After starting off the season 8-9 overall and 0-7 in Pacific-10 Conference play, Oregon volleyball couldn’t have imagined things could get any worse.
It just did against Arizona State.
After being swept in three games (30-15, 30-24, 30-16) by the Sun Devils (6-9 overall, 2-6 Pac-10) Thursday night at McArthur Court, the Ducks are at their lowest point of the season. While it is another loss for Oregon, this one is the worst of the season.
There were “not enough real points scored tonight and too many unforced errors,” head coach Carl Ferreira said. “Real points being the points that affect the scoreboard… your hitting, your serving and your blocking (are important).”
The Ducks came out strong early on against Arizona State, splitting the first 10 points of the first game, only to see their chances go down the drain after that. The Sun Devils, led by sophomore Kim Mehlhorn’s 16 kills on the night, struck back to win four of the next five points to put themselves up at 10-6, the closest Oregon would get for the rest of the game. Arizona State won 10 of the last 12 points in the set in a convincing 15-point win.

Game two’s result would be no different, but with a little twist. Oregon matched the Sun Devils point-for-point until Arizona State pulled ahead at 20-19. The Ducks could muster only five more points after that and succumbed to head coach Patti Snyder-Park’s team by six.
In what would be a mentally draining third game, not only for the Oregon players, but the Oregon fans as well, Ferreira’s squad never really stood a chance. Down 8-5 early on in the game, the Ducks would see Arizona State run the gambit on them, winning the next five points to put them in a commanding position. Oregon’s seven kills and .000 hitting percentage were no match for the Sun Devils en route to the Sun Devils’ 14-point win in the final set.
“We’re disappointed in the outcome of tonight’s match,” senior Monique Tobbagi said.
While the Ducks were dominated on the scoreboard, they would be further humiliated on the stat sheet. Ferreira’s team was outkilled 56-34, including 16-7 in the final game. Oregon’s .133 hitting percentage was almost .300 points lower than Arizona State’s .404, and the Sun Devils tallied more assists than the Ducks, 48-29.
“They flat out had their way as attackers,” Ferreira said. “So our attackers needed to do a much more dominant job at the net, and then we needed to have our blockers do a much better job at controlling the net.”
The one bright spot for the Ducks was Tobbagi. With her fourth kill in the first game, Tobbagi became the fifth Oregon player since 1986 to record 1,000 kills for her career. In addition, her 13 digs led the Ducks.
“I’d rather have the win,” she said. “I’d give up all those kills to get some W’s in our column.”
The Ducks host No. 7 Arizona tonight, with the first serve slated for 7 p.m. at McArthur Court.