Despite a thrilling win over Oregon State on Sunday, No. 18 Oregon volleyball was unable to keep its mojo going this afternoon against No. 14 Arizona and lost in straight sets.
The loss in Arizona dropped the Ducks record to 7-4 (1-1 Pac-12.)
The Ducks came out strong in the opening set with a 6-5 lead over Arizona thanks in part to two digs by junior libero Amanda Benson. Benson led the team with 16 total digs in the match. Arizona came back midway through the set, leaving the score 15-11 before Oregon tried out freshman setter August Raskie near the end of the first set. The switch proved not to be enough as Oregon lost the set 25-15.
In the second set, the Ducks tied the score at 12 apiece after an ace by Chelsey Keoho and a winning rally. After a 5-1 run by Arizona, Oregon trailed 19-14 and ultimately lost the set 25-16.
Knowing this could be the final set unless they came together, the Ducks opened the third set with a promising 5-1 lead. Kelsey Vander Weide, a freshman standout from the OSU match, recorded a kill to keep the Ducks ahead 8-5. Vander Weide totaled eight kills throughout the afternoon, bested only by senior outside hitter Martenne Bettendorf, who finished with nine kills.
After another scoring run by Arizona, the Ducks trailed 18-21. Despite two blocks, the Wildcats took the match 25-23.
The Ducks’ next chance to redeem themselves will come this Friday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. when Oregon takes on Utah at Matt Knight Arena.  The Daily Emerald will be for live-tweeting the game and publishing a profile on Oregon’s five freshman coming this week.
Follow Madison Layton on Twitter @MadisonLayton01