No. 3 Oregon volleyball continued their season-long four-game road trip on Friday evening by defeating the University of Colorado Buffaloes in straight sets 3-0. Alaina Bergsma and Ariana Williams led the team with 11 kills apiece and Lauren Plum accrued 39 assists in the outing.
The young Colorado squad came out playing inspired volleyball against the more experienced Duck team, and tied the first set at 7 early.
The opening frame remained closely contested and the Buffaloes briefly took an 11-10 lead over the Ducks. However, after a three-point spurt from the Ducks put them up 14-11, Colorado head coach Liz Kritza called her first timeout of the match to refocus her young team.
As the set wore on, the offensive barrage of Oregon was too much for Colorado to handle and a Bergsma kill at the net gave the Ducks a 25-16 first set victory.
At the start of the second set the Ducks fell behind Colorado early, finding themselves down 7-3 in the initial stages.
A displeased head coach Jim Moore called time in an attempt to quell the momentum the Buffaloes had gained and the Ducks responded, tying the set at 7. As the set continued, the two teams battled for points and neither squad was able to gain much separation.
However, after a run by the Ducks gave them a 17-13 lead, Colorado called timeout to ensure the set did not get out of hand.
Turning point. After the timeout, Oregon continued to frustrate the Buffaloes and won the set 25-20 on a powerful kill from Liz Brenner which gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead and virtual stranglehold on the match.
Down two sets to none headed into the third, Colorado continued to battle against the Ducks and the teams were knotted up at 8 early.
After Oregon was able to score three straight points to gain an 11-8 lead, Kritza called an early set timeout in an attempt to slow the barrage from the Ducks.
Oregon maintained a comfortable lead for the majority of the set, but after several unforced errors, Colorado was able to tie the frame at 21 forcing Jim Moore to call a timeout to talk with his team.
However in the end, the inconsistent play of Colorado combined with the experience of the Oregon squad proved to be too much to handle, and an error at the net gave the Ducks a 25-23 third set victory and a win in straight sets.
On the horizon. The Ducks will end their road trip on Sunday in Salt Lake City where they will battle against the University of Utah Utes. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network and starts at 10 a.m.