How can the four sets previous matter when all it’s coming down to is one rally, one serve or just one swing of the arm? 

Needing two points to stay alive, the Ducks found themselves at an inflection point — down 14-12 in the deciding set and facing match point. A young team in a high-pressure moment, and they delivered. 

“That’s part of the process of building this team and this roster,” head coach Trent Kersten said. “We’re all getting to watch this team grow up together and figure out how to operate together as a high performing team. (Is it) an inflection point for us to (improve)? I hope so.”

It required tying the match at 14, 15, 16 and 17, but the Ducks won the final two points behind a strong defensive play and a trademarked laserbeam from Valentina Vaulet to finish off the match 3-2 (25-19, 19-25, 25-15, 16-25, 19-17). 

“The thing we talk about as a team is that we want those (high pressure) moments,” Kersten said about Vaulet. “You’ve earned the right to go for it in those moments, and if you miss, we’re still going to feed you, we’re still gonna take care of you, we’re still gonna love on you, we’re just gonna figure out how to be more ready the next time we get to those moments. 

The Hawkeyes (10-5, 1-2 Big Ten) carried a 1-1 start to conference play into Eugene, while the Ducks (10-3, 1-2 Big Ten) welcomed Iowa in an attempt to grab their first conference win. 

Oregon jumped out to a quick 4-0 and saw little trouble passing the ball quickly around setter Cora Taylor. It stretched a lead to six at the midpoint of the first. 

The offensive success came as the Ducks got the ball to Vaulet and Alanah Clemente on the outside. They finished with six and four kills in the first set, respectively. Vaulet finished with a match-leading 19 kills and Clemente tacked on 14 of her own. 

The fast-moving, high-velocity offense from Oregon kept Iowa at bay for the rest of the first, despite a late surge from the Hawkeyes. The Ducks won the first set 25-19 and led the whole way. 

Taylor was the engine that made it all run smoothly — she tallied 44 assists by the match’s end. Her ability to effortlessly dish out perfect passes to teammates stumped the Hawkeyes’ defense. 

“(Taylor) started off the match with a couple of the best sets of the season, and then ebbed and flowed a little bit,” Kersten said. “She found a way to be great in the fifth set for us…overall, what a match for her. Big time moment, big time match for her.”

Iowa jumped into the lead for the first time in the match early in the second set, and the Hawkeyes took advantage.

After a timeout late in the set, Kersten gave the Ducks a new lineup and formation, which they used to start clawing back into the set. It just wasn’t enough, however, as the Hawkeyes, similar to the Ducks in the first set, kept Oregon at bay. 

Iowa took the second set 25-19 in a very similar fashion that Oregon took the first. 

The Ducks took a quick 5-1 lead to begin the third set. Like the first, the Ducks were able to continue that momentum offensively and turn it into, at its largest, a 10-point lead. 

Oregon’s middle started to show up in a crucial way and, powered by the long arms of Iva Sucurovic and Holley McFadden, helped send back any dangerous Iowa attacks. The Ducks handled the Hawkeyes in the third by a 25-15 score and took control of the match with a chance to win it in the fourth set. 

The fourth began, and the teams traded points until Iowa started its 8-0 run immediately after it was tied at seven. That run propelled the Hawkeyes to a commanding lead that stretched to 10 at one point. 

Iowa closed out the fourth 25-16, and it moved to a pivotal fifth set. 

The fifth set became the closest of Friday evening’s match. 

The Hawkeyes drew first blood after a testy opening and took an 8-5 lead in the deciding frame. 

The Ducks immediately came storming back and tied it up at eight after two straight blocks. The score was then tied again at nine, 10, 11 and 12 until the Hawkeyes collected enough momentum to win a few in a row and bring themselves to match point. 

The inflection point. 

Clemente, who was serving at the time, sent a missile into Iowa’s defense to keep the Ducks alive, and a block by Sucurovic and Taylor tied it up at 14. Then it was tied again at 15, 16 and 17. 

“That moment was huge for (Clemente’s) career. Not just this year. She had the confidence to go back there down by one after not serving well against Illinois and we let her keep going to grow through it. Tonight she was more ready for that moment,” Kersten said. 

Finally, Oregon got itself to match point after an unforced error from the Hawkeyes, and Vaulet finished Iowa off with her strongest swing of the night. The Ducks took the fifth set 19-17 and the match 3-2, which brought them their first Big Ten win of the season. 

“We train every day to get these kinds of reps in the match,” Vaulet said. “If it goes wrong, then you trust the work my teammates have done, all the training we’ve done and how hard we’re trying.”

Oregon will look to continue that momentum Saturday evening against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Matthew Knight Arena at 6:00 p.m.