Bennett, Clarke Lead Beavers in Seattle Sweep

Saturday, September 14

Seattle, WA

6:00 PM

Oregon State

6-5

Seattle

9-5

Oregon St.

Seattle U

Photo by: Dave Nishitani/Oregon State Athletics

September 14, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

By: Athletic Communications

SEATTLE, Wash. – Haylie Bennett and Shekinah Clarke led the Beavers' offense and the Oregon State volleyball team beat Seattle (6-4) in a sweep Saturday evening to conclude the Redhawk Invitational. OSU finished the weekend 3-0 despite playing without four regulars at the outside hitter position throughout the tourney. Kory Cheshire was named as the tournament MVP and Clarke was recognized on the all-tournament team as well.

"Shekinah had outstanding results and Kory was excellent for us all weekend," head coach Mark Barnard said. "I'm very proud of what this team accomplished here in Seattle. To remove three starters and a top backup from any team and to come away 3-0 just doesn't happen. They should be proud of themselves. They really believed in themselves and it showed in the last set tonight."

With the win, Oregon State improves its record to 6-2 heading into the final preseason tournament next week at the Homewood Suites UNC/CSU Classic hosted by Northern Colorado and Colorado State. The Pac-12 Conference slate opens Sept. 26 when the Beavers host Oregon in their home opener.

Set scores Saturday night were 25-16, 25-21 and 29-27.

Oregon State got to business straight out of the gate against Seattle opening an immediate lead at 8-3 as Kory Cheshire recorded two early kills and an ace in the opening push. The Beavers kept the pressure on the Redhawks holding them to no more than two points in a row until the set was out of hand. OSU used an 8-0 run that included three blocks by the combination of Bennett and Lindsey Schell, who finished with eight blocks, to make it 23-12. OSU held on to take the first set 25-16.

The Redhawks regrouped and gave the Beavers trouble in the second stanza with 15 ties and seven lead changes. With the score tied at 20-20, OSU finally created some separation with a kill from Cheshire and a Schell/Cheshire combo block to go up 22-20. A pair of timely kills by Bennett and one from Clarke sealed the set for the Beavers, 25-21.

Seattle was determined to make it a close game in the third taking and hold the lead from the outset forcing an Oregon State timeout trailing 10-7. The Redhawks still held the lead at 22-18 until Cheshire once again got a ball on the floor and Schell and Maddie Sheehan turned away a Seattle attacker to force a timeout still trailing 22-21. Facing set point at 24-23, the Beavers registered back-to-back blocks to tie the score at 24. OSU gained the advantage serving for the match twice before finally securing the match on a Grace Massey ace, 29-27.

Game Notes: The Beavers recorded 11 blocks against the Redhawks. OSU registered 10+ blocks in each match at the Redhawk Invitational … Kory Cheshire, who normally plays at middle blocker, tallied 9 kills and 10 digs, just missing her second double-double of the weekend … Lindsey Schell posted 8 blocks against the Redhawks giving her 17 blocks on the day (nine against Gonzaga in the afternoon match) … the Beavers completed the weekend in the Emerald City 3-0 despite playing without OH Chloe Brown (injury), OPP Nya Buckner (injury), OH Maddie Goings (injury), OH Cecilee Max-Brown (illness), MB Amya Small (injury) and OH Amy Underdown (injury)

Next Up: Oregon State wraps up the preseason tournament slate at the Homewood Suites UNC/CSU Classic next week. The Beavers will play at Northern Colorado on Thursday, then at Colorado State on Friday and finish the tourney against Cal Poly on Saturday.

Season and single game tickets for the 2019 Oregon State volleyball season are now available for purchase via BeaverTickets.com/Volleyball and 1-800-GO-BEAVS.

Oregon State volleyball fans are encouraged to join Off the Bench, the program's new donor club. Click here for more information or call Alex Gary in Our Beaver Nation at 541-737-2370.

For more information on the Oregon State volleyball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverVBall, by Facebook at Facebook.com/BeaverVBall or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverVBall.

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