The Oregon volleyball team could sense it.
The 1,303 fans in attendance at McArthur Court could see it.
After splitting games one and two with Oregon State Thursday, the Ducks inched closer to winning their first Pacific-10 Conference match of the season when they took a 23-15 lead in game three.
Then everything fell apart.
Led by sophomore outside hitter Karah Rhoades, the Beavers (13-11 overall, 3-9 Pac-10) went on a 16-6 run — including eight consecutive points — to capture the decisive game three, 31-29, en route to a 3-1 (30-23, 27-30, 31-29, 30-24) win over the Ducks.
Oregon set the tone early in game three, jumping out to an 8-3 lead after a kill by junior Lauren Westendorf bounced off the chest of Beaver setter Laura Collins. But the Ducks couldn’t put the Beavers away, mixing too many unforced errors in with their kills.
The Oregon State run in game three was similar to a run the Beavers made earlier this year against the Ducks. After falling behind 15-4 in game three of the season’s first Civil War meeting, the Beavers went on to outscore the Ducks 26-13 to close out the game and the match.
“Actually, that thought went through my head,” Rhoades said in reference to the Beavers’ early-season comeback. “We were down a couple points and I just thought, ‘hey, we’ve been here before.’ (We used) that experience to come back.”
Rhoades was a constant thorn in Oregon’s side, recording a double-double with 16 kills and 14 digs. She finished with 20.5 total points, including four service aces and a block assist.
“The crowd was rowdy tonight and it’s a tough place to play no matter who you are,” Rhoades said. “(Oregon) gave us a fight but it’s a big win for us.”
The loss was a painful one for the Ducks. Numerous mistakes — including 16 service errors — ruined a match that presented Oregon with ample opportunities to win. The Ducks (3-18, 0-12) recorded a season-high .315 hitting clip, marking the third consecutive match in which they set a season-best.
“We came into this match with really high hopes,” Westendorf said. “We out-executed them, we out-hit them .315 to .300, but we just couldn’t pull it out in the end.”
Freshman outside hitter Sarah Mason led all players with 17 kills, while hitting at a .324 clip. Sophomore outside hitter Jaclyn Jones added 12 kills, while sophomore setter Jodi Bell dished out a match-high 48 assists.
“It makes it even more disappointing that we had so many people come out,” sophomore Kelly Russell said. “We want everybody to be behind us and come out like that every time and it’s really disappointing not to come through for ourselves and the community.”
Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said he’s disappointed that Oregon lost, but he’ll remind his players that this game can be used as part of the learning process for a team with 12 freshmen and sophomores.
“The thing that we’ve had to do with a young team is truly try to separate process from outcome,” Ferreira said. “There will be another time in our growth and development that we’ll have a heavier emphasis on a certain aspect of an outcome.”