The No. 13 Oregon volleyball team entered another Pac-12 battle this Sunday against No. 25 Washington State. Hoping to bounce back from their loss to the No. 10 Washington Huskies, the Ducks lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, falling to the Washington State Cougars in a sweep.
Washington State started off slow,making three errors with its first plays. From there on, kills were made by both teams coming from Oregon’s Brooke Nuneviller and Abby Hansen and Washington State’s Magda Jehlarova, who dominated in the first set with four kills and an ace.
Washington State’s junior from the Czech Republic tore through Oregon’s defense and finished the match with 10 total kills.
The Cougars were able to snag the first set with a score of 25-20.
Oregon opened up with an ace in hopes of switching the momentum in its favor in the second set. An intense exchange between the teams kept the game close, as Oregon’s Karson Bacon scored two back-to-back kills early. However, Washington State’s Pia Timmer dominated with an ace and a leading attack that ultimately gave the Cougars the second set.
Despite the loss in the set, Nuneviller was leading Oregon with seven kills, Georgia Murphy led with 11 digs, and Gloria Mutiriand Hansen both had two blocks in the 25-23 set.
In the third and final set, Oregon looked for a rally to come back and take at least one set in the match after Washington State took a commanding 2-0 lead. The Ducks seemed to come back to life in the set making it a close game at 13-11. However, the Cougars went on a seven point run and put the final blow to the Ducks finishing 25-15.
The Ducks struggled throughout the match offensively with only Nuneviller and Morgan Lewis scoring eight kills each while Washington State’s Timmer and Jehlarova combined for 23 total kills.
Head Coach Matt Ulmer spoke more and kept high spirits even after the tough loss.
“We are still a really good volleyball team, we can go have a really nice weekend next weekend and it starts with Tuesday practice.”
The Oregon Ducks go on their first road trip since Oct. 3 to face UCLA next Friday at 7 p.m.
