Late-set heroics were not enough for WSU volleyball as they disappointingly lost, yet again, just days after losing to then-No. 9 Oregon at home. It is their first back-to-back loss since the start of the 2022 season and the first back-to-back loss in Bohler since losing to USC and UCLA in early Oct. 2021.

No. 6 WSU (18-5, 8-4) lost to unranked Oregon State (9-13, 4-8) in the first five-set match the Cougs played in Bohler in 2023, 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-20, 18-25, 15-13). As they did against Oregon, WSU took the first let despite not looking their strongest offensively, and once again, they proceeded to lose the match in part because of their offensive struggles.

Hitting just .208% as a team in the match, the worst it got was in the third set, where they hit a putrid .106% altogether and had nine of their 23 attacking errors.

After losing the second and third sets, the Cougs got the crowd revitalized with a big fourth set, where they improved to hitting .270%, including a significant portion of their 16 team blocks on the night.

Winning in a strong final line of 25-18, momentum seemed on the side of the Cougs.

The fifth set started back and forth, and as the teams switched sides, the Cougs held an 8-7 advantage. Continued back-and-forth action commenced until the Beavs pulled away at the last second to take a 15-13 set and 3-2 match win to upset the top-10 Cougs.

Pia Timmer was the focus of the offensive attack, getting 59 attacks, significantly more than anyone else on the team. She had a match-leading 21 kills, her most of the season, but hit just .186% because she committed 10 errors, also the most in the match of either team.

Adding 15 digs and four blocks, Timmer had her third-straight double-double, which was also her fourth of the season.

On the side of Oregon State, they had their own double-double as Mychael Vernon had an impressive 17 kills and 13 digs while hitting .289%. But she was not the most impressive on the side of the Beavers.

That nod goes to Ryan White, who had a jaw-dropping 29 digs and seven assists. White negated several powerful attacks from some of the most powerful hitters in the Pac-12. Her defensive consistency is really what won OSU the match, as she kept the Cougs off balance and thinking where she was on the court.

Magda Jehlárová once again had the most consistent day for WSU, finishing with the second-most kills for WSU at 11 on .348% hitting, adding a team-leading seven blocks and three digs.

Argentina Ung had a good statistical performance despite the overall offensive struggles, finishing with 47 assists, six kills on .545% hitting, 11 digs and five blocks.

Needing to find a fix to their offensive woes, it does not get easier going forward. The next match for WSU is a dreadful 6 p.m. Friday night battle with No. 3 Stanford on their home Maples Pavillion court.