Three points separated the Oregon volleyball team from an elusive win, its first victory against a top-25 team in almost 10 years.
One night after scaring No. 16 USC, Oregon (11-13 overall, 1-12 Pacific-10 Conference) fell short in five games to No. 21 UCLA (13-8, 6-6) Friday night in front of 859 fans at McArthur Court. Today Oregon hosts Portland State at 7 p.m. In-state rival Oregon State visits Thursday.
Against UCLA, Oregon started strong, taking the initiative instead of starting from behind. Playing with a slightly injured ankle, Mira Djuric powered nine kills and an ace past UCLA’s block in game one. Oregon trailed, but remained within three, 26-23, and tied the game at 26. Four times Oregon had chances to finish and finally did at 35-33 when a UCLA hit collided with Erin Little’s head, bounced back across the net and fell in.
“I have never seen anything like that in my entire life – that was the greatest way to win a game,” setter Heather Madison said.
Winning teams have breaks go their way, something Moore said Oregon has missed this season.
“With our performance against UCLA, we showed that we have the ability to win the type of matches that haven’t been won here in the past,” Moore said. “This was a team that was playing extremely well and was all over Oregon State … and we came very close to beating them,” he said, referring to the Bruins’ 3-0 win in Corvallis on Thursday.
Oregon’s level of play dipped in game two, trailing 14-7 before a time-out. Kelly Russell served on five consecutive points before UCLA responded with nine straight points in a 30-15 game two win. UCLA shifted its block after game one and lessened Djuric’s powerful kills.
The streaky match featured multiple runs by both teams. UCLA used runs in games two and four to secure wins and Oregon used runs in games one and three. Oregon relied on the steady of serves of Madison and Russell with Djuric missing her normal jumping ability.
Madison served on eight straight points and Russell four to finish Oregon’s game three win 30-24. Russell, who played sick, performed gamely with 13 kills and 17 digs.
Game five saw a 10-7 Oregon lead disappear with a 8-2 UCLA run. When UCLA finished with a match-deciding kill, Oregon looked past initial disappointment to its progress in two matches. Previously, Oregon started slow and when it trailed lost matches. Now Oregon takes early leads and responds to adversity.
“It feels good to know that you’re doing that well and playing that hard and it’s everything that you want your team to do,” Russell said.
Repeated often, Oregon must maintain the intensity that disappeared in games two and four, the entire match, Moore said.
“If you maintain that kind of level you learn to do it (all the time),” Moore said. “We had to do it two more times (Friday). You do it two more times, you probably win the match.”
Consistency comes from maintaining focus, practicing well and repeating strong play, Madison said.
Statistically, both Oregon and UCLA had record nights with libero Katie Swoboda’s career-high tying 31 digs, Little’s career high 22 digs and Djuric finished with 15 kills. Madison had 31 assists and 10 digs.
UCLA’s Nana Meriwether had a career night with 17 kills and 16 total blocks.
Oregon now seeks to avenge an earlier four-game loss at Portland State in September. After Oregon won game one, Portland State won three consecutive games and held the Ducks to a negative .049 hitting percentage in game four.
Portland State (20-6, 10-3 Big Sky Conference) has gone 10-1 in its last 11 matches.
Oregon may currently be near the bottom of the Pac-10 standings, but within McArthur Court, they can challenge anyone, Russell said.
“I think we can compete with anyone in the nation at home,” she said. “We’re a little shaky on the road sometimes, but Portland State coming in here, Oregon State – any of them – we will win.”

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