EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 25-ranked Bushnell volleyball team remains undefeated all time in home playoff games after taking down Oregon Tech in a Cascade Collegiate Conference first round clash on Tuesday evening, 16-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-20.
The Beacons (13-8) are now 4-0 in post-season games in the Morse Center, including three Cascade Conference tournament games, and they did it on the strength of a 10-3 blocking margin while responding well to a slow start. Just four days removed from a five-set loss to the same Owls on their home court, Bushnell showed a little bit of the grit that has gotten them through this season.
Head Coach
Jason Corwin said, "We knew the battle we had to head into tonight, and we started off a little slow. Fortunately, we were able to execute the majority of our game plan."
Taya Blankenship led the way for the Beacons with a double-double, collecting 16 kills and 13 digs as she hit .273.
Amyah Semau also earned the double-double with ten kills and 12 digs, along with three blocks and Teagon Dixon had a strong night hitting .500 with seven kills.
Emma Fa'alogo (pictured) led the offense with 24 assists and
Chloe Farr posted a team-high 17 digs while Soliel Sands earned a team-high seven blocks.
"We had a rocky start but our main focus was keeping emotional consistency and we did just that," said Fa'alogo. "We did such a great job collectively collaborating on what we needed to do to get the job done. I also want to shout out our fans and students for showing out. They really helped build the energy in the gym tonight!"
Freshman
Malia Hernandez was the unsung hero for the Beacons, leading multiple rallies from the service line. Bushnell trailed 22-17 late in the third set when Hernandez took over, leading the Beacons to six straight points as they took a 23-22 lead on back-to-back aces.
Then in the fourth, the Beacons were leading 16-15 when Hernandez led a five-point rally to put the set and match out of reach.
"One of our main goals tonight was to get back to our standard of serving and Malia executed that perfectly. Without her serving tonight, the outcome would have been different. It gave us the confidence to push the tempo, which got them out of system more. She set us up for success to cruise to the finish line."
Semau, Bushnell's all-time leader in Kills, went on close the match with a kill on the final point, putting an exclamation mark on what may be her final match inside the Morse Center.
Oregon Tech (9-12) had a strong night in their final match, earning a 53-48 margin in kills and a 76-69 advantage in digs as their scrappy play had the Beacons frustrated in the opening set. Tiffini Goss earned 16 kills while Lucy Boyd posted a double-double with 12 digs and 28 assists.
Kaley Whalen, OIT's all-time leader for digs, closed out her career with a match-high 27 to lead the way. She finishes her career ranked sixth in Cascade Conference history with 1,926 digs.
UP NEXT: The No. 6 seed Beacons are the lowest remaining seed in the CCC tournament as No. 5 seed LC State swept Walla Walla on Tuesday night in the other first-round contest. The Quarterfinals are set for Thursday in Caldwell, Idaho, hosted by CCC co-champion and No. 1 seed College of Idaho.
Bushnell will take on No. 3 seed Corban at 2:00 pm (MT). The teams split their regular-season series with each team winning at home and will play their rubber match on a neutral floor.
