No. 2 Oregon finished its brief Bay Area road trip with a 3-2 loss to No. 7 Stanford Friday in Palo Alto, the first loss of the season for the Ducks.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4287&SPID=234&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205706153&DB_OEM_ID=500@@ The Ducks enjoyed solid performances from Liz Brenner and Alaina Bergsma, who each had 19 kills.
The Ducks jumped out to an early 3-0 lead over Stanford in the first set, but the Cardinal came back with an offensive barrage and took a 7-6 lead, forcing head coach Jim Moore to call an early first set timeout.@@same link@@
Following the timeout, the set continued to be played competitively with the squads trading the lead and tying at several points. The teams found themselves knotted at 17 when Stanford went on a 3-0 run to take a 20-17 lead. Moore called another timeout to try to refocus the Ducks who looked tired and out of rhythm. Oregon battled throughout the latter half of the set but a service error by Bergsma gave the Cardinal a 25-23 first set victory.
After dropping the first set, the Ducks came out looking more focused in the second, but the Cardinal matched their intensity and the teams were gridlocked at 5-5 early. The Ducks were finally able to gain the lead at 11-10 after a kill by Canace Finley@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205499221@@ and Stanford head coach John Dunning called timeout.@@http://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/11/28/w-volleyball-golden-bears-come-back-to-knock-off-cardinal/@@ After the timeout a 7-1 run orchestrated by the Ducks gave them a 16-11 lead. Oregon maintained their offensive cohesion and a Lauren Plum kill at the net gave the Ducks a 25-18 second set victory.
The third set started out just as competitively, with the two top-10 teams showing why they deserve the high ranking. Oregon jumped out to an early lead 6-3 but the Cardinal tied the match at 7-7. A 5-1 run by the Ducks was nullified by a 5-0 run by the Cardinal, knotting the score at 13. The teams went back and forth before a dump by Plum and a net violation by the Cardinal gave Oregon a 20-19 lead. Stanford would answer with two points of their own, taking a 21-20 lead before Moore took a timeout to talk things over. Tied at 23, a Bergsma kill and another net violation by Stanford wrapped up the set for the Ducks, 25-23.
Looking to wrap things up in Palo Alto, Oregon found themselves down 13-10 in the fourth set due to clever kill placement by the Stanford hitters. Katherine Fischer @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=3704023@@kept the Ducks in the set with a marvelous cross-court kill, bringing the tally to 15-13 Stanford. Two blocks in a row all but ended the Ducks’ chances of winning the fourth set as they led Oregon 22-17. Stanford would hang on to win 25-20 thanks to excellent blocking of Oregon’s outside hitters.
Stanford quickly called a timeout after the flashy start by the Ducks, but were unable to immediately regroup as Oregon took the 8-4 lead into the break. After two successive kills by Stanford, Moore called a timeout, feeling the Cardinal side encroaching on the Ducks’ vital fifth-set lead.
Turning point Stanford scored another two points thanks to two kills by Burgess, knotting the score at 8 apiece. Moore would call another timeout due to Oregon dropping three straight points and falling behind 11-9. Lauren Plum had two kills blocked in a row and another Stanford kill brought match point for the Cardinal at 14-9. An errant serve by Plum ended the game in Stanford’s favor as the Ducks dropped their first match of the season, 3-2.
On the horizon. The Ducks will fly back from California and return to the confines of Matthew Knight Arena to continue conference play. Oregon will face off against Washington State on Friday, October 12th at 6 p.m. and then play host to the Washington Huskies the following evening at 7 p.m.