The Barometer Online

Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Curtis Barnard Junior outside hitter Bree Knitter finished Friday's match against Washington with seven kills. Knitter and the Beavers were swept by No. 5 UW before a five set loss to Washington State.

The best word to describe the Oregon State volleyball team after this weekend would be "disappointed."

OSU (14-13, 3-11 Pac-10) welcomed the two Washington schools in hopes of earning their first victories in the pursuit of three wins to earn a NCAA Tournament berth. No. 5 Washington (21-4, 12-3) walked into Legendary Gill Coliseum and made quick work of the Beavers in three sets, with set two the only close set of the match.

"We came out knowing we could win," junior outside hitter Rachel Rourke said. "It is the same thing we know we can win we just have to do it."

Washington was in control early in set one extending its lead to 12-8 despite a service ace by OSU freshman defensive specialist Betsy Devich. The Beavers worked their way back into the match as Rourke began to raise her kill number bringing Oregon State within three. UW took three straight points as they continued to side out the Beavers on the way to a 25-19 set one victory.

"We do great things sometimes and we need to do those consistently," junior outside hitter Bree Knitter said.

Set two was a back-and-forth battle until the end as Rourke set down 10 kills in the set while combining on a block with junior middle blocker Lexie Rathgeber pushing the Beaver lead to 11-8. Washington fought back, bringing the set to a 15-15 tie. The Huskies fended off the Rourke attack late, winning the set 26-24.

In the third set the Huskies held Rourke at bay, taking a 12-8 lead early. Multiple three-point runs resulted in a 25-16 third set decision. Rourke finished the match with a game-high 25 kills, the only Beaver in double digits. Devich led OSU with 12 digs.

"This was the first time in a while that we distributed our sets well," head coach Taras Liskevych said. "Obviously Rachel with her 25 kills. We attacked well and sided out well."

The second match of the weekend was ripe for a win as Oregon State welcomed a then-winless Washington State (8-18, 1-14) team to Legendary Gill Coliseum. The Beavers had hoped to keep the past from repeating itself, as the Cougars earned their only Pac-10 win of the season last year in Pullman in the final game of the season against Oregon State.

Continued...

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