The Barometer Online

Issue date: 10/12/06 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Tzu-Ying Chen Senior Abby Windell attacks the net as two USC players reach to block the ball in OSU's 3-0 loss to the Women of Troy

After three straight weeks of Pacific-10 defeats, the OSU women's volleyball team has its best chance at a sweep this weekend when the Beavers host Arizona (9-8 overall, 0-5 Pac-10) and Arizona State (9-7, 1-4).

OSU will start off the weekend with a match against Arizona, a traditionally strong volleyball school. But after losing three players to graduation and a returner to injury, Arizona has found itself in the middle of a six-match losing streak and comes to Corvallis hungry for their first league win.

"They have not had a win like us, so that's going to be a real battle," said outside hitter Brittany Cahoon. "Neither one of us want to give the first Pac-10 win."

Arizona is led by outside hitter Brooke Buringrud, who averages 3.76 kills per game and freshman outside hitter Whitney Dosty, who also averages over three kills per game. Oregon State has not beaten Arizona since 1996, in a four-game match in Gill.

"These next two matches, they're going to be good dogfights," said head coach Taras Liskevych.

Saturday night the Beavers will take on a struggling Arizona State squad at 7 p.m. The Sun Devils have two players that average over three kills per game and a freshman setter who runs the offense, notching over eight assists per game. Despite the talent - libero Sydney Donahue leads the Pac-10 with 6.66 digs per game - ASU has had a rough time winning matches. The same could be said of Oregon State.

The Beavers lost both their matches last week at Washington State and Washington and are still trying to integrate eight true freshmen into the lineup.

"We've stumbled a little bit in matches we should have won," Liskevych said. "But hey, that's water under the bridge and we just have to look ahead."

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