Fifteen is now the magic number for the Washington Huskies. Fifteen matches, that is. With a thrilling five-set win over No. 6 Oregon (15-4 overall, 4-3 Pacific-10 Conference), the No. 7 Huskies (15-3, 6-2) extended their winning streak over their rival to an unprecedented seven and a half years.
In the first of two weekend matches, Oregon fell to Washington on Friday 2-3, in front of 2,382 fans. On Sunday, Oregon rebounded with a 3-0 sweep of the Washington State Cougars (0-8, 7-12).
“Obviously it’s disappointing,” head coach Jim Moore said. “We played pretty well coming out in the first set against (the Huskies), but we couldn’t take advantage of some situations down
the stretch.”
The first game set the tone for the entire match. The Ducks fell behind 4-0 to start, but behind two kills from outside hitter Gorana Maricic, senior, they went on a three-point run. The score stayed close until the Huskies managed another four-point spurt to extend their lead to 12-7.
Oregon battled back, and eventually tied the set at 17 on an ace from outside hitter Marija Milosevic, senior. The teams played tight volleyball the rest of the way until outside hitter Sonja Newcombe, junior, tied it at 25 with a kill. Then Maricic gave the team the lead for good on a kill, and Oregon went on to win 27-25.
In the second game, Oregon stormed back to within one at 23-22 on a kill from Maricic. But the Ducks didn’t have an answer for sophomore Kindra Carlson, who sandwiched kills around a point from Maricic to end the set.
If sets one and two were fireworks, then set number three was a dud for the Ducks. The Huskies raced out to a 15-10 lead, and after two points by Oregon, Washington went on 9-2 run to end the set.
The Huskies didn’t perform a single error in the set, and out-hit the Ducks .600 to .273. Oregon bounced back from the set to tie the match at two games apiece.
Led by Maricic’s 11 kills, the team won 25-21 to force the fifth and final set.
In the fifth, the Ducks scored two quick points, and played to a 5-5 tie. But then the trouble started. Washington bounded back and took a 10-7 lead, and ended the match with a
5-1 run.
“We panicked in game five,” Moore said. “For whatever reason, we did, and played really bad in the game.”
Moore’s words sum up the Ducks’ stance on their continual losing ways to the Huskies. It’s the second straight year the Ducks have lost to Washington in five sets in the first meeting of
the season.
For the match, All-American Maricic almost single-handedly took Oregon to a near-victory. Her 32 kills were almost a career-best. The next-closest in kills was Newcombe with 12.
From the Huskies sideline, the win was their third in a row over a ranked opponent, and after their sweep of Oregon State yesterday, they are third in the Pac-10 behind Cal
and Stanford. The loss did give the team extra motivation for their Sunday matinee against
the Cougars.
Led by junior middle blocker Neticia Enesi’s inspired playing, Oregon made sure there wouldn’t be a let down and swept Washington State for a Pac-10 win on the road.
“I’m definitely happy with the way we bounced back against Washington State,” Moore said.
Oregon had 16 more kills than the last-place Cougars, who do not have a single conference win. Enesi led the team with 12 kills, followed by Maricic’s 11.
Although the Ducks won, the Cougars did manage to keep it close in the first two sets. They lost the first 25-17 and the second 25-20. That second set was a defensive struggle. Both teams hit under .200, and Oregon had six hitting errors, only one less than Washington State.
But when it mattered most, Oregon poured it on. The Ducks ran away with the final set of the weekend 25-12, distancing themselves from the Cougars, the weekend, and the heartbreaking loss to Washington.
After the 1-1 trip north, Oregon prepares to host the Arizona Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils this weekend, followed by a non-conference game against the Utah Utes on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
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