Bushnell University

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The No. 25-ranked Bushnell volleyball team can still earn a first-round bye in the CCC tournament, but now they will need a little help after being upset by Oregon Tech on the penultimate night of the CCC regular season, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 15-8.
 
Trailing two sets to one, the Beacons looked to have figured things out as they came back to tie the match with a strong fourth set, hitting .314, but it was the Owls who responded in the tie-breaker, storming out to a 9-1 lead before settling in for the win.
 
The Beacons out-hit OIT .178 to .165 in the contest, but for one of the few times this season was out-blocked 11-10 and out-aced 6-1.
 
Leading the offense for Bushell (17-9, 12-7 CCC) was junior Taya Blankenship, hitting .208 with 18 kills and 12 digs. Amyah Semau also earned a double-double with ten kills and 13 digs while Teagan Dixon had a strong night on the right side with 11 kills and three blocks. Carly Hanna earned the Beacons only service ace and led the team with five blocks.
 
Reigning CCC Setter of the Week Avery McCallister earned 30 assists while Chloe Farr posted a team-high 15 digs.
 
Oregon Tech (15-12, 9-10) was led by Tiffini Goss with 17 kills while Aleksen Thayer earned eight kills and eight blocks. Kaley Whalen led all players with 17 digs and Lucy Boyd finished with a match-high 34 assists.
 
"We lost to a tough road opponent in an electric venue on senior night," said Head Coach Jason Corwin. "Hats off to Tech for playing better for longer stretches than us. We can't dwell on it. We will get ready for another tough road game tomorrow night."
 
UP NEXT: The Beacons began the weekend in a three-way tie for fourth-place in the CCC with the top-four teams automatically advancing to next Friday's conference tournament quarterfinals. The fifth and sixth-place finishers will need to host and win a play-in game on Tuesday.
 
Bushnell now heads into Saturday still tied with both Lewis-Clark State and Southern Oregon as both squads lost their respective games on Friday as well, and both doing so in five sets. All three squads are 12-7 in CCC action.
 
LC State sits in the drivers seat, as they claim all tie-breakers and will earn fourth-place with a win against No. 2-ranked Eastern Oregon on Saturday. Should the Warriors fall to EOU, then the win over the Bushnell-SOU head-to-head clash will take the spot. Both games are scheduled for a first-serve at 4:00 pm on Saturday.