Beavers should have won the set at 25-23 on a blocking error by Seattle, but Seattle pushed through to force the match to five on back-to-back unforced Beaver hitting errors.
The Redhawks jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the deciding set, but Oregon State quickly closed the gap behind big kills by Sawatzky to take a 10-7 lead as Seattle used its first timeout of the set. Another kill by Sawatzky, adding a service ace by Brown forced the Redhawks to burn their final timeout at the 12-8 mark with Brown still serving. A block and final kill by Sawatzky gave the Beavers the win.
Defensively, freshman Becky Defoe (Bend, Ore.) had a match-high 14 digs, while sophomore Ashley Eneliko (Seattle, Wash.) posted eight blocks.
Seattle's Cristin Richards hit a team-high 23 kills, with libero Emily Deleissegues digging a match-high 14 balls.
Oregon State heads to Davis, Calif., to take part in the Aggie Invitational. The Beavers will face Cal Poly first at 12:00 p.m. on Friday.
Oregon State Notes - After being deemed ineligible for the first 10 matches of the season, junior Dre Shaw competed in her first match at Oregon State ... Senior Jill Sawatzky is now seventh all-time for career kills with 1,212; Sawatzky tied her career high for kills with 26 ... Sophomore Megan McBride set a new career best for assists with 50; McBride earned a double-double with 10 kills and 50 assists ... Sophomore Ashley Eneliko tied her career best for blocks with eight ... Oregon State is now 3-0 all-time against Seattle ... Oregon State is now 3-1 in five set matches.
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