The Oregon Club men’s volleyball team
advanced to the championship game of its home tournament this weekend, but after a controversial call, lost the final game to the Boise State Broncos.
The Ducks hosted, in addition to Boise State, Humboldt State, Simon Fraser, Western Washington and Step-Up, an adult club team from the Eugene area.
After defeating Simon Fraser, Boise State and Step-Up, Oregon marched into the championship game Saturday to meet Boise State for the second time.
This time, the Broncos answered the challenge.
Boise State took advantage of two momentum-swinging runs and the Ducks’ inability to overcome their errors to cruise to a 25-18
victory in game one.
It was more of the same in the second game for the Ducks as they handed the Broncos eight points on service errors.
However, Oregon kept battling. Boise State needed two points to win the game and take the tournament championship, but the Ducks came back from six down to tie the game at 24.
However, the next play resulted in a
questionable call that gave Boise State both possession and the lead.
Tied at 24, Oregon’s Judson Mead attempted to tip the ball over the net, but a whistle was blown as a Boise State player blocked the ball back onto Oregon’s side. The referee ruled that Mead reached over the net to hit the ball, and because the ball bounced on Oregon’s side after the block, Boise State was awarded a point to make the score 25-24.
“The call was wrong,” Mead said. “It was mishandled, and I was very upset. When a game is that close and at the very end, the
referees should not influence the outcome as much as they did.”
Boise State got an ace on the next serve to pick up the 26-24 victory and the tournament championship.
The Ducks, who travel next to Las Vegas,
recently switched to jump serving, and while the adjustment paid off for the team in the earlier games, it proved costly in the championship.
“We kind of expected the service errors. We just wanted to focus on things that would help us in the long run,” said Derek Olson, one of three returning players. “But I know we could have beaten (Boise State) regardless.”
Earlier in the tournament, the Ducks devastated Simon Fraser — last year’s tournament winner — winning two of the three games.
Oregon’s jump serving provided a useful tool as the team racked up the service aces in a dominating 25-13 win in game one. Oregon took control again in the second game, winning 25-17 to get the victory over the Clan. Simon Fraser eventually defeated the Ducks in the meaningless third game, 25-23.
“(Simon Fraser was) not able to stop our
attack, and we pretty much controlled the game from the beginning,” Olson said.
After the victory, Oregon faced Boise State for the first of their two meetings of the day. The Ducks were sluggish in the first game,
allowing the Broncos to build a
sizable lead, which resulted in a
25-20 Boise State win.
Oregon responded in the second game with quality play off the bench by Kyle Sinner, giving the Ducks a
25-16 victory. Oregon carried its
momentum into the third and final game, defeating the Broncos, 25-21.
After a bye in the quarterfinals and two consecutive victories, the Ducks met a familiar opponent in the semifinals.
Step-Up, a team that regularly practices with the Ducks, gave little resistance to Oregon, and the Ducks cruised to two easy victories, 25-17, 25-22. With the win, Oregon advanced to the championship game against Boise State.
Olson was the lone man named to the all-tournament team for the Ducks. Olson, Sinner and Mead are the only returning players on this year’s squad.
Oregon’s next tournament is the Las Vegas Open on March 25 and 26.
“We have a ton of raw talent, and at moments, we show it,” Mead said. “At times you can see our greatness.”