KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - The women's volleyball team dropped its final game of their Oregon road trip as they fell to OIT in four sets yesterday afternoon.
Simpson held the 18-15 advantage before the Hustlin' Owls went on a 6-0 run to take the three point-lead with two huge kills by Steffini Goss and Aleksen Thayer. A huge kill by
Tiara Manns tied the game at 23 before the Owls closed out the 25-23 first set victory on a kill by Kaliko Schilling.
With the score tied at 11 in the second set, the Red Hawks rallied for eight straight points to take the 19-11 lead on a pair of kills by
Mariah Napoleon and five attacking errors by the Owls. Simpson capped off the convincing second set victory with five unanswered points on three double blocks by
Maggie Warden and
Louise Oliveira to take the 25-15 second set.
The Red Hawks held the early 10-7 lead before the Owls went on a set-changing 9-1 run to take the 16-11 lead. A kill by Napoleon and a double block by Warden and Napoleon pulled Simpson within two. But the Owls' 5-1 run proved to be too costly as they held off the Red Hawks late rally to take the third set 25-21 on a kill by Alexa Gugliotta.
The Owl's saved its best for last as they hit .333 as a team while notching 15 kills to take the 25-16 fourth set victory to close out the match.
Mariah Napoleon posted a team-high 10 kills to go along with six digs and two aces, while
Brooke Sarahina notched 23 assists.
Louise Oliveira,
Maggie Warden, and
Kimora McKechnie played a pivotal role in the front row as they combined for 14 total blocks.
Brooklyn Jimenez had a solid game on defense as she recorded 22 digs to go along with two aces.
Simpson welcomes Walla Walla on Wednesday at 7 pm for its home opener at the James M. Grant Center.
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