Sophomore setter Jodi Bell finished with 32 assists and five digs in Oregon’s loss to Oregon State on Thursday.
CORVALLIS — Oftentimes in close games, the home fans can make all the difference.
The Oregon State volleyball team used a raucous Gill Coliseum crowd to help get past Oregon 3-0 (30-26, 30-27, 30-28) Thursday in Corvallis.
After dropping the first two games, the Ducks came out smoking in game three, taking a 15-4 lead on the strength of nine consecutive points. The Beavers pulled within eight at 20-12, then proceeded on an 18-8 run to finish the match.
“We came out in the third game a little pissed off from the first two games and got fired up,” Oregon sophomore Kelly Russell said. “We came out with a good rhythm, got ahead, but the rhythm shifted.”
Oregon State’s surge in game three was led by Allison Lawrence. The junior outside hitter finished with 23 points, including five kills in the final game.
“She’s a little more patient than she’s been in the past,” Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said. “That comes with maturity and time in (the Pacific-10 Conference). We handled her well at times but she just kept at it.”
Russell led the Ducks with 19 points, while freshman Sarah Mason added 13.
The Ducks had opportunities to win each game, but other than game three, they were unable to string together a series of points when they needed to.
“In the first two games, we were just not scoring enough,” Ferreira said. “Anytime you’ve got a sport with a scoreboard like us and there’s a point awarded for play, scoring points is a big part of it. We’re not having the balanced scoring that we would need on a consistent basis.”
Oregon State fans were doing as much as they could to help the Beavers win, including verbal taunts and creating a tunnel for the team to run through when it returned from the locker room. The furious start to game three was the only time the Ducks were able to quiet the crowd.
The fans’ enthusiasm appeared to work as the youthful Ducks appeared flustered at times.
“They were letting our kids have it,” Ferreira said. “When you silence the crowd you’ve got to keep them there. When you’re on the road you can’t play even with your opponent, you have to play better and you’ve got to do the things you need to do to silence the crowd.
“I thought they handled playing in a difficult atmosphere well. For a lot of kids, it was their first Civil War.”
The Beavers never trailed in game one, but were unable to pull away. After trailing 23-17, the Ducks pulled to within 28-26 before giving up the game’s final two points.
Game two was a similar situation, but the Ducks at one point led 21-19 before giving way to the Beaver attack.
“We just couldn’t sustain (or) finish,” Ferreira said. “It’s definitely frustrating for these kids. My job, probably more than anything else, is to truly take care of their emotions because they’re doing everything that they need to do to get to where they need to get to.
“Just because you don’t get the results you want today doesn’t mean you’re not doing the things you need to do. It’s far from a panic situation. Anytime you have 12 freshmen and sophomores, your system is still in its evolution.”
Sophomore Jodi Bell led the Ducks with 32 assists. Freshman Kristen Bitter finished with 11.5 points, including three service aces. Junior libero Katie O’Neil added 14 digs.
After Mason put the Ducks ahead 19-17 with a kill in the second game, she was issued a yellow card for screaming and gesturing towards the Oregon State side of the court. O’Neil said this type of enthusiasm is an encouraging sight.
“We’re still optimistic because we’re young and we’re fresh,” O’Neil said. “We have great attitudes and great chemistry and it’s a lot of fun this year.”
Contact the sports reporter
at [email protected].