The No. 8-ranked Oregon volleyball team defeated the No. 3 USC Trojans in straight sets 3-0 in Los Angeles to remain undefeated on Friday night. The Trojans, who were previously undefeated and coming off a victory over no. 1-ranked UCLA, had no answer for the Ducks or for outside hitter Alaina Bergsma@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204880765@@ who led the team with 18 kills. Liz Brenner@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205157914@@ contributed with 16 kills and Haley Jacob@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=3753136@@ had 21 digs in the match to help the Ducks defeat USC.
The first set started as a completive affair with both teams coming out and showing why they were both nationally ranked in the top 10. Oregon was able to gain a bit of an advantage and took a 15-11 lead in the second half of the set, forcing USC coach Mick Haley @@http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/haley_mick00.html@@to call timeout. Following the stoppage, Oregon continued their impressive play and took the first set 25-19 over the Trojans.
Oregon was able to keep the momentum from the first set going into the second and jumped out to an early 12-6 lead that they would never relinquish. The Ducks played well and USC was not able to get any type of cohesion in any aspect of the game. Oregon maintained a sizable lead throughout and eventually took the set 25-15 on a powerful kill from Liz Brenner.
The third set proved much more challenging than the previous two for Bergsma and the Ducks. With their backs against the wall, USC came out in the third set playing more inspired volleyball taking an early 5-7 lead over Oregon. The set remained competitive with neither team able to pull away early and featured ties at 11 and 15.
Turning point. After giving away a single-point lead, head coach Jim Moore found his team down 16-15 late in the third and called timeout. Following the timeout the two teams continued to go back and forth with neither able to take more than a two-point lead. A kill by Alaina Bergsma gave the Ducks a 24-23 lead and they won the set and match on the next play with Trojan Samantha Bricio@@http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/bricio_samantha00.html@@ committing a service error to give the Ducks a 25-23 third-set victory.
On the horizon. Up next for the Ducks will be back-to-back showdowns against Pac-12 foes Utah and Colorado next week on September 28th and 29that Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.