Facing a 2-0 deficit against No. 7 UCLA on Saturday night, the women’s volleyball team knew its play would have to improve quickly.
It was only fitting that on Senior Night at McArthur Court, the team’s most experienced leaders were the catalysts of a comeback 3-2 win.
Outside hitter Sonja Newcombe, middle blocker Neticia Enesi and setter Nevena Djordjevic each showed why they deserved to be celebrated, and helped the Ducks bounce back from a tough 3-0 defeat on Friday against USC.
“It was a huge win because of the circumstances,” head coach Jim Moore said. “For those kids to come back after (Friday) night, and to be down and keep battling — that was a special performance.”
The Ducks fell behind early, as UCLA started the first set on a 10-4 run. Oregon came back to tie the set at 23, but a kill by junior outside hitter Dicey McGraw and an attack error gave UCLA a 25-23 win.
The second set was close until the Bruins used a 4-0 run to win 25-18. At the intermission, the Ducks found themselves down 2-0 and were being out-hit .368 to .216. They were also struggling on defense, with just one block through the first two sets. Still, they knew that a comeback was possible, particularly since that they had come back after falling behind 2-0 to UCLA just a few weeks earlier.
As the third set began, a roar broke out from the crowd as the fans learned that the football team had defeated Arizona. Perhaps it was a sign of things to come, as the Ducks quickly jumped on the Bruins to take a 13-4 lead. UCLA would climb back to within two, but
Oregon eventually took the set 25-22.
The fourth set was closer, and the teams essentially traded points until the Ducks seemingly pulled away with a 23-19 lead. The Bruins came back to tie the set at 23, and eventually the set was tied at 25. Needing just two points to tie the match, Newcombe tallied a clutch kill and UCLA followed with an attack error to give Oregon a 27-25 win.
With the match tied 2-2, the Ducks were ready to complete their comeback. Newcombe led the charge with six more kills, and while it wasn’t easy, Oregon eventually pulled through with a 17-15 win to take the match 3-2.
Newcombe had one of the finest performances of her career, finishing with 27 kills and a career-high 27 digs. Enesi was also a force with 14 kills and a .500 hitting percentage, while Djordjevic set a career-high of her own with 66 assists to go along with nine digs.
“We just really pulled together,” Newcombe said. “We had done it before, so we knew we could do it again. We really trusted each other today.”
The win gives the Ducks a much-needed boost of morale as the NCAA tournament approaches.
“The biggest thing is it just gives us some confidence,” Moore said. “We have just been beaten up confidence-wise; this was big.”
The team was particularly downtrodden after a 3-0 loss to No. 15 USC on Friday. The Ducks were out-hit .361-.168, and struggled mightily on the defensive side of the ball.
“(If) you don’t make people work hard for what they get, then they look great,” Moore said. “They played very good defense and we played very poor defense.”
Enesi hit .471 with nine kills, but Newcombe had just seven and junior outside hitter Heather Meyers hit .000.
“Heather just got into a rut, and she hit everything into their hands,” Moore said. “She’s somebody that rarely gets blocked, and I don’t know how many times Heather wasblocked, but it was a lot.”
On USC’s side of the ball, senior outside hitter Jessica Gysin had eight kills with a .350 hitting percentage, while sophomore middle blocker Lauren Williams hit .467 and also had eight kills. Sophomore setter Kendall Bateman had 40 assists, but the star of the show was sophomore outside hitter Alex Jupiter, who hit .514 with 22 kills and 12 digs.
“Some players do have their nights,” Enesi said. “I guess we gave her hers.”
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One last Mac Court win
Daily Emerald
November 21, 2009
Shawn Hatjes
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