The No. 5-ranked Oregon volleyball team followed up their first loss of the season to Stanford with a commanding 3-0 victory over the Washington State Cougars at Matthew Knight Arena. Liz Brenner led the team with 12 kills and setter Lauren Plum chipped in with five kills of her own as well as 42 assists.
The Ducks came out in the first with their high-flying offense looking poised to have a big night but the Cougars matched their intensity tying the set at 6-6 early. After a brief offensive surge by Oregon giving the Ducks a 14-10 lead, WSU head coach Jen Greeny was forced to call timeout to prevent the set from getting out of reach.
Following the timeout though, the Oregon offensive was too much for WSU to handle and a Canace Finley kill at the net gave the Ducks a 25-20 first set victory.
The second set began as another tightly contested affair with the Ducks holding onto a slim lead over WSU; however, the Cougars remained within distance of Oregon and eventually took a 10-9 lead forcing head coach Jim Moore to call his first timeout of the match.
Following the timeout, Oregon still looked somewhat out of rhythm both offensively and defensively and as a result trailed the Cougars 17-14.
Turning point. The Ducks were able to keep Washington State within distance and tied the set at 17 and began to gain some momentum. Lauren Plum stepped back to serve and delivered an ace to take the lead 18-17 and get the raucous Matthew Knight Arena crowd involved in the game.
Toward the end of the set the Ducks began to get their offense in rhythm and a powerful Kat Fischer attack at the net gave Oregon a 25-21 second set victory over the Cougars.
The Ducks jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the third set and head coach Greeny quickly called a timeout in an attempt to re-center her squad; however, after the stoppage in play, the Oregon offense took off and showed why the team was worthy of a top-five national ranking.
The set was never truly in question with Oregon leading by double digits for a majority of it. A powerful kill by Liz Brenner put the exclamation mark on the set and gave the Ducks a 25-12 third set victory and a win in straight sets over Washington State.
On the horizon. Tomorrow night the Ducks welcome the No. 2 ranked-Washington Huskies into Matthew Knight Arena at 7 p.m. While it is no secret that the rivalry between the two schools is fierce, there is an extra emphasis on the game this year since Washington remains the only undefeated team in the nation. Outside hitter Alaina Bergsma spoke of what this game in particular means to the team.
“Every team is different. You can’t look too far out,” Bergsma said. “You’re definitely looking at the next match each time. But, this year, Washington is obviously a huge match. They are every year … and yeah we definitively want to beat them at home.”