For the first time in the Lindsey Behonick era, and first time since 2015, the Oregon State Beavers women’s volleyball team is headed to Hawaii for the outrigger invitational, a two-game slate featuring Texas Tech and University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The matches start off on September 12th at 5 pm PST, when the Beavers face a team they have never seen before, the Texas State Bobcats.
Texas State has gotten off to a good start, sitting at 3-2 early in the season, while the Beavers have dropped their last four, with a 1-4 record.
The Beavers are still trying to get in rhythm with new setter Emma Lilo and the new style of play they are trying this year. Last year they rotated setters depending on what rotation they were on during the set, but this year Lilo is playing all the way around.
Currently, she is sitting in third in the West Coast Conference in assists with 175. A freshman from Hawaii, Lilo will travel back to her hometown state along with another Hawaii native Alexis Rodriguez.
Beavers offense is run through Lilo, but her top targets to give the ball to have been Lauren Rumel and Annika Hester, a transfer from San Diego.
Rumel leads the charge, averaging just under 16 kills per game. A huge improvement for her and the Beavers squad compared to her season high last year for one game was 14. Hester, along with Rumel, set career highs in kills in their first match of the season. Hester totalled 14, while Rumel secured 21.
The Beavers will also face the hometown team, the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine.
They sit at 3-1 on the season, and have an all time winning record against the Beavers winning five and dropping one.
The Rainbow Wahine won the last matchup 3-0, so the Beavers are looking for revenge in the upcoming game. This game will be played on September 13th at 10 pm PST, and will be streamed on ESPN+.
When the Beavers come back, they will open the gates to Gill Coliseum for the first time this season, facing the University of Washington on September 17th, followed by Portland State on September 20th.