OSU VB: Beavers Head to the Bay Area for Pair

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Away from competition since October 31st, the Oregon State volleyball team will return to the court for a pair in the Bay Area. The Beavers will face road tests against Santa Clara and San Francisco this week.

THE MATCHUPS

November 7       at Santa Clara                     6 p.m.                   ESPN+

November 9       at San Francisco                Noon                     ESPN+

NUMBERS TO KNOW

.857 – Lauren Rumel had an .857 clip in the first set against Gonzaga. She tallied six kills on seven swings.

1.60 – Oregon State’s 1.60 aces/set is the third-most in the WCC this season. The Beavers have 125 service aces through 78 sets.

4 – By weekend’s end, the Beavers will have played in four different Golden State locales.

8 – Yasemin Narlioğlu’s 3.45 digs/set rate in league play places her eighth in the conference.

11- The Beavs will have their 11th meetings with both teams this weekend.

20 – Lauren Rumel’s 20 kills were her most in a three-match set. Her career-best is 21, from a four-set match win to open 2024.

THE WEEK’S OPPOSITION

• Oregon State heads back out on the road to the Bay Area, where they’ll face Santa Clara and San Francisco.

series renewals

• Oregon State split the first meetings with these foes in early October.

• OSU and Santa Clara will meet for the 11th time in a series that’s split evenly at 5-all. It will be the first meeting in Santa Clara.

• The Beavers and Dons will face each other for the 11th time as well but the series has been dominated by OSU’s 10-0 lead.

looking back at Last Week

• The Beavers dominated Gonzaga on Halloween night, taking a sweep over a future Pac-12 foe. OSU used 25-14 wins in the first two sets before finishing the Bulldogs late in the third at 25-22.

• Lauren Rumel tallied 20 kills – one shy of tying a career-best – and a .529 clip to lead the offense.

• Emma Lilo used a double-double of 19 assists and 13 digs to help the effort.

A New Era Underway

• For the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, OSU is an affiliate member of the WCC before returning to a rebuilt Pac-12 in 2026-27.

• Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, San Diego State and Utah State will join OSU and Washington State in the Pac-12 on July 1, 2026.

Aces wild

• The Beavers tallied 11 service aces in the sweep of Gonzaga. It marked the second highest in a WCC match since the four-set win at Portland to end September, when they had a dozen.

• In the sweep of Gonzaga, the Beavs had back-to-back sets with four aces.

• This season, Light’s 0.40 aces/set mark is the second best in the league.

• Light’s five-ace match at Portland in ranks atop the league’s single-match performances in WCC action. It ranks as tops in the league during four-set matches.

• Lilo’s five-ace outing against San Francisco three weeks ago is the most in a five-match set this season.

Lilo Leveling up

Standing at 539 assists, Lilo entered OSU’s top 10 for assists in a single season by a freshman in the win over Saint Mary’s last month with her 485th helper.

• The Kailua, Hawaii, product currently sits in 9th place, just eight away from sole possession of eighth.

                Top 10 for Assists by a Freshman

                7. Izzi Szulczewki (2020-21)    589

                8. Emily Irwin (1992)                546

                9. Emma Lilo (2024)              539

                10. Tricia Becker (1987)           495

THOSE OF IRON, STRENGTH WILL NEVER YIELD

Four Beavs – Emma Lilo, Annika Hester, Lauren Rumel and Zaria Thornton – have played in all 78 sets so far in the 20 matches played this season.

• Rumel played in all 120 sets (in 30 matches) in 2023.

League honors

Oregon State’s pair of preseason conference-honored student-athletes were Hester and Rumel

• The Beavers were picked to finish fourth in the conference by the league’s coaches in the preseason poll.

• The fourth-place selection is the highest for the Beavers in the Behonick era.

THE WORLD TO CORVALLIS

• For the second consecutive year in the Behonick era, the Beavers will have three international student-athletes.

• OSU has a pair from Turkey – Alara Doğanyüz and Narlioğlu – along with Iris Coba (Italy).

• Oregon State is one of five league schools with at least three international student-athletes.

OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS)