No. 6 Oregon volleyball concluded its regular season play with a convincing 3-0 straight set victory over rival Oregon State Beavers. As the Ducks now look towards the NCAA Tournament, their eyes will be set on one thing and one thing only — that is the title. With one of the best seasons in Duck volleyball history, this will arguably be the best shot at a NCAA title that this program has ever had.
It was an unusually quiet night on the offensive side for the Ducks tonight as both of their top scorers, Alaina Bergsma and Ariana Williams, were held to a combined 17 kills. The Ducks however had Katherine Fischer to lean on tonight as she led the way for the Ducks with a team high 15 kills. Lauren Plum also made a huge contribution as she recorded 41 assists in tonight’s win over the Beavers.
In the first set, the Ducks set the pace for the rest of the match as they led the entire set after taking an early 2-1 lead over the Beavers. Despite the Beavers making a valiant effort to not get blown away in the early goings of the game, the Ducks proved to be too much as they eventually pulled away late in the set after racking up five straight points to win the set 25-12.
The Beavers came out in the second set looking like they did not want to hand the Ducks their second-consecutive straight set win. After battling with the Ducks point for point for most of the set, it really wasn’t until the Ducks made another late run in the set that the Beavers really started to fall behind. With three straight kills from Fischer to give the Ducks a 17-12, the Beavers simply could not answer the Ducks’ run as they eventually gave up the second set 25-16.
The third and final set proved to be the most competitive of the match. With a tie at 18 a piece late in the set, either team could have pulled away with the set. But after a service error on the Beavers late in the set, the Ducks held a 23-22 lead and they wasted no time in taking full advantage of it. With a service ace from Liz Brenner and a game winning kill from Fischer, the Ducks went on to win the third and final set, 25-23 as they defeated the Beavers in straight sets. This was the second-straight win where the Ducks won in straight sets and it will provide them with great momentum heading into the NCAA tournament next week.
Turning point. After steadily giving up the first set to the Ducks, the Beavers were looking to take the second set. The Beavers found themselves only trailing by one point in the middle of set at 13-12 after trading point-for-point with the Ducks, but after four straight kills from Bergsma and Fischer, the Ducks simply took all of the air out of the Beavers as they went on to win the crucial second set.
On the horizon. Next for the Ducks will be the first round of the NCAA Tournament starting on Nov. 29. The Ducks will find out who they will playing on Nov. 25 and will begin to prepare their pursuit for an NCAA title. For all of the updates on Ducks volleyball check back here.