CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State volleyball team – following a split of four-set matches in the Bay Area – will wind down the 2023 season with the final road games where they will face Arizona and 18th-ranked Arizona State.
THE OPPOSITION
After splitting four-set matches in the Bay Area, OSU will close out the road portion of 2023 with matchups in Tucson and Tempe. In the last times out against Arizona and then-19th-ranked Arizona State, the Beavers took down both in five.
With wins this weekend, it will secure the first season sweep of the Arizona schools since 2017.
LAUREN’S HEADING HOME
As both a Tucson native and transfer from Arizona, Lauren Rumel will make her return home back to the desert on Friday. In her freshman season in 2022, she played 37 sets across 18 matches for the Wildcats.
beavers building
Heading into the final weeks of the season, Oregon State has been building. The beginning of the Behonick era has seen:
• The first home sweep of the Arizona schools since 2017
• The first road sweep of the Washington schools since 2017
• The first top 25 road win since 2017
• The first time beating two ranked opponents since 2011
• The first win over a ranked Washington State since 2016
• Just the third win over Washington in Seattle since 2001
1,000 KILLS
In the fifth-set home battle against Cal, Peyton Suess tallied her 1,000th career kill. After totaling 869 at Wake Forest, she’s collected 253 as a Beaver. Her 21 in a five-set loss to Utah was the most in her time with Oregon State.
Mychael Vernon became the 17th student-athlete to hit the 1,000-kill mark as a Beaver. She reached the milestone off an Elizabeth Schuster assist that gave OSU a 7-5 lead over the #4 Cardinal in the third set of Saturday’s match in Stanford.
MARVELOUS MYCHAEL
In the Pac-12, Vernon sits in the top 14 in six statistical categories, including four inside the top eight and two inside the top six.
• 367 kills (5th)
• 3.50 k/s (8th)
• 419.5 points (6th)
• 4.0 pts/s (T-7th)
• 267 digs (12th)
• 2.54 d/s (14th)
ASSISTS APLENTY
With 1,215 assists logged through the 26 matches played (11.57 per match), the Beavers find themselves in fourth place in the Pac-12. Amanda Burns’ 519 lead Oregon State and places her in 12th. She had a career-best of 37 in the four-set win in Berkeley over Cal last Thursday. Three other Beavs – Schuster (13th – 375), Ryan White (16th – 123) and Ava Pitchford (17th – 121) – appear in the top 17.
OH, WE DIG THAT
White’s 387 digs lead the Beavs and is good for second in the league. The Richland, Washington, product recorded 29 digs – a new career-high – in the upset of then-No. 6 Washington State in October. She’s totaled 20 or more digs in six of the last 10 times out, including a combined 43 in the two home wins over No. 19 ASU and Arizona and 44 in the home setbacks to Colorado and Utah. Contributing on both ends, Vernon rounds out the top 12 with 267.
OUR MISSIONOregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS)
