MEN'S SOCCER

Thursday 11/2 at Southern Oregon, 3:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
The Beacons (6-8-3, 2-8-2 CCC) had their best weekend of the season, pulling out two victories including their first-ever win against Rocky Mountain, 4-3 on Friday. They earned their first shutout win of the season on Sunday over Walla Walla, 2-0.
 
Bushnell hits the road for their final game on Thursday, traveling to face CCC Champion Southern Oregon in a makeup game which had been postponed due to air quality issues earlier this season.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore defender Jay Jay Van Der Velde was named the Cascade Conference Rize Laboratory Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week this week. The sophomore defender from Utrecht, Netherlands, led the Beacons in both wins. In the first-ever victory over Rocky Mountain College, he scored the game-winning goal in the 70th minute. In the second defeat over Walla Walla University he assisted in both the goals, leading Bushnell's defensive efforts while only allowing two shots-on-goal. 

An All-CCC honorable mention in 2022, Van Der Velde is the second Beacon to be recognized with a CCC weekly award this season, and the first Defensive Player of the Week in six years. 
 
RECORD BREAKER: Freshman Omar Barajas moved up to second in the conference in assists with seven on the season, grabbing two more this weekend to break Bushnell's single-season record. The former record of five assists was set by Jun Yoon in 2010.
 
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: Bushnell finished 12th in the CCC this season, having scored eight points so far off of two wins and two assists. The Beacons are currently sixth in conference in goals (2.0/g) and are fifth in assists (1.59/g). They remain at 13th in the CCC in goals against, allowing 2.53 per contest.
 
SOUTHERN OREGON: The Raiders (15-2, 11-1 CCC) cruised to the Cascade Collegiate Conference regular-season championship and has won eight straight games heading in to Thursday's contest with the Beacons.
 
SOU is currently third in the conference in goals scored (2.59/g) and tied for first in goals allowed with 0.71 per match. The have only allowed five goals over 12 conference matches this season. Adrian Villegas leads SOU and the CCC with 2.06 points per game. He has 12 goals and 11 assists this season.
 
Southern Oregon has never lost to the Beacons, owning a 9-0-1 advantage in the all-time series.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

Thursday 11/2 at Southern Oregon, 5:30 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
Monday 11/6 at CCC Quarterfinals, 5:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
Bushnell clinched its first bid to the CCC tournament in seven years following a 1-1 draw with Rocky Mountain College. The Beacons trailed for over 80 minutes before Sydney Petersen knocked in an 87th-minute goal. Lexi Bates saved a penalty kick less than a minute later to maintain the draw and help the Beacons secure the playoff bid on their own power.
 
The Beacons will wrap up the regular season on Thursday in a makeup game with Southern Oregon. The winner of this match will earn the No. 7 seed, while the loser will be the No. 8 seed.
The CCC Tournament begins on Monday with the Quarterfinal round. The Beacons will take on either the top-seed, the College of Idaho, or second-seeded Carroll College. During the regular season, Bushnell fell 1-0 to the Yotes and tied 1-1 with the Fighting Saints.
 
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: Bushnell (5-6-3, 4-4-3 CCC) is currently in eighth place in the conference standings with 15 points. A win over Southern Oregon on Thursday will secure them the seven-seed for the CCC tournament, while a loss or tie will keep them in eighth.  
 
Bushnell is tenth in the conference in goals, averaging one per game, and are seventh in goals allowed (1.07/g). Junior Lexi Bates is ranked fifth in the CCC in saves (4.38/g) and in CCC games, ranks sixth in Goals Against Average (0.89). She is tied for third in shutouts in conference games with three.  
 
SOUTHERN OREGON: The Raiders (7-6-4, 4-3-4 CCC) enter Thursday's game in seventh place in the conference standings. Last weekend they earned a forfeit win over Evergreen before falling 3-1 to Northwest.
 
Southern Oregon is fifth in the CCC in goals (1.25/g) and goals against (1.00/g).
 
Southern holds a 17-0-2 advantage in the all-time series with Bushnell, shutting out the Beacons in the last five straight matchups.
 

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Thursday 11/2 at Montana-Western, 5:00 pm (MT) (Livestats | Video Stream)
Friday 11/3 vs. Montana Tech, 12:00 pm (MT) (Livestats | Video Stream)

Bushnell travels to Montana this week to take on (RV) Montana Western on Thursday and Montana Tech on Friday. The Beacons tipped off the season last week, taking on NCAA Division II powerhouse Western Washington University, falling to the Vikings 72-35 in the exhibition game.
 
