Danielle Bixby — Oregon’s smallest, but most enthusiastic Duck — happily pranced by the side of her Ducks teammates as they exited the court after signing autographs. Her enthusiasm came as a surprise given the Ducks lost in three sets to Pac-12 foe, the Arizona Wildcats.
Plenty of younger volleyball players were in attendance for the annual “Ducks Dig Pink” game, and made their presence known as their high-pitched screams attempted to distract the Wildcats’ offense.
Those attempts proved ineffective though, as Arizona exploited the inexperienced Ducks team.
The Ducks have struggled all season. Winning just three Pac-12 games and seven overall, Oregon now sits in last place in the conference. After an exciting run to the Elite Eight last season, the Ducks untried players have a lot to learn from their older teammates. And with just three seniors on roster, passing along that knowledge and experience becomes ever more important.
“There isn’t much time left,” senior Ronika Stone said. “It’s just a reminder we have to cherish these things.”
The Ducks’ defense struggled to contain the Wildcats’ attack. Oregon surrendered the first set 20-25 withArizona’s Paige Whipple and Devyn Cross keeping the Ducks on their heels. Whipple, a Salem native, led the first set with 19 attack attempts and five kills.
A few changes by head coach Matt Ulmer helped his team jump to a 10-5 lead in the second set. The lead was short lived though, as the Wildcats responded with a 9-2 run of their own and retook the lead, 14-12. Arizona attacked the Ducks with a level of confidence that Oregon failed to match. The second set ended in disappointing fashion as the Ducks watched an Arizona serve land inbounds and give them a 27-25 second set win and advantage.
Even with a rotation the Ducks are used to, Oregon still couldn’t find their stride.
Going down 3-5 early in the third set, Oregon promptly came back by scoring six unanswered to take a 10-6 lead. Oregon’s Willow Johnson and Ronika Stone came alive in the third set, keeping the series close. Johnson and Stone combined for nine of the Ducks 17 kills in the third and final set. The Wildcats overwhelmed the Ducks 25-21.
After getting swept for the third time in four games, Oregon is already looking forward to the future. Underclassmen Karson Bacon and Kylie Robinson both contributed to the stateline. Bacon had four kills which was the mist among freshman while redshirt freshman counterpart, Robinson had 16 assists.
“It’s not like other teams are beating us up,” Stone said. “We’re beating ourselves up.”
Arizona had all the swagger as they shutout the Ducks. This was the Wildcats second win against Oregon this season, winning the previous matchup three sets to one.
Oregon will move on and play their second to last home game against the Arizona State Sun Devils on Nov. 17.
