BEN SCHORZMAN | SPORTS REPORTER
Hopes of two wins and a break from the cold weather of Oregon were spoiled when the upstart Arizona Wildcats dropped another ranked team at home this season. The Ducks fell in four sets in Tucson, Ariz., marking only the second time this season that they have lost two in a row.
Arizona (15-12 overall, 5-10 Pacific-10 Conference) strengthened its case for a bid into the NCAA Tournament going into the last week of the regular season by beating No. 8 Oregon (22-7, 10-6) on Friday night. On Oct. 19 the Wildcats beat No. 11 USC at home, and two weeks ago knocked off No. 6 California in five sets. However, outside the comfort of Tucson, the Wildcats are winless at 0-6 in conference.
“The loss is very disappointing,” head coach Jim Moore said in a telephone interview Sunday. “We just lost our focus. Now we just have to prepare for our upcoming games and prepare for the tournament.”
The match started off on track for the Ducks. They took the first set 25-18, after falling behind early 11-9. Senior Gorana Maricic had four kills in the set to lead Oregon.
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Sonja Newcombe: 25 kills, 21 digs Heather Meyers: 17 kills, 16 digs, 2 blocks Neticia Enesi: 23 kills, 5 blocks |
Then the trouble started. After a kill by Maricic put the Ducks up by two at 12-10 in the second set, the Wildcats had an 8-2 run to distance themselves from the Ducks. Oregon rallied and got within two at 20-18, but a 5-2 run by Arizona ended the set.
The home team also dominated the third set. The Ducks led 4-3 before Arizona took the lead 5-4 and never let Oregon get within a point the rest of the set, en route to a 25-22 win. Moore said the lack of focus doomed Oregon.
Oregon was overwhelmed in the last set of the night. Tied at four, Arizona used an 11-2 run to open up a 15-6 lead. Arizona’s momentum swept Oregon aside, and the Ducks fell behind 20-8, before losing by their largest margin of the season at 25-12.
Juniors Neticia Enesi and Sonja Newcombe and Maricic all had double-digit kill marks to lead the Ducks with 13, 13 and 12, respectively.
The Ducks did come out of the weekend with one win, however. They were able to rebound from another disappointing road loss to beat Arizona State (13-16, 4-12) on Saturday.
Three players had double-doubles for Oregon. Newcombe had 12 kills and 12 digs, sophomore Heather Meyers had 10 kills and 10 digs, and junior Nevena Djordjevic had 45 assists and 11 digs.
But Oregon still struggled against the Sun Devils. The Ducks held Arizona State to a .059 hitting percentage, but only hit .270. Oregon also had 20 hitting errors, and had to twice come back from 20-15 deficits to win.
The Sun Devils used a 6-2 run in the first set to take a 14-10 lead, and were up 20-15 before Oregon rallied with a 6-1 run to tie the game at 21. Oregon then took the lead on an attack error from Arizona State’s Sarah Reaves, and Reaves went on to cost Arizona State the set with another error to give Oregon the win.
After winning the second set 25-13 when the Ducks finished the set on a 10-3 run, Arizona State battled on the third set, and led 15-10 and 20-15. But Oregon again tied the set at 21, this time on a block from Meyers and Enesi. Then, after ties at 22 and 23, the Ducks scored the last two points of the match to earn the tough win.
“I think the team did a great job bouncing back after Friday,” Moore said. “Everyone has to go through adversity, and the only thing you can do is learn from it. The whole team rallied – starters and bench players alike.”
Next up for Oregon are two games sandwiched around Thanksgiving. The Ducks take on No. 2 Stanford on Wednesday, followed by No. 7 California on Friday to wrap up the regular season before the NCAA Tournament selection on Sunday, Nov. 30.
BEN SCHORZMAN
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