The No. 13 Oregon volleyball team’s first NCAA Tournament game in two years ended in bitter disappointment Thursday night.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4287&SPID=234&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205341102&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
The Ducks dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Colorado State in Hawaii, 24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 15-25, 15-10. Duck outside hitter Alaina Bergsma set a new Oregon career-high with 30 kills, but the Rams out-blocked the Ducks 18-6 and played better at crucial junctures.@@same@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204880765@@
Oregon’s season is now over.
“Tonight, we wanted it really bad, but we weren’t confident in ourselves,” Oregon coach Jim Moore told GoDucks.com.
An unbalanced offensive attack also doomed the Ducks. Oregon didn’t receive sufficient contributions from players other than Bergsma. Liz Brenner was the only other Duck in double-digit kills (with 11), and none of Oregon’s primary hitters had a hitting efficiency better than .219.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205157914@@
“We said all year long that if Alaina gets 30 kills, we’re not going to win,” Moore said. “The first match of the year at Penn State (an upset victory of the then-No. 1 Nittany Lions), Alaina and Kat had 19 kills. Everybody else contributed, and Ari and Liz had great matches, too. Tonight, everybody didn’t put balls on the floor.”@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4287&SPID=234&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205341102&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
Conversely, Colorado State did a commendable job of sharing the offensive load. Four Rams had nine or more kills, led by Megan Plourde (15 kills, .481 hitting efficiency) and Katelyn Steffan (15 kills, .184 hitting percentage). Colorado State outhit Oregon.@@same@@ @@http://www.csurams.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/plourde_megan00.html@@ @@http://www.csurams.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/steffan_katelyn01.html@@
“They played a good match and deserve credit for the win,” Duck setter Lauren Plum told GoDucks.com.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204963207@@
Oregon played well at times too but was unable to maintain a high-level for the duration of the match. After eking out a tightly-contested first set, the Ducks struggled in the second and third, trailing for the majority of the sets. Facing tournament elimination, Oregon turned it around in the fourth set and earned a decisive victory. The Ducks wished they could have played better earlier.
“When we were down 2-1, our backs were against our wall, so we had to play harder,” Moore said. “We just have to learn to be better at playing with the lead.”
Playing better with the score tied at two sets apiece would have also helped Oregon’s cause. The Ducks came out flat in the decisive fifth set and Colorado State jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Oregon eventually got as close as 11-10, but Colorado State won the set’s final four points.
“When we tied it up 2-2, I felt like were waiting for just something to happen,” Moore said. “When you’re saying ‘just,’ you’re in trouble. We should have said, ‘Let’s go get ‘em.’ We didn’t play to win and instead not to lose.”
“I thought it was finally going well in the fourth set,” Plum said. “That changed quickly in the fifth set. They got the first couple points, and that gave them the momentum back.”
Despite the loss, the future remains bright for Oregon. The Ducks return their entire roster (except for reserve outside hitter Lauren Gross, who will earn her degree as a junior) and will add a touted three-person recruiting class Moore called “physically the best class I’ve ever recruited, anywhere.”@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=3704028@@
Given the departure of several Pac-12 stars, such as USC outside hitter Alex Jupiter and Cal outside hitter Tarah Murrey, the Ducks will be one of the favorites to win the conference. They’ll use this defeat as fuel to accomplish that goal.@@http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/jupiter_alex00.html@@ @@http://www.calbears.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/murrey_tarah00.html@@
“This will be a motivation for us for next year,” setter Lauren Plum told GoDucks.com. “Experience-wise, we’ll learn from this, too.”
Oregon volleyball falls to Colorado State in tournament
Daily Emerald
November 30, 2011
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