It was another solid outing by the No. 2 University of Oregon women’s volleyball team as they cruised past the University of Colorado in straight sets, keeping their perfect record intact.
Colorado, coming off a loss to Oregon State, simply did not have an answer for Miss Oregon USA, Alaina Bergsma, as she racked up kill after kill, ending up with a team-high of 12. Liz Brenner also contributed 10 kills, and Haley Jacob added on 12 digs to help clinch the win for the Ducks.@@names checked@@
The first set couldn’t have gone better for the Ducks. After leading 13-3 in the middle of the set, they didn’t let their foot off the gas as they never allowed Buffaloes back within 10 points. Oregon continued to add to their lead with the collaborative effort of Bergsma, Ariana Williams and Brenner as they proved too powerful for Colorado, eventually winning the first set, 25-11.
With the momentum riding from set one, the Ducks started off set two with an ace from Kellie Kawasaki, and it seemed like the team was on route to win another set without any troubles, but the Buffaloes didn’t go down easy. Colorado’s Alexis Austin put on a little run of her own in the middle of the set to bring her team within five points. The Ducks then faced a 16-11 lead with much of the set and game to go. Oregon did, however, gut out set two and eventually won the set 25-19, after a kill from Ariana Williams.
The third set followed the theme of dominance for the Ducks, and everyone in the building knew that another win was in store. After an 8-7 scare in the third set, the Ducks pulled away to win set three and the game at 25-16, adding onto their perfect 13-0 record and 4-0 in Pac-12 play.
Takeaways — After another dominating performance by the Ducks’ trio in Bergsma, Williams and Brenner, there wasn’t much to say but a job well done.
“We have a number of weapons, and if we can get them all on track, then we have a shot to be pretty good,” Oregon head coach Jim Moore said about his dominant trio after the game. “We just have to keep everyone strong and healthy and go from there.”
On the horizon — Up next for the Ducks will be a showdown in Berkeley, Calif., as they take on the No. 17 Golden Bears on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m.