PULLMAN, Washington. – The Oregon State volleyball team lost its game in four sets on the road to Washington State on Thursday night.

The Cougars used late runs to defeat the Beavers (4-12, 2-4 WCC) in the decisive third and fourth sets after splitting the first two sets. The final score was 15-25, 25-16, 20-25, 18-25.

Although a Beaver trio tallied double-digit kills, the offense was limited to a .223 hitting percentage after a combined 20 errors. Annika Hester (16 kills), Amanda Burns (11) and Lauren Rumel (10) led Oregon State’s attack throughout Alexis Rodríguez Dozens of excavations led the defense. Rumel recorded her third double-double of the season as she complemented her kills with 11 digs. Emma Lilo helped the offense with 22 assists, while Alara Doganyuz added 16 assists.

A frame after holding the Beavers to a .185 batting average, Oregon State evened things up with a nine-point set win, holding the Cougars to a .156 batting average. Three beavers – Iris CobaLilo and Rodriguez – all service aces, while the team committed just seven errors in total. Rodriguez and Rumel led the defense with four digs each, while Doganyuz and Lilo kept the offense going with six helpers each.

Oregon State had as many as three setbacks in the deciding fifth set and used a final push when they needed it most to beat San Francisco 15-13. At the risk of losing the final two sets – and ultimately the game – the Beavers scored five of the final six points of the set after trailing 12-10. A Hester kill, block by Hester and Zaria Thornton and a Iris Coba Service Ace secured the victory. Paired with runs of 3-0 and 4-0, Oregon State built a lead of up to eight in several instances en route to winning the set.

With the first 38 points of the set totaling 19 points each, a strong run was needed to secure the set. A Yasemin Narlioglu The service error wasn’t what the Beavers needed in the deciding third to give the Cougars a 20-19 lead. Freshly scored, Washington State scored five of the next six points and took the frame win 25-20. Hester led Oregon State’s offense in the set with seven kills, while Rodriguez had four digs.

Oregon State was held to just .138 by the Cougars in the fourth set and fell to the semifinals by a 25-18 margin. With a dozen errors, including six on offense, the Beavers couldn’t win the game by the same margin as they did a year ago in Pullman. The two teams fought three duels before Washington State took the lead for good with a score of 7-6. To tie the game midway through the set, Oregon State went on a 3-0 run to trail 16-15. Washington State responded with a 5-0 run to put the game out of reach.

The Beavers will cap off the weekend with a contest on Saturday the 19th^Thagainst Gonzaga. Spokane’s first serve is scheduled for noon and can be seen on ESPN+.

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