Coming off an inspiring road trip to Washington last week, the Oregon women’s volleyball team (13-3 overall, 3-3 Pacific-10 Conference) beat Arizona State (9-8, 1-5) Thursday night at McArthur Court in four games 30-22, 25-30, 30-28 and 30-24.
The Sun Devils came to Eugene on a four-game losing streak but had beaten the Ducks in their previous 16 matches heading into last night. Though Oregon expected to win the game, it became a closer match than they had anticipated.
“We could have easily lost this match,” coach Jim Moore said. “But the kids’ character really came though. They fought through it and they were nervous and scared, it’s just figuring out how to win and that was a huge one.”
Moore was satisfied with a win against what he considers to be one of the better Pac-10 opponents.
“(Arizona State’s) a very, very good team,” Moore said. “We did it very nervous, and their coach was probably as nervous as they were and we did a couple of silly things but in the end we came through.”
Once again, the Ducks’ defense shined in the win, blocking 23 shots and holding the Sun Devils to a .084 hitting percentage. Oregon had trouble recording kills on the court and hit .181 for the match.
Also, like previous wins, the seniors led the team and Moore credited them with the win.
“The people who deserve the success are the seniors,” Moore said. “Kristen (Bitter), Erin (Little) and Maddie (Heather Maddison) have been the leaders on this team. I can say it until I’m blue in the face.”
Oregon appeared to come out flat in the first game and trailed 9-16. Moore called a timeout and the Ducks went on a prolonged scoring streak and led the game 24-18 before eventually winning it.
“We’re working on our focus,” outside hitter Sonja Newcombe said. “And not becoming complacent when going on those runs.”
Newcombe led the match with 20 points and 16 kills.
“It just all clicked tonight,” Newcombe said.
Oregon was unable to sustain the same type of rallying for the second game, however. Though the Ducks had a 20-14 lead, an officials’ replay swung the momentum in Arizona State’s favor and they quickly tied the score at 24. The Sun Devils went on to win the game after only surrendering one more point to the Ducks.
“It was harder at times,” Mira Djuric said. “Sometimes we let ourselves relax and let ourselves be beat.”
Contrary to the previous games, Oregon was down early and often in game three, finding itself at a 11-18 deficit. Though once again the Ducks eventually found some momentum after a timeout, tying the score at 27 before winning 30-28.
Bitter believes libero Kaite Swoboda was the catalyst for the team’s comeback.
“I think Katie made some outstanding defensive plays,” Bitter said. “She was digging balls out of nowhere.”
Game four proved to be a see-saw battle as both teams found it hard to gain a substantial lead until Oregon led 22-15. Arizona rallied to bring the score within four, but the Ducks held on to the lead for their third conference win, the most since they were 2-3 in 1991.
Moore, in less than two years of coaching, has now equaled the total number of Pac-10 wins the Ducks had in the five seasons before his arrival.
Moore anticipates tonight’s matchup against Arizona at 7 p.m. is a game that could revitalize Oregon’s image within the conference.
“This weekend has the potential to change the program,” Moore said. “Everyone here knows that if we get these two wins, it’s a whole different ballpark.”
“It puts us on a road that this program hasn’t sniffed in 16 or 17 years,” Moore said.
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