The Oregon volleyball team traveled to Arizona this weekend looking to upset the No. 3 Arizona Wildcats and the always-tough Arizona State Sun Devils but came away with two losses to start the Pacific-10 Conference season.
On Thursday, the Ducks (8-3 overall, 0-2 Pac-10) took on the Wildcats (7-0, 2-0) in Tucson, Ariz., at the McKale Center, but could muster only one game win in a 30-19, 30-19, 31-33, 30-18 loss.
After trailing 18-14 in the third game, the Ducks may have made a name for themselves in the conference with a strong comeback.
A key block by setter Sydney Chute and middle blocker Lindsay Closs helped the Ducks tie the game at 25, only to see Arizona take a 5-2 run and push their lead even further. With the Wildcats leading 29-26 in the third stanza, the Ducks held off match point with a kill by outside hitter Heather Gilmore. After a service error by Arizona, the Ducks took the lead at 32-31. Gilmore again came up big, securing the Ducks’ first Pac-10 game win of the season with a service ace.
The Ducks led four times in the third game, but Arizona dominated in the fourth and deciding game, ending the chances of an Oregon comeback.
Outside hitter Monique Tobbagi led the Ducks with 16 kills, but Gilmore was the key player in the match for the Ducks, helping Oregon hand Arizona its first game loss this season. Gilmore has emerged as a new offensive force for the Ducks, complementing Tobbagi.
Also helping the Ducks to an impressive showing against the Wildcats were middle blocker Stephanie Martin, who had 12 kills, Closs, who had a team leading six blocks, and outside hitter Lindsay Murphy, leading the team with 10 digs.
In the second match of the weekend, the Ducks, riding high after an impressive performance against Arizona, traveled to Tempe, Ariz., looking to end the Sun Devils (6-4, 1-1) four match winning streak.
With 876 in attendance at Wells Fargo Arena, the Ducks fell in three straight games to the Sun Devils, 30-17, 30-19, 30-27.
Despite six kills by Murphy in the first game, the Ducks fell behind early, 9-3, and could not recover.
The Sun Devils again dominated the second game, leading 3-0 early on. The Ducks never led the second game, and a 25-12 run by the Sun Devils put the Ducks away for good.
Finally, in the third game, Oregon jumped to a 5-1 lead before Arizona State came back to tie the score at 7-7. Eight more lead changes led to a deadlock at 26 before the Sun Devils eventually won 30-27.
After being offensively dominated by the Wildcats in the earlier match, the Ducks could not do much else against the Sun Devils. Thirty-five kills, led by Martin’s 13, were a far cry from Arizona State’s 53. The Ducks tallied no service aces in the match, while the Sun Devils were able to record five.
However, the Ducks have looked strong defensively in the first two conference matches of the season. After recording 46 digs against Arizona, the Ducks posted 29 in Tempe with Murphy leading the way with eight against the Sun Devils.
The front-line defense for the Ducks has also turned in a strong performance so far. With 25 blocks against Arizona, the Ducks helped set the stage for the third game, which turned out to be one of the team’s strongest points of the early season.
But what has hurt the Ducks early has been the team’s inability to maintain a consistent offense. In each match, the Ducks seemed to be flat before coming out strong toward the end. Arizona and Arizona State both dominated the Ducks, leading Oregon in kills and service aces. For the team to compete in the Pac-10, offense is key and has to be consistent.
The Ducks return to McArthur Court on Friday and Saturday to host Washington and Washington State. The Ducks split the season series with the Huskies last season and lost both matches to the Cougars.
Ducks drop first two matches of Pac-10 season
Daily Emerald
September 23, 2001
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