Between Martenne Bettendorf and Lindsey Vander Weide, it’s hard to tell which player is the true freshman and which is the all-American in her senior year.
Bettendorf picked up right where she left off in last year’s all-american campaign with 13 kills, while Vander Weide added 12 kills as a nice complement in Oregon’s season-opening victory over Temple. The Ducks won 25-15, 25-21 and 25-16.
Maggie Scott finished the game with a double-double, dishing out 37 assists and 10 digs. Libero Amanda Benson was also solid as she finished with 15 digs, while Kacey Nady held down the middle position with six kills and six blocks.
Oregon jumped all over Temple in the first set with a balanced effort that kept Temple guessing at the net. Since four players proved to be dangerous with three kills in the set, the Ducks spread the ball around so much that they were given a lot of one-on-ones at the net for the kills.
Faced with a little adversity in the second set, the Ducks were able to rally from behind for the win. Trailing 12-9 at one point, Oregon rallied off five straight points for the lead. Vander Weide proved her game far beyond her years as a freshman when she scored the final two points of the run with shots down the line.
The Ducks tacked on a victory in the final set of the match when they broke open a close game with a 5-0 spurt to put some distance between the teams for the win. During the 5-0 run, Oregon scored three of the points via blocks to take all the momentum out of the Owls’ wings.
Oregon returns to action tomorrow for a doubleheader when they face Navy at 10 a.m. ET and St. John’s at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter: @Ryan_Kostecka