PHOTO GALLERY

EUGENE, Ore.  – Bushnell played in the Morse Center for the first time this season on Friday night, and took care of business, knocking off Oregon Tech in three sets, 25-17, 25-23, 25-21 in a battle of teams currently receiving votes in the NAIA national coaches poll.
 
"We knew OIT was going to come in with a lot of confidence, being 5-0 in conference," said head coach Jason Corwin. "They have been doing a lot of really good things, have some great athletes and are well coached. We knew we would have our hands full, but we had a good game plan tonight and did a good job of executing it."
 
The first home game of the season also meant the first home game in front of fans for the first time in 22 months for the Beacons, and a raucous student section made their presence felt. "Not only was it just great to be able to play in front of a crowd and have our students in the building," said Corwin, "we were able to feed off of them. They were loud and gave us a nice boost tonight."
 
The Beacons hit over .200 for the seventh time this season and the Beacon out-blocked Tech, 7-4. The Owls were held to a .082 percentage.
 
Bushnell never trailed during the first two sets, holding the Owls to six kills and eight errors in the first, and showing some resolve in the second set. After Oregon Tech scored three points to tie the game at 22-22, the Beacons answered with three kills over the next four points to seal it.
 
OIT switched from their usual 6/2 offense to a 5/1 for the set three, keeping setter Paige Tevelde on the court for all six rotations. The plan worked to perfection early in the set as Bushnell was slow to adjust and the Owls built a 13-7.
 
The Beacons then scored six straight points to climb within one and eventually took the lead for good at 20-19 after the third straight kill for Jessica Northcutt.
 
"We had a couple hiccups tonight," said Corwin, "and we've seen Tech come back this season to win in five after dropping early sets. It took longer than I wanted it to for us to adjust in the third set. It was a little learning moment for us as we dug ourselves a hole, but the team responded well and showed some problem solving."
 
Junior setter Makenna Northern averaged over 11 assists per set for the Beacons, collecting 35 assists. Callie Wilkins led all players with 18 digs, establishing her presence early with 12 digs in the first set. Bushnell led OIT 6-3 in aces, getting three from Bella Parque and two from Cambria Lingenfelder.
 
The pin hitters were led by Shay Coons with 11 kills, Jessica Northcutt added seven and Halle Neumann collected six. It was Middle Blocker Payton Jones that stood out, though, grabbing eight kills without an error and equaling Neumann for a match-high four blocks.
 
Coach Corwin said, "Our hitters were a little out of rhythm tonight but they just found ways to score points. Peyton was huge for us tonight. When we needed a point, she was there for us and that was a big deal."
 
Neumann added, "Tonight was a great start to hard weekend getting the win. We had a strong block which set up our defense for success. I am excited to see our team's full potential this season."
 
Oregon Tech (9-2, 5-1) was led by the duo of Kaylin Talonen and Faith Houck-Wylie, posting seven kills apiece. Aubrey Kievit posted ten digs while Tevelde ended the night with 13 assists, including ten in the third set.
 
Bushnell will return to action on Saturday at 5:00 pm when they play host to Southern Oregon (7-5, 2-4 CCC) at 5:00 pm. Oregon Tech will head to Salem to take on No. 7 Corban, now the only undefeated team remaining in the CCC.