The Beavers, who improved to 20-9 and 10-7 in the Pac-12, have won nine of their last 11 matches.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The red-hot Oregon State volleyball team notched its first win over a Top 10 team since 2012 Friday night when the Beavers defeated No. 10 Washington in a five-set thriller. The win over the Huskies completes the season sweep for the Beavers for the first time since 1998.
The Beavers, who improved to 20-9 and 10-7 in the Pac-12, have won nine of their last 11 matches. Friday's set scores were 26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 19-25 and 15-13. OSU's 10 conference wins match the most by the Orange and Black since 2001.
Senior Mary-Kate Marshall, who has led the Beavers in kills in 26 out of 29 matches in 2017, once again led the squad with 15 kills. But it was a balanced offensive attack for the Beavers with Maddie Goings contributing 14 kills, while middle blockers Kory Cheshire and Maddy Gravley each posted 11 kills, tying Gravley's career-high. Cheshire added a trio of service aces.
RELATED: Penn State keeps rolling this season
Oregon State looked inspired from the outset using a 4-0 flurry to take a 6-2 lead in the opening stanza. Setter Kylee McLaughlin, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, distributed the ball evenly early getting all of her weapons touches but was also aggressive on the attack herself registering three kills on her own in Set 1. The Huskies closed the gap to within a point at 14-13, but OSU had an answer every time they neared. Inching ahead to a 19-15 lead, UW once again closed on the Beavers late in the set to take a 24-23 lead serving for set point, but Marshall was having none of it registering her fourth kill of the set to tie the score. Cheshire finished the set with an ace to give the Beavers the early advantage in the match, 26-24.
Beavs Win! Take down No. 10 Washington in five! #GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/53TtzGGDJd
— Oregon State VBall (@BeaverVBall) November 18, 2017
In the second set, the Beavers once again went on a five-point run with kills from Gravley and Marshall and a block from McLaughlin to gain a 9-6 advantage. The Dawgs kept it the second set close though tying the score at 14-14. OSU began to move out once again with Marshall and Gravley again getting back-to-back setting up a big block by Haylie Bennett to give the Beavers a 19-15 lead. Bennett added another pair of blocks and Cheshire won a joust at the net to take the set, 25-20, and send OSU to intermission ahead two sets to none.
Washington used the 10-minute break to its advantage breaking the momentum to secure the third and fourth sets from the Beavers. In the third set the Huskies used a pair of 4-0 runs to pull away from the Beavers, while in the fourth, the Dawgs put together a seven-point run that went unanswered by OSU.
RELATED: USC's Lanier named Player of the Week
The fifth set was rife with long, wild rallies and the largest lead came with OSU leading 5-2 following back-to-back kills from Marshall and Bennett. However, tough serving and a couple passing miscues by the Beavers put the Huskies right back in game at 5-5. As the teams battled back and forth, UW took the 8-7 lead at the mid-point as the teams switched ends. The squads battled to ties at 9-9, then 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12. Finally a kill from Marshall gave the Beavers their last lead and an attack error by the Huskies gave OSU set point at 14-12. UW staved off the first point but could not hold off Marshall on the final play of the match as the Beavers took the set and match 15-13.
Game Notes: The win over Washington completes the season-sweep of the Huskies for the first time since 1998 … OSU recorded its 20th win of the regular season for the first time since 1990 … The Beavers also registered their 10th conference win of the season, the most since 2001 … The Beavers' win over No. 10 Washington also marks the first win over a top 10 opponent since 2012 - when OSU defeated then-No. 2 Penn State in five sets … Mary-Kate Marshall finished with a team-leading 15 kills. She has now led the Beavers in kills in 26 out of 29 matches … Five OSU players accumulated double-digit digs – Maddie Goings (24), Grace Massey (18), Kayla Ellis (16), Kylee McLaughlin (14) and Marshall (12) … Three Beavers posted double-doubles – Marshall (15 kills, 12 digs), Goings (14 kills, 24 digs) and McLaughlin (47 assists, 14 digs).
Next Up: Oregon State remains home this Sunday to take on Washington State at 3 p.m. The match will be televised on Pac-12 Oregon and Washington.
