By Mark Colachico, Contributing Writer

FOREST GROVE, Ore. – The Willamette University women's volleyball team split its pair of matches on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 10 at the Oregon Trail Classic hosted by Pacific University inside the Stoller Center. The Bearcats defeated Austin College (Texas), 3-0, on scores of 25-20, 26-24, and 25-16, before falling to North Park University (Chicago, Ill.), 3-0, as the Vikings won 25-23, 27-25, 25-20. The Bearcats' three-set sweep over the 'Roos of Austin in their opening match of the Oregon Trail Classic earned Willamette its first victory of the 2022 season.

Olivia Cadien (So., OH, Mesa, AZ/Chandler Preparatory Academy) led Willamette's offensive attack, collecting a combined 19 kills in the two matches, while Dani Queja (Sr., OH, Ewa Beach, HI/Maryknoll School) provided a combined 13 kills for the Bearcats.

MATCH #1 – WILLAMETTE 3, AUSTIN (TEXAS) 0 | 25-20, 26-24, 25-16

The Willamette University women's volleyball team picked up its first win of the 2022 season, as the Bearcats swept Austin College (Texas), 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-16), at the Oregon Trail Classic Saturday afternoon inside the Stoller Center on the campus of Pacific University of Oregon. With the victory, Willamette improves to 1-4 on the season with Austin falling to 5-4 for the year.

Cadien led all players with nine kills, while a pair of Bearcats – Queja and Kaitlyn Westby (So., MH, Redmond, WA/Eastside Catholic HS) – tallied seven kills each. Emma Porter (Sr., S, Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) handed out a match-high 26 assists to go along with 10 digs en route to recording her fourth double-double of the season, while Shyla Sato (Sr., LIB, Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) tallied a match-leading 21 digs posting her fourth match of the season with 15-or-more digs.

The match started with Austin scoring the first three points on a trio of Bearcat attacking errors before Willamette used a 7-1 run taking a 7-4 lead on a kill by Cadien. The 'Roos of Austin would get within a single point (15-14) on a combo block by Mattie Duncan and Victoria Smith before the Bearcats put together a 9-6 run setting up their first set point. Willamette would capitalize on its first opportunity to take the opening set, as Queja registered a kill resulting in a 25-20 victory for the Bearcats.

Set #2 would a back-and-forth affair over the opening 28 combined points before Willamette broke a 14-14 tie with a quick 3-0 run highlighted by the serving expertise of Kaiona Apio (Jr., OH, Edmonds, WA/Edmonds-Woodway HS) that led to a 17-14 Bearcat advantage. Austin would answer Willamette's run with a 10-5 run of its own, as the 'Roos had a chance to tie the match at a set-apiece only to see the Bearcats close out the middle set on a 4-0 run capitalized by kills by Queja and Cadien resulting in a 26-24 win.

The third and final set began with Sato serving up six straight points that included a service ace that gave Willamette a quick 6-0 lead. The Bearcats would increase their lead to as much as 11 points at 13-2 on an Austin attack error before Willamette increased its advantage to a set-best 14 points, 18-4, on a service ace by Steele Jasa (Sr., DS/S, Bend, OR/Summit HS). Willamette would never relinquish its lead, keeping Austin at bay for the remainder of the match and earning a 25-16 victory for the three-set sweep.

Olivia Linton led Austin with seven kills, while Smith and Riley Abernathy added five kills each. The setting duo of Brianne Tseng and Madison Manning combined for 23 assists, as Tseng handed out 12 and Manning registered 11 in the match. Abernathy also led the 'Roos defensively with 10 digs, while Mattie Duncan tallied a team-high five blocks.

MATCH #2 – NORTH PARK (ILL.) 3, WILLAMETTE 0 | 25-23, 27-25, 25-20

The Willamette University women's volleyball team attempted to complete its sweep at the Oregon Trail Classic hosted by Pacific University of Oregon, but the Bearcats could not overcome the offensive attack of North Park University—Chicago (Ill.) falling in straight sets, 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-20), to complete play Saturday afternoon, Sept. 10, inside the Stoller Center. Following the results, Willamette falls to 1-5 on the season with North Park improving to 7-2.

For the second straight match, Cadien led the Bearcats' attack with a team-high 10 kills to go along with six kills by Queja. Porter handed out a team-leading 21 assists to go along with seven digs, while Sato tallied a match-high 21 digs defensively for Willamette.

The opening set featured both teams trading blows throughout, with neither team earning more than a two-point lead over the first 46 combined points. With the set tied at 23-apiece, North Park tallied back-to-back points that included a set-closing service ace by Jenna Jones to earn the hard-fought 25-23 victory.

Set #2 was similar to the opening set, as neither team could pull away in the beginning before Willamette snapped a 7-7 tie by using an 11-7 run that was capped by a service ace from Apio to give the Bearcats an 18-15 lead. Unfortunately that would be the largest lead for Willamette in the middle set, as North Park battled back to tie the set at 25-25 on a kill by Adriana Rodriguez. The Vikings would score the final two points on another kill by Rodriguez followed by a set-closing ace from Jones, as North Park took the middle set by a final score of 27-25.

The third and final set would belong to North Park, as the Vikings jumped out to a 12-5 lead. Despite Willamette battling back to within two points (16-14) on a kill by Cadien, the Bearcats could not get any closer as North Park closed out the match on a 9-6 run resulting in the 25-20 victory and a three-set sweep.

Rodriguez led all players with a match-high 14 kills for North Park, while Rhianna Huebner and Abby Richmond added nine and six kills, respectively. Christina Gatta recorded a double-double for North Park handing out a match-best 31 assists for the Vikings to go along with 12 assists, while Carolina Aviles provided a team-leading 14 digs defensively.

Having now closed out the non-conference portion of its 2022 schedule, Willamette turns its sight towards Northwest Conference play starting on Friday, Sept. 16, against the Wildcats of Linfield University beginning at 7 p.m. (PDT) inside Ted Wilson Gymnasium in McMinnville, Oregon.