Eneliko Leads Beavers to Come from Behind Win over Wyoming

osubeavers.com

(Laramie, Wyo.) - Junior middle blocker Ashley Eneliko (Seattle, Wash.) hit .625, killing 16 balls on 24 attempts to lead the Oregon State volleyball team to a five-set come from behind win (23-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 15-13) over the Wyoming Cowgirls on Friday afternoon in the Beavers’ second match of the UniWyo Wyoming Invite.

“First of all, it was a great comeback,” head coach Taras Liskevych said. “I think the key for us in that match was Ashley Eneliko’s attacking. And Camille Saxton, who started out poorly, really steadied out in sets three, four and five. There was timely serving by Corinna [Mommert], and that’s a good match for us to win. This is the kind of early in the year match that we need. And I think it shows their character – they never quit and played hard. And it’s good to beat Wyoming, who played hard at home.”

Junior Camille Saxton (Balzac, Alberta) had a career match with a match-high 17 kills, while senior outside hitter Dre Shaw (Wailuku, Hawai’i) added 12.

Four players reached double-digits for digs with sophomore libero Becky Defoe (Bend, Ore.) joining the 30-dig club with exactly 30, while Shaw dug 12 balls and juniors Megan McBride (Auburn, Wash.) and Alyssa O’Neil (West Linn, Ore.) contributing 11 and 10, respectively. And freshman Arica Nassar (Menifee, Calif.) posted a team-high six blocks.

Wyoming opened the match with a handful of blocks and kills to open the gap to as many as five at two points in the set. But freshman Corinna Mommert (Paderborn, Germany) served the Beavers back into the match with her deep float serve to tie things up at nine all. Back-to-back Saxton kills from the back row, coupled with Defoe’s big opponent-frustrating digs, lifted the Beavers but six Wyoming blocks and five unforced hitting errors gave Wyoming the 1-0 advantage.

Oregon State came out swinging in the second set, taking the early lead before Wyoming battled back to tie it at the midway point. The Beavers regained the lead but the Cowgirls strung together a pair of runs to take the 2-0 lead going into the break.

Falling behind early to Wyoming, once again behind Mommert’s serving, the Beavers rebounded tying the set at eight before holding onto the lead before redshirt freshman Laura Schaudt (Philomath, Ore.) put away the third set with a kill. Saxton killed five balls, while Eneliko added three out of the team’s 14 total kills in the set.

Saxton came up big in the fourth set with six more kills with Shaw and Mommert adding three each. The Beavers only had to count three unforced errors to force a deciding fifth set.

The two teams exchanged points to start the fifth with Wyoming holding the slim advantage early before Oregon State tied it at 6-6. Although the Cowgirls threatened, they were unable to tie it again with the Beavers holding on for the match point behind a Mommert kill.

Wyoming was led by outside hitter Jodi Purdy with 12 kills and 21 digs.

Oregon State outdug the Cowgirls 77-57, and tallied 65 kills to Wyoming’s 51.

Oregon State continues play in the UniWyo Wyoming Invite on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. PT when it takes on the South Dakota Coyotes.

Oregon State Notes: Oregon State has started off the season 2-0 for three of the last four seasons - Sophomore Becky Defoe set a new career-high for digs with 30, tying the school record for the seventh most in a single match - Junior Ashley Eneliko set a new career-high for kills with 16; set a new best hitting percentage .625 - Junior Camille Saxton posted a new best for kills with 17 - Senior Dre Shaw tallied her first double-double of the season, third career with 12 kills and 12 digs - Junior Megan McBride earned her second double-double of the day, seventh career, with 43 assists and 11 digs.

Source: Oregon State Athletics osubeavers.com