The second round of the volleyball Civil War will take place Friday as part of this weekend’s Oregon State Showcase tournament in Corvallis.
Oregon State (10-16 overall, 4-13 Pacific-10 Conference) defeated Oregon (9-18, 1-16) in four games on Sept. 24, which was the first conference match of the season for each team.
“I thought they had a very good, balanced attack last time we played them,” Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said. “We haven’t seen each other for two months, and I don’t think we’re the same teams we were back then — we’ve developed a whole new identity.”
Ferreira said that, on film, teams’ play styles look similar because they both have balance and depth to their attacks. He said the Ducks’ lack of depth was exposed after Lauren Westendorf sustained her season-ending injury in the second game.
Senior Allison Lawrence posted 17 kills and 14 digs for the Beavers in that match held at McArthur Court. Lawrence is currently third in the conference in kills with 3.94 per game. She has a team-best 378 kills and is second on the squad in digs with 318 this season.
“You can shut her down and (Oregon State) can still be successful because they have a more balanced attack than we do,” Ferreira said. “We have to pass well, we have to serve well, and we have to score points consistently.”
Lawrence has been consistent on offense and defense with 15 double-doubles on the season and has recorded double figures in kills in the last four matches. Oregon’s Sarah Mason has accomplished the latter feat in each of the last five. Mason tallied a match-high 19 kills the first rivalry match this season.
On average, Oregon State allows opponents 16.4 kills per game.
Since the 3-1 stomping, Oregon has developed three sophomore attackers who see that as an inviting statistic: Erin Little, Allyson Leavitt and Kristen Bitter.
The Beavers have won the last four matchups between these two teams. However, the Ducks lead the all-time series 53-36-1.
Oregon will play its season finale on Saturday against Portland (11-16, 2-12 West Coast Conference) or Portland State (13-15, 5-9 Big Sky Conference) as part of the tournament.
The Ducks swept Portland State in three close games earlier this season.

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