Oregon found Los Angeles to
be unwelcoming as it surrendered a pair of three-game victories to No. 6 USC and No. 17 UCLA last weekend.
The Ducks (9-18 overall,
1-16 Pacific-10 Conference) have been swept by their last seven opponents.
On Saturday, the Bruins (17-9, 10-6) landed 63 digs and had a .387 hitting percentage to sweep Oregon, 30-16, 30-22, 30-27.
Oregon started off rusty, hitting .081 with 10 kills and seven errors in the first game. Its attack landed 35 kills and committed only six errors in the next two games. The Ducks finished with a .246 hitting percentage and two fewer errors than UCLA.
Sophomore Sarah Mason led all hitters with a match-high 16 kills and landed Oregon’s only service ace. Middle blocker Kristen Bitter tallied a career-best 12 kills and outside hitter Kelly Russell added 10. Bitter, a sophomore, hit .409 for the match.
UCLA senior Brittany Ringel and sophomore Nana Meriwether each recorded 12 kills. The Bruins had five players hit at .400 or better. Libero Chrissie Zartman’s placement on the floor put her in position for 23 digs.
USC (18-4, 13-3) blasted through the Ducks on Friday, 30-23, 30-23, 30-18, with the help of Bibiana Candelas’ match-high 13 kills and four block assists. The junior middle blocker hit at a .722 clip and committed no attack errors on 18 swing attempts.
Mason was Oregon’s pacesetter, hitting .345 and knocking down
a team-best 12 kills. She
has recorded 40 kills in the last three matches.
Freshman outside hitter Sarah Florian posted 11 kills on 25 attempts for the Women of Troy. USC played the younger members of its squad and rested seniors Emily Adams and Keao Burdine. Adams played in one game. Burdine, USC’s kills leader this season, did not see any action.
Russell was held to only four kills but collected a team-high 10 digs for Oregon.
Oregon finished the road trip with 18 service errors and a combined hitting percentage of .196.

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