CORVALLIS – The match between in-state rivals Oregon and Oregon State was expected to be a close, competitive contest.
Oregon State defied this expectation.
Playing consistently throughout, Oregon State swept Oregon in three games Friday night and made an already difficult start to Pacific-10 Conference play even worse for the Ducks. Oregon has lost 22 straight Pac-10 matches, including its first seven this year, and the last five matches in the Civil War rivalry.
Oregon returns home for matches against Washington and Washington State Friday and Saturday – the first matches at McArthur Court since Sept. 29-30 against California and Stanford.
Right now, Oregon will take anything positive after starting another match slowly. Oregon head coach Jim Moore and the players emphasized opening strong against Oregon State (6-7 overall, 2-5 conference), starting game one with a 4-1 lead before Oregon State outplayed the Ducks (10-8, 0-7) the rest of the way, en route to a 30-16 win.
“I don’t know if they played harder than us, they just seemed like they wanted it way more than we did,” junior defensive specialist Stephanie Alleman said.
Oregon started game two strong as outside hitter Mira Djuric pounded the Oregon State side. The Ducks continued to match the Beavers point for point. Then in a span of minutes, Oregon went from a 24-18 lead to a 30-24 game two loss.
The same qualities that gave Oregon a lead – Djuric’s kills, Erika Bartruff’s strong serving and Kelly Russell’s kills – disappeared through mistakes.
“We didn’t pass. We didn’t set. We didn’t hit, and so they just scored 12 points in a row,” Moore said.
Nearly identical to what happened in game two, Oregon took a 21-14 lead in game three. Oregon State called a time-out, and returned with a six-to-two run to pull within three, 23-20. Oregon led 27-24, before a five-point Oregon State run was sparked by errors from Djuric and Russell. Oregon State used a Desma Stovall service ace to overcome two late Oregon points and clinch the match.
Each time Oregon had chances to win games – mistakes and a lack of cohesion replaced early success. Djuric struggled to finish after good starts, partly due to Oregon State’s emphasis on blocking.
“We knew we had to stop the hitting power of Oregon, particularly (Djuric),” Oregon State head coach Taras Liskevych said. “She’s a great player. That was the turning point in the second game when we blocked her several times in a row.”
Oregon State received consistent play throughout from Karah Rhoades, Brittany Cahoon, Kristin Murray and Katelyn Healy. Libero Natalie Hooper, a Roseburg High graduate like Oregon’s Kristen Bitter, played three games and had eight digs. Rhoades had 12 kills, Murray 11, Cahoon eight and Healy six.
This match, just like ones before it, found Oregon at times the challenger and at other times the enigma that has troubled Moore throughout conference play. The same Oregon team that arguably peaked in beating San Francisco has struggled to maintain leads and finish games and, consequently, matches.
“You can’t just keep doing the same thing over and over and over,” Moore said. “You have to find a way, it’s that simple.”
Erin Little played two games and part of a third with an injured ankle, contributing four kills, nine digs and a .364 hitting percentage. Allyson Leavitt didn’t dress due to a similar ankle injury. Alleman filled in for Little after playing the previous weekend in Los Angeles.
“Erin was great,” Moore said. “Erin tried to gut it out and just couldn’t hang in there the whole way.”
Djuric had a match-high 14 kills, but also had 12 errors. Russell had nine kills.
Oregon wasn’t thinking long-term afterward, but Liskevych said Moore’s arrival means a more competitive in-state rivalry. Liskevych coached the U.S. National Women’s Volleyball Team from 1985-96.
Moore had an opportunity when he was at Texas in 1997 to join the National Team and chose to remain in college athletics.
“Jim’s going to do a great job building a really good program there (at Oregon),” Liskevych said.

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