The No. 2 Oregon Ducks began their Bay Area road trip with a 3-1 victory over the California Golden Bears to remain undefeated on Wednesday night. Now boasting a record of 14-0, the Ducks tied their all-time longest winning streak behind strong performances from Alaina Bergsma, who netted 18 kills, and setter Lauren Plum, who had 54 assists in the effort.
The Ducks were once again fortunate enough to start off the first set in a quick, precise manner. They took an early 8-2 lead over Cal and looked crisp and well-tuned. Golden Bears head coach Rich Feller took his first timeout with his squad down 15-10 in an attempt to find a way to stop Alaina Bergsma and the fast-paced Oregon offense.
Following the timeout Cal pulled within three at 15-12 but was unable to tie up the first set. Feller and the Golden Bears called another timeout down 20-16 and following the stoppage, the latter half of the match became more competitive with Cal pulling within two points of the Ducks at 22-20. However, the Oregon offense proved to be too much for the Golden Bears to handle and an Ariana Williams kill at the net secured the first set 25-20 for the Ducks.
Cal came out in the second set looking like a much more composed team than they did in the first, and Oregon was unable to distance themselves from the Bears and were gridlocked at 4-4 early.
Turning point. With Cal pressing and Oregon up 6-5, Oregon setter Lauren Plum converted on a crafty over-the-shoulder shot that caught the Cal defense off-guard and put Oregon up 7-5.
Cal was able to pull within a point at 14-13 but Alaina Bergsma and the Ducks were too much for the injury-riddled Bears to handle and they took the set 25-18.
With their backs against the wall Cal jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the third set and seeing his team down 6-2, head coach Jim Moore called timeout to try to refocus his squad. The third set remained a tightly contested affair and the Ducks found themselves trailing throughout. After several unforced errors, Oregon fell behind 17-12. Head coach Jim Moore was visibly frustrated on the sideline with his team’s inability to maintain any offensive flow or to stop the Cal offensive barrage. Oregon failed to maintain any cohesion and lost the set 25-17.
The fourth set began just as the third did, competitively. The Ducks came out playing much more efficiently and in rhythm and took an early 7-4 lead. As the set wore on, Oregon showed why they were the No. 2 team in the nation, extending their lead to 14-7 and then 19-11. Deeper into the set the Ducks were able to pull away and eventually took the fourth set 25-15 on a Lauren Plum ace and the match 3-1.
On the horizon. The Ducks continue their Bay Area trip on Friday as they travel to Palo Alto to play the No. 7-ranked Stanford Cardinal who are currently enjoying a 10-game winning streak. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
Ducks travel to Berkeley and defeat Cal 3-1 to remain undefeated
Eddie Paskal
October 2, 2012
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