It was almost perfect.
The last match played at McArthur Court and the last home match for senior Heather Meyers had nearly everything Duck fans wanted to see.
An enthusiastic crowd of 1,935 provided the energy. A touching pre-game ceremony to honor Meyers added a dash of emotion. And after the Ducks fell behind 2-0 to No. 6 USC, a gutsy comeback evened the match at two sets apiece.
But ultimately, in the fifth and decisive set, No. 23 Oregon (18-10, 6-10 Pacific-10) couldn’t top off the evening with a win.
“Everything I thought we’d do we were able to do, and we didn’t win the match,” Oregon coach Jim Moore said.
The 25-19, 25-23, 21- 25, 27-29, 15-9 loss was a performance to be proud of, nonetheless.
“I think it was a great way to go out of Mac,” Oregon’s sophomore outside hitter Katherine Fischer said. “We fought and we played as hard as we could we just left it all on the court. That’s a great way to go out.”
Early on, it didn’t look like McArthur Court’s swan song would be so memorable.
The Ducks started the match slowly, hitting only .216 and allowing USC to hit .395 in the first set.
Oregon’s defense tightened up in the second frame and the Ducks played point for point with the Women of Troy, but USC came out with a narrow win.
Oregon came out of the intermission with significantly more energy, and played a nearly flawless third set. The Ducks hit .525 and had 21 kills and no errors in the frame.
“I thought we came back really well after the break,” Fischer said. “We came out fighting more. We were a little more tentative at the beginning.”
Oregon’s strong effort continued into the fourth set. The Women of Troy and Ducks traded points deep into the set before Oregon went on a 6-3 run to close out the set and even the match at two.
But after Oregon jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the fifth set, USC came roaring back to win 13 of the next 18 points and the match.
Ultimately, the Ducks were doomed by their slow start at the beginning of the contest.
“We just didn’t come out with the same level of aggressiveness that we needed to be successful early,” Moore said.
For the match, Oregon hit .295 and USC hit .360. Outside hitter Alaina Bergsma led the Ducks in kills with 19, Fischer added 18, Meyers tallied 17, and middle blocker Ariana Williams had a career-high 15 kills. Freshman setter Lauren Plum had a career-high 66 assists.
The 3-2 loss to USC Saturday came on the heels of a disappointing 3-1 loss to No. 10 UCLA Friday night. In a 25-15, 25-20, 19-25, 25-20 decision, Oregon’s offense sputtered, hitting only .217 to UCLA’s .325
Like they did against USC, the Ducks began the match poorly. The Ducks dropped the first and second sets handily.
“(I was) disappointed with the slow start,” Moore said.
Oregon did pick things up after intermission to win the third frame, but hit only .149 in the fourth set.
Meyers led the Ducks in kills with 17, Fischer added 14 and Bergsma chipped in 12, but none of the Ducks’ three kill leaders hit better than .245. All in all, it wasn’t the Ducks’ best effort.
“I was disappointed,” Moore said. “I thought we would play a lot better. We didn’t play very well.”
Now, Oregon shifts its focus to a season-ending series against Washington and Washington State. The Ducks swept the Huskies and Cougars when they met in Eugene earlier this year, and would be well served to at least split the series to improve their NCAA Tournament chances.
“We need to beat Washington State,” Moore said. “We have to play as if our life depends on it up there.”
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