The Oregon sand volleyball program picked up its first win of the season in the final match of the Stanford Tournament in Palo Alto, California.
After losing its first match 2-3 to California, the Ducks battled back to defeat Cal Poly 3-2 and improve to 1-3 on the season.
Match 1: California 3 – Oregon 2: The duo of seniors Shellsy Ashen and Liz Brenner got Oregon off on the right foot as it came back after losing the first set to win the next two. After being beaten 17-21 in the first set, Ashen and Brenner went down to the wire to earn the 25-23 win and force a deciding set three.
The third set was another one that went down to the wire, but in the end Ashen and Brenner prevailed for the 16-14 win.
Natalie Bookout-Gonzalez and Frankie Shebby earned the other win for the Ducks at the No. 4 spot.
Just like their teammates, Bookout-Gonzalez and Shebby lost the first set 12-21 and had to fight back for the win.
The duo rallied back to beat the Goldern Bears solidly in the second set, earning the 21-13 win to force a third set. Once again, Bookout-Gonzalez and Shebby proved resilient to get the 15-12 victory for Oregon’s second point.
Unfortunately, the Ducks lost at the No. 1, 3 and 5 spots for the defeat.
Match 2: Oregon 3 – Cal Poly 2: The second match of the day was very similar to the first except that Marne Hall-Poirier and Roni LaPierre got the much needed victory at the No. 5 spot to give Oregon the win.
Hall-Poirier and LaPierre had all the momentum after a 21-18 win in the first set but lost it in the second set when Cal Poly came back for a 21-19 win. The third set provided little drama as Hall-Poirier and LaPierre won 15-12 to give the Ducks the win.
At the No. 2 spot, Ashen and Brenner were victorious with a two-set sweep over their counterparts. They won the first set 21-16 before dominating the second set for a 21-12 victory.
Bookout-Gonzalez and Shebby went undefeated at the No. 4 spot, as they too won in a two-set sweep. After a 21-17 win in the first set, they hung for a 21-19 victory in the second set.
Oregon returns to action on Tuesday, April 14 when it travels to Corvallis to face Oregon State at 6:30 p.m.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka