Oregon’s conference woes continued Sunday, as it lost a heartbreaker to No. 11 Washington in five sets.
The Ducks had the upset in their hands when they won the first two sets 25-23 and 25-21. Securing the third and final victory didn’t go so well, as they dropped the next three sets 20-25, 18-25, and 11-15.
Oregon was able to take the lead and gain momentum early when freshman Elise Ferreira served back-to-back aces, making it 8-5. Inconsistency has been an issue of late for the Ducks, but this wasn’t the case in the first set. The offensive power continued, and Oregon was able to hold their lead until a 3-1 run by the Huskies made it 23-23 late in the set. Taylor Williams delivered a clutch block for a point, however, giving the Ducks the lead and the energy they needed to win the set.
Matt Ulmer’s squad continued to match Washington’s intensity in the second set. A back-and-forth battle gave way to a 6-0 Oregon run, which was too much for the Huskies. Brooke Nuneviller looked to be recovered from the injury that put her on the sidelines in Pullman, as she led the team with 16 kills on the day. Senior Willow Johnson also came up with several kills to secure the win in the second set.
Looking to complete the sweep, the Ducks weren’t as sharp as in the first two sets. Washington battled by taking an early lead and keeping it for almost the entirety of the third set. The Huskies put up 11 kills and three blocks in the set victory.
The fourth set was another nail biter that included nine ties and five lead changes. Oregon’s offense lost production and its confidence seemed to fade as the match continued, with the Ducks scoring under 20 points for the first time in the match.
The Huskies took all the momentum into the fifth set, winning with relative ease and control. The early spark that was present in the beginning of the match was lost.
Ronika Stone led the team with a .267 hit pct, and Kara Bajema put up 21 kills for Washington.
Suffering their fourth consecutive loss, the Ducks now sit at 5-10 overall and 1-5 in conference play. They will return to Eugene to face UCLA on October 18.
