Oregon State women’s volleyball had a thunderous home win in the contest at Gill Coliseum, showcasing some rock steady defense and potent offense against the Montana State University Bobcats in their decisive 3-0 sweep.
When Lindsey Behonick, the head coach, was asked about how she felt being in Gill, she said “we’re excited to be back, and I think the girls are happy to be back in Gill as well…It’s good to be familiar with our gym, and I think in our gym, we come. We’re a little tougher.”
The Beavers started the game off to a good start, knocking down an easy point by Rumel. But MSU responded in kind with 2 straight points. OSU and MSU duked it out until it was 6-4 in the first. When Bobcats coach Matt Houk challenged a call, it was then reversed in MSU’s favor, yet the Beavers rallied off this overturn.
With lightning fast offense and lockdown defense, they led the way into the first break of the game 15-10. Alana Mars and Lauren Rumel then pulled the team ahead to a 7 point lead, forcing MSU into calling a timeout. OSU continued their train of good offense and better defense, extending their lead to 22-12 and forcing the Bobcats to use their second timeout to find their bearings. They hit set point 24-14, with Maeli Cormier landing the final kill to deliver a win for the first set.
Coach Behonick described the team’s defensive mindset as well saying “We’re a team that goes for it in everything we do…whether it’s defensively we want to go attack the opposing attacker and block balls. And if that front line can’t do it, then just have really good defense from behind, and we’re a team that wants to hit hard all the time.”
Hard hits and blocks seemed to come in plenty in the remaining sets. With a “deep roster” in Behonick’s words, they used a large rotation of players to press their advantage through the set. Rumel’s powerful spikes, everyone’s turtle shell defense, and Marrs’ repeated blocks and timely aces, the Bobcats were kept on their back feet.
A lot of the success in the second set can be attributed to Marrs, who made critical contributions to all aspects of the game. Throughout the night, she impressed with digs, passes, and blocks that further widened OSU’s lead in the second set.
“She’s a freshman playing in a new position, also doing a lot, like she’s passing for us and through rotations and blocking and digging, and she’s not just a one-dimensional player,” Behonick said. “For her to just be on the attack all night and have no errors is great use of confidence for her going into the rest of this weekend, as well as our team.”
Montana State continued to feel the pressure of the Beavers offensive assault and crisp collaboration. Leading them to again use their timeouts. The Beavers went on a run, and the Bobcats could not stop it. After the final timeout, and the Beavers more than 10 point lead, Rummel and Keila Gabriel, an opposite hitter, brought the second set home.
Montana State came out hot in the third set, taking a 3-8 lead that forced the Beavers to regroup. It seemed like they had finally found an answer for the aggressive offense of OSU, and a way to get through the defense. Tense, extended volleys set the stage for a gritty OSU comeback, with relentless defense and timely kills from Rumel and others.
The gap closed point by point until OSU fought it back to tie it 14-14 after a successful challenge, which set up for the finish. Marrs recalled her favorite moment of the final set being a big block with Annika Hester, an opposite, whose setting helped turn a 4 point deficit into a 1 point lead, and a big kill which may have hit the players face, but regardless it was a great moment for her.
The two teams continued dueling it out point by point, with defense by both teams bringing the Bobcats to take a timeout with the score at 19-17. After the timeout, the Beavers pulled ahead yet again to match point at 24-19. However, the Bobcats clawed their way back to a 24-21 game, which sent the Beavers into their last timeout of the game.
Not even 30 seconds back from the timeout, a final kill settled the game, a clean 3-0 sweep by the OSU Beavers on their home court. With this sweep and two more games this week, the Beavers remain focused but hungry for more. Coach Behonick concluded “I see our training start to translate into real confidence. We’re not looking too far ahead or behind; we’re focused on growing together, ready to discover more about ourselves every match and make every opportunity count. The sky’s the limit for this group.”
The Beavers continue in the ASICS Invitational tomorrow, Sep. 12 against UC Irvine with first serve coming at the same time, 6:30 p.m., back at Gill Coliseum.