Montana Western, who is receiving votes in the NAIA Women's Basketball preseason poll, advanced to the NAIA National Tournament Quarterfinals last season. The Bulldogs opened their season against the College of Idaho, defeating the Yotes, 83-65. The Beacons are 0-2 in the all-time series with the Bulldogs.
 
Montana Tech went 7-19 overall and 3-12 in conference action last season. The Orediggers played a pair of exhibition games to open the season, taking on Montana State University and Eastern Washington University. Bushnell and Montana Tech are 1-1 in the all-time series. Aspen Slifka scored 34 points in the 2021 matchup which ranks third in individual single-game scoring for the Beacons.
 
For the full 2023-24 women's basketball preview, click here.
 

CROSS COUNTRY

Bushnell at CCC Championship (Livestats)
Friday 11/3, Women 11:00 am (MT), Men 12:00 pm (MT)
 
The Beacons are headed to Caldwell, Idaho on Friday for the 2023 CCC Championships. The men will be looking to improve on a seventh-place finish from last season. For the women, who will be competing at 6000-meters for the first time for a conference championship, finished in sixth-place last season.
 

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Friday 11/3 vs. Grace, 5:30 pm (MT) (Livestats | Video Stream)
Saturday 11/4 vs. Bethel, 3:00 pm (MT) (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
Bushnell will have a tall task on their hands this weekend as they compete in the Cascade-Crossroads Classic in Klamath Falls, Oregon. They open up against Grace College, who opened the season ranked No. 2 in the NAIA.
 
The Beacons played the same two schools in the same tournament last season, but in Indiana. Bethel won their game 101-91 while Grace was victorious by an 89-66 margin.
 
A complete preview for the 2023-2024 men's basketball season will be available on Wednesday.
 

VOLLEYBALL

Friday 11/3 vs. Oregon Tech, 7:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
Saturday 11/4 vs. Southern Oregon, 5:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
Bushnell dropped a pair of tough road games over the weekend, falling to No. 3 Eastern Oregon as well as The College of Idaho, both in four sets. This weekend they close out the regular season, playing host to Oregon Tech and No. 16 Southern Oregon University.
 
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: Bushnell has clinched a spot in the CCC tournament, and a spot in one of the play-in games on Tuesday, November 7. The Beacons will secure a No. 5 or No. 6 seed and a hosting opportunity, if they pull out one win this weekend, or Oregon Tech loses at least one of their final games.
 
STAT WATCH: The Beacons are currently ranked sixth in the CCC for both hitting percentage (.163) and fifth for defensive hitting percentage (.149). They are also fourth in the conference for service aces (1.69/set) and fifth in blocks (2.15/set).
 
Junior Bella Parque is third in the CCC in digs with 4.86 per set. Redshirt freshman Katie Belitz leads the team and is sixth in the conference with 0.34 aces per set.
 
HISTORY IN THE MAKING: Senior Halle Neumann is within striking distance of becoming Bushnell's all-time leader for kills this season. She is second all-time with 887 and needs 36 more to pass Janel (Fetters) Coburn for the most in school history.
 
SENIOR NIGHT: Saturday night will be the final regular-season home game for the Beacons and the team will honor seniors Peyton Ritchie, Halle Neumann, Chloe Kurahara, and Brooke Silvernail in a pre-game ceremony.
 
OREGON TECH: The Owls (12-15, 10-10) sit two games behind the Beacons in seventh-place in the CCC they need to win both matches this weekend to have a chance to jump ahead of Bushnell in the standings and into a hosting spot for the play-in game. OIT has won five of their last six matches.
 
The Owls are ranked fifth in the CCC for hitting percentage (.165) and are seventh for defense, allowing opponents to hit .174 against them. They rank fourth in the CCC for digs with 15.88 per set. Molly Grace provides plenty of offense, ranked third in the conference with 3.48 kills per set.
 
Bushnell has won six of the last seven meetings with Oregon Tech, but the Owls still hold a slight 19-16 historical advantage. The Beacons are 16-10 dating back to 2010, after Tech won the first nine meetings. Bushnell won earlier this season on the road in five sets.
 
SOUTHERN OREGON: The Raiders (23-5, 16-4) come into the weekend having won eight straight matches. Four of their five losses this season have been to teams ranked in the NAIA's current Top-11 ranked teams.
 
SOU has been an offensive juggernaut this year, leading the CCC and ranked No. 12 in the NAIA with a .253 attack percentage. Defensively they are even better, ranked No. 4 in the NAIA with an average of 2.62 blocks per set. Individually, Sadie Byrd is third in the nation in blocks, averaging 1.46 per set.
 
The Raiders are 29-5 all-time against the Beacons and have won nine of the last ten meetings, dating back to 2018. Last season, Bushnell took SOU to five sets at home.