It’s beginning to sound like a broken record.
The Oregon volleyball team remained competitive until the last point was scored on Friday, but eventually fell to Arizona State, 3-0 (30-17, 30-26, 33-31), in front of 687 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.
Despite recording a higher hitting percentage than the Sun Devils in game three (.343 to .292), the Ducks fell short in a bid to win their first Pacific-10 Conference game of the season. Oregon (3-15 overall, 0-9 Pac-10) last won a set on Sept. 23 in a 3-1 loss at Portland. The Ducks last won a match on Sept. 13 against Villanova (3-0).
Game three against the Sun Devils marked the third time since the start of Pac-10 play that the Ducks had a game extend past the 30-point mark. The Ducks also dropped game two against Stanford, 33-31, on Sept. 19 and game three to UCLA, 36-34, on Sept. 26. Games continue past the 30-point mark until a team is ahead by two.
“I’m pleased with how we ended the match tonight,” Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said. “We continue to progress.”
Freshman Sarah Mason and sophomore Kelly Russell were bright spots for Oregon. Mason led the team in kills with 10, giving her double-digit kills in five consecutive matches. Russell finished with nine kills, one block and a block assist.
“We started off the match a little slow, but we definitely picked it up,” Ferreira said. “Kelly and Sarah once again led us offensively.”
Sophomore Jodi Bell finished with a match-high 29 assists, while juniors Lauren Westendorf and Katie O’Neil each contributed a team-high 10 digs. Westendorf added seven kills while hitting at a .333 clip.
The Sun Devils (8-10, 3-6) were able to spread the ball around effectively, utilizing their 4-2 offense that keeps two setters on the floor at once. Senior Juliana Escobar led the team with 16 kills. Junior Natalie Harris added 12, and senior Mandy Stephens finished with 11.
The setting duo of senior Cheryl Anglin and junior Giovana Melo thrived. They assisted on 51 of the team’s 57 kills. Senior Courtney Blocher finished with a match-high 12 digs.
Arizona State also thrived in the service game, holding an 11-1 advantage in service aces. It was the second night in a row an Oregon opponent out-served the Ducks. Arizona held a 13-4 advantage in aces on Thursday, while the Ducks committed nine service errors.

Upcoming matches
Oregon returns home for its next three matches, starting on Thursday against No. 11 UCLA. The Ducks dropped their earlier meeting with the Bruins, 3-0, (30-20, 30-21, 36-34) on Sept. 26 at Pauley Pavilion.
The Ducks will then face defending national champion USC on Friday. The Trojans have held the nation’s No. 1 ranking all season and defeated the Ducks, 3-0, (30-14, 30-20, 30-16) on Sept. 27.
The following Thursday the Ducks will face Oregon State in the 89th installment of the Civil War. The Beavers defeated the Ducks, 3-0, (30-26, 30-27, 30-28) on Oct. 2 at Gill Coliseum. The Ducks jumped out to 15-4 lead in game three, but were unable to hold off a furious Beaver comeback.