The No. 12 Oregon Ducks finished their non-conference play in the state of Hawaii with back-to-back wins over the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine.
Oregon (7-3) swept Hawaii Thursday night with set wins of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-22. The Rainbow Wahine (4-5) gave the Ducks a run for their money, pushing Oregon to a five-set win Friday night with scores of 25-23, 25-10, 22-25, 25-23 and 15-12 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
After dropping Thursday’s match, Hawaii amped up its level of play and pushed Oregon to its first five-set match of the season Friday evening.
Six Ducks recorded seven, or more, kills, while three players finished in the double-digits. Senior setter August Raskie earned 50 assists, 16 digs and seven kills for her team-leading fourth double-double. Lindsey Vander Weide recorded her third double-double of 14 kills and 12 digs and Ronika Stone recorded her first with 11 kills and 10 blocks.
Going into the match’s intermission, Oregon had looked ready to pull away with another sweep after taking sets one (25-23) and two (25-10).
However, Hawaii recharged during the break and challenged Oregon in the third set. After the Ducks dropped a lead of 11-9, the Rainbow Wahine took ahold of the lead at 22-21 and never let go. Hawaii took the third set, 25-22, preventing an Oregon double-sweep.
Oregon claimed a four-point lead at 11-7 to begin the fourth set, but three straight from Hawaii quickly switched the lead to the Rainbow Wahine. After three-straight kills from Lindsey Vander Weide and one from Ronika Stone, Oregon reached the 20-point mark first. The Ducks did not remain on top for long as a 3-0 Hawaii run pushed the team to claim the fourth, 25-23, and even the match score, pushing a fifth set.
With the match victory on the line, Oregon regrouped in the fifth set. Four kills from Vander Weide, helped Oregon led for a quick moment at 6-4, before Hawaii tied the set at seven. But even with back-to-back kills, the Rainbow Wahine were unable to secure momentum, losing the set, 15-12, and dropping the match, 3-2.
Oregon pushed its defense to a season-high 18 blocks, led by 10 from Stone which tied her career-high.
On Thursday in front of an audience of 5,288 people, the Ducks took down Hawaii in three straight sets, beginning with a first-set win of 25-18. Vander Weide and Stone were key to Oregon’s success as Vander Weide led the team with a season-high 15 kills and Stone followed with 12 throughout the match. Raskie also ended Thursday’s match with 39 assists and four kills.
Hawaii put pressure on Oregon in the second set. Beginning with a 7-1 lead, the Rainbow Wahine broke a 12-12 tie with seven unanswered points to lead 19-12 and forced Oregon to burn through both of its timeouts. With back-to-back kills from Vander Weide, Oregon resurged for a 7-0 run to steal the win from Hawaii, 25-23.
In the final set, Vander Weide once again sparked an Oregon surge — this time after breaking a 14-14 tie. The Ducks went through two, 3-0 runs to lead 21-17 before Hawaii attempted a comeback, only to get within two of Oregon. A kill from Stone gave the Ducks the set and match win, earning Oregon’s fifth sweep of the season.
Thursday’s defense was led by freshmen Brooke Nuneviller and Camryn Tastad. Both earned double-digit digs, with Nuneviller leading the team with 14 and Tastad with 10. Ending non-conference matches on a 7-3 record, Oregon will open Pac-12 play next weekend. The Ducks will host both Oregon State (Thursday at 6 p.m.) and Washington State (Sunday at noon) at Matthew Knight Arena.
Follow Maggie Vanoni on Twitter @maggie_vanoni.