No. 17 Oregon defeated Oregon State in four sets (19-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-14) to clinch its best regular season finish since 2012 on Saturday in Corvallis.
Oregon was stifled by the Oregon State defense in the first set behind one of Oregon State’s best first sets all season.
Lindsey Vander Weide concluded her final Civil War by notching a double-double with 10 kills and 20 digs. August Raskie also ended her last regular season match as a Duck with a double-double with 39 assists and 13 digs.
Oregon State would carry its emotion from senior night into set one by holding Oregon’s hitting percentage to .111. Oregon only tallied seven kills in the entire first set and Oregon State held Oregon’s setter, Raskie, to six assists in set one.
Oregon State’s offense was led by Amy Underdown, who finished her night with 19 kills on 55 takes. Oregon State’s Maddie Sheehan led the first set with 16 assists and finished the match with 34. Massey Grace had 15 first-set digs and finished the match with 30.
Oregon began set two with a slow start but Willow Johnson tallied three kills — she finished the match with 14 kills on a .324 hitting percentage — on a 4-0 Oregon run to put them up 4-2. Oregon ended its set two victory on a 4-0 run.
Oregon dominated set three by holding Oregon State’s offense to a .000 hitting percentage at the end of the set, its offense reached as low as -.100 in set two. Oregon’s offense jumped out to a 14-4 start and won the set in dominate fashion.
Oregon continued its dominance in set four by going on an 8-1 run to start, as the Ducks rolled to take set four.
This final Civil War victory for Oregon clinched the Ducks a second-place tie with USC and the team’s best finish in conference since 2008. The Ducks RPI hovered around 21 entering today’s match and after a week of a key win versus No.19 Washington, their RPI will need to raise around No.16 for a chance to host an opening round of the NCAA tournament.
Oregon will learn its fate tomorrow when the NCAA Tournament field is announced at 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU. Oregon will enter its eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament and 24th all-time postseason appearance.
Follow Gabe Ornelas on Twitter @gabe_ornelas
