And the streak lives on.
Despite a team-high 18 kills by senior Monique Tobbagi, the Oregon volleyball team could not pull out a win against Gonzaga Tuesday in Spokane, Wash.
Gonzaga (7-11 overall, 3-4 West Coast Conference), on the strength of 21 kills by Christina Davis, pulled out a five-game squeaker (30-26, 30-27, 28-30, 29-31, 15-12) against the Ducks (8-12, 0-9 Pacifc-10 Conference), and extended Oregon’s losing streak to a season-high 11 matches.
But it was one heck of a match.
After outlasting the Zags in game three, the Ducks headed to game five for the third time this season, only to see it slip out of their fingers.
A kill by junior Stephanie Martin kept the Ducks close at 8-7, but that was the closest they would get in the final and deciding set. Four straight Gonzaga points widened the gap between the two teams, but head coach Carl Ferreira’s squad fight back to get within one at 13-12. Two Zags’ points, however, did the Ducks in and gave the match to Gonzaga.
“Our three top hitters are continuing to lead us,” Ferreira said. “Monique has begun to generate a rhythm, but I think we need to begin scoring points from other areas as well.”
Without strong play in games three and four, the Ducks would have never even gotten to that position. But the match didn’t start out so great for the Oregon women.

Up 10-8 early on in the first game, Oregon saw Gonzaga fight back to take a 17-14 lead. A kill by freshman Lauren Westendorf gave the Ducks hope, but the Zags again struck back to end the Oregon run. Down by one at 26-25, a kill by Tobbagi put the Ducks right back into the game, but the Bulldogs scored the last four points of the game, leading to the Ducks’ demise.
Game two would be no different, as a sluggish Oregon start led to a quick Gonzaga lead, only to see Ferreira’s squad come back to tie it at 10. The Ducks were in driving position at 18-16 when another Gonzaga run of four points put the Ducks behind, this time for good. Oregon could get only as close as 24-23 before losing to the Zags by three.
With their backs to the wall and staring at their third sweep in a row, the Ducks fought back in impressive fashion. After the Ducks jumped out to a commanding 20-11 lead, the Bulldogs fought back to win nine of the next 10 points. But a kill by junior Lindsay Closs and two attack errors by the Zags helped push the Ducks back into the lead for good. With a service error by Gonzaga’s Zuzana Tumova, the Oregon women had emphatically won their first game of the match and gained some momentum.
That momentum grew larger in game four when the Ducks jumped back into the match, somewhere they hadn’t been since early in game one. But it had to come with a little effort.
Down 23-20 late in the game, Oregon knew they had to pull out a little magic. Fortunately, Martin and Westendorf did just that.
A kill by Martin and a service ace by Westendorf on successive plays tied the score at 23, pushing the Zags to the brink. The Bulldogs answered back in the form of three straight points and five of the next six before a kill by Tobbagi and attack error by Gonzaga stopped the run. The Ducks and Zags fought it out until the end, with Oregon coming out victorious at 31-29.
“I think when you’re on the road and are able to recover from losing games one and two to win the next two, it’s a positive thing,” Ferreira said.
Tobbagi’s 18 kills on the night paced the Ducks, with Martin’s 17 and Closs’ 14 backing her up. Playing in her first match since Washington State on Sept. 29, senior Julie Gerlach also helped the Ducks with a team high 34 assists.
“Julie hasn’t played in a long time and I thought she came in and did an exceptional job,” Ferreira said. “She was a major spark off the bench.”
The Ducks stay in eastern Washington this week as they visit Washington State on Friday, then take on Washington in Seattle on Saturday.