Oregon volleyball broke its two match losing streak Sunday afternoon with a 3-1 win over Washington State (25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22).
Three Ducks had double digit kills for No. 24 Oregon to advance the Ducks’ record 10-7, 4-4 Pac-12, which was a relief for Oregon after it struggled with its last two opponents. The Ducks only won a single set over Stanford last weekend and were swept by Washington on Friday.
To overcome past match struggles, Martenne Bettendorf, Kacey Nady and Taylor Agost each added big points for the Ducks not only in kills but also with blocks. Bettendorf and Nady scored five and six blocks for Oregon, respectively, while freshman Sumeet Gill found her groove, adding five blocks and six kills.
The match began with an early Oregon lead, 7-2, and the Ducks didn’t let up. Oregon upped the score 18-9 after Agost added her fourth kill of the opening set. Bettendorf wrapped up with a tip kill that gave the Ducks the set point, 25-17.
Oregon won today’s match with 52 total kills, 15 of which were provided by Bettendorf while Nady and Agost each added 11 to the total.
During the second set, the Cougars came back with some fight, taking the lead at mid-set over Oregon 15-12. Oregon was unable to make the final push in the set and fell 22-25, giving the set to WSU.
In set three, Oregon added one of its two service aces of the match to tie the set at nine. Oregon then took a two-point lead at the end of the set after putting up five blocks. Agost made another kill for the final point of set three, giving Oregon the 2-1 edge.
Knowing it was time to push, Oregon made its way into the fourth set with some power. Nady made two kills early in the final set to give Oregon the 9-6 advantage. Nady hit .308 in the match and was bested only by Agost who came in with a .364 hitting percentage for the afternoon. Oregon lead at the end of the set 20-15, allowing seven more WSU points before wrapping up with the set point, 25-22 and a match win for the day.
After two weeks on the road, Oregon will return to Eugene on Friday for a match against UCLA. The Women in Flight match will begin at 6 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena.
Follow Madison Layton on Twitter @MadisonLayton01