Payback is a sweet thing for the Oregon volleyball team. A day after losing to No. 12 USC in five sets, the No. 7 Ducks knocked off No. 9 UCLA on the road to notch their first road win against a ranked opponent in the Pacific-10 Conference this season.
It was also the second time this year Oregon (19-5 overall, 7-4 Pacific-10) has beaten UCLA (15-7, 5-6). Add a win against the Bruins in Eugene in 2007 and the Ducks are now 3-1 against the Los Angeles powerhouse for the first time ever.
“I was just happy to pull out the win,” head coach Jim Moore said in a telephone interview Saturday night. “Our backs were basically against the wall, and we had nowhere to go. It was a gutsy weekend.”
Sunday’s win came on the heels of a devastating loss on Halloween to the Trojans (13-7, 6-5) that almost turned the L.A. trip into a nightmare. It was a fitting match for the scariest night of the year, with the fifth and final set decided in extra points.
Junior Neticia Enesi had a career night for Oregon, earning 23 kills and 12 blocks.
After losing the first set 25-21, the Ducks rallied to take the next two in dominating fashion, winning by scores of 25-15 and 25-12. But with the Ducks up in the fourth set 13-12, USC rallied to take a 20-17 lead and never looked back, on the way to a 25-21 win.
That dramatic comeback set the stage for the finale. The Trojans jumped out to a 4-1 lead, only to see Oregon storm back to take the lead at 7-5. USC hung around, taking the lead again, and got within a point of eliminating the Ducks at 14-13.
That motivated the Ducks, and with kills by Maricic and sophomore Heather Meyers, Oregon held the lead at 15-14.
However, the Ducks couldn’t find the firepower to score just one more point.
From there to the end of the match, Oregon had four different opportunities to beat the Trojans, at 15-14, 17-16, 20-19 and 21-20. They didn’t capitalize on any of those chances, and following two straight attack errors the Ducks fell 23-21 and left the Galen Center frustrated.
Oregon’s weekend came down to the UCLA match. To salvage anything and return to Eugene on a high-note, the Ducks needed a big performance. That’s exactly what they got from the team captain, Newcombe. For the second straight night she posted a double-double, getting 22 kills and 18 digs.
“Tonight was huge; I can’t put into words how much it meant,” Newcombe said after the match. “We needed this experience to make us better and take the next step.”
The relief of winning the fifth set against the Bruins was evident, but it shouldn’t have even reached five sets.
The Ducks took a two-sets-to-none lead behind twin scores of 26-24.
UCLA held Oregon to a .087 hitting percentage in the third set and rallied from a 15-11 deficit to win 25-18.
In the fourth set the Ducks never got closer than two points after being tied at 3-3 early. The Bruins won running away, 25-21, and forced the Ducks to a tie-breaker.
But unlike the night before, Oregon got the job done. There were eight tie scores up to 12-12, and with the Ducks winning 14-13, Enesi finished the Bruins off with her 40th kill of the weekend.
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