The Barometer Online

Volleyball drops two games on road in California

Beavers fall to No. 3 Stanford, No. 8 California on consecutive nights, hope to get first Pac-10 win over Oregon Friday in Civil War rematch

Issue date: 10/23/06 Section: Sports

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Kristin Murray and the Beavers went 0-2 again this weekend, losing to No. 3 Stanford and No. 8 Cal. OSU hopes to get its first Pac-10 win this Friday against Oregon at home.

Three players tallied double-digit kills to lead the No. 8 Golden Bears past the Beavers in a 3-0 (30-24, 30-21, 30-17) victory Friday night at Haas Pavilion.

OSU, which played short-handed after freshmen Camilla Ah-Hoy and Tricia Yoshimura were injured last week against Arizona State, struggled to put together an effective offense. The Beavers' blocking returned to form Friday, turning away the Bears eight times with Lexie Rathgeber and Brittany Cahoon leading the way with four total blocks apiece.

The loss drops Oregon State's record to 3-15 overall and 0-9 in the Pac-10, while California moves to 15-5 overall and 4-5 in conference play.

Freshman hitter Rachel Rourke paced the Beavers with 10.5 points on eight kills, an ace and three total blocks.

Hana Cutura and Morgan Beck led California with 16.0 points apiece and Jillian Davis added a match-high 20 digs.

It was the second loss in as many nights for OSU, as the Beavers fought to the final point but could not topple No. 3 Stanford. OSU continued to show improvement but was unable to alter the win column.

With the win, Stanford advanced its record to 16-3 overall and 7-1 in the Pac-10.

Rourke scored 12.0 points on 11 kills and an ace to lead the Beavers.

OSU stayed close early, challenging the Cardinal using two kills by Rourke,

Abby Windell and Cahoon gathered momentum to close to 10-11. But five straight points, and seven out of eight for Stanford, pushed the score to 11-18 and Beavers never challenged again.

The Beavers struggled early in game three, falling behind 1-11 before scratching their way back into the game. A kill by Rathgeber, followed by an ace by Kristin Murray and a couple Rourke kills, had the Beavers within six at 10-16. Rourke finished with six kills in the game but wasn't able to push the Beavers to a game three victory.

Sophomore hitter Cynthia Barboza led the Cardinal with a match-high 21.5 points on 20 kills and a match-high 14 digs.

Oregon State returns to its home court to kick off the second half of the Pac-10 schedule facing Oregon in the Civil War rematch Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.

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