It didn’t exactly seem like an ideal breeding ground for an upset. With temperatures hovering north of 90 degrees and a rowdy home crowd of almost 4,000 scrutinizing Oregon’s every move, the Ducks’ volleyball team wasn’t expected to provide much of a challenge to then-No. 1 Penn State in the season-opener.
Oregon, which was snubbed for an NCAA tournament bid last season, never got the message.
The Ducks stunned the Nittany Lions 3-1 in a non-conference match last month, ending Penn State’s record 94-match home winning streak. Oregon was the first visiting team to win at Recreation Hall since 2005.
“(During) the first set their crowd was a little intimidating, and we did feel a little pressure, but we eventually settled down and focused on ourselves,” Oregon outside hitter Alaina Bergsma told GoDucks.com after the game. “We took it one point at a time, and I kept thinking about how we weren’t invited to the NCAA tournament last year, and let that fuel me. After a while, some of the other players started to believe, then knew we could actually win.”
Early on, Penn State had all the momentum. Riding a 94-match winning streak, the Nittany Lions won the first set easily, 25-16, out-hitting the Ducks .407-.043.
But Oregon rebounded, winning the final three sets, 25-21, 25-20, 25-22, to shock the home team. Alaina Bergsma and Katherine Fischer, who both struggled with dehydration in the harsh elements, led Oregon with a team-high 19 kills apiece. In her first college game, Duck freshman Liz Brenner was spectacular, tallying 12 kills while hitting .579.
All told, they, and the rest of Oregon’s team, did enough to boost the Ducks to a most unlikely victory.
“It was an amazing effort by our players, who laid all their hearts on the line and deserve to celebrate tonight,” Oregon coach Jim Moore said.