Oregon volleyball, say hello to Keao Burdine.
Burdine, Southern California’s freshman outside hitter, was instrumental in the Trojans’ three-game win (30-20, 30-10, 30-20) over Oregon on Wednesday at McArthur Court. Her match-high 20 kills were only three less than the Ducks’ overall total, and her .462 hitting percentage was second to Lauren Killian’s match-high .571.
The win improved USC to 16-2 in Pacific-10 Conference play (22-3 overall), good enough for second in the conference behind Stanford’s 17-1 record. The Ducks (9-21 overall, 0-18 Pac-10) finished with their worst conference season in school history, failing to win a match for the first time ever.
“You’ve got to commend USC tonight. They played a really good match,” freshman Lauren Westendorf said. “They really stepped up their level and played at the top of their game. They basically came in and played flawlessly.”
The No. 5 Trojans gave the Ducks very little breathing room to begin the game, spotting Oregon three points before coming back strong. After an Oregon run of five points put the Ducks up 12-5, USC responded quickly.
USC would score nine of the next 10 points, including a seven-point run that put the Trojans ahead by one, 14-13. Burdine came through with four of her 20 kills in the sequence, and would eventually finish the first game with eight kills.
Oregon didn’t stand a chance from that point on, succumbing to the Trojans after another seven-point run put USC firmly ahead late in the game. USC won the last 11 of 12 points played en route to a 10-point win.
“USC was an extremely talented team that made it very difficult for us to succeed,” Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said.
In game one, USC held the Ducks to a .027 hitting percentage, while the Trojans posted 20 digs and 21 kills. Oregon’s five total blocks, including junior Stephanie Martin’s solo block early on, helped the Ducks stay in the game as long as they did.
Game two would be much of the same, with Burdine posting another seven kills and USC leading Oregon in kills, 16-7. Burdine, a member of the Pac-10’s All-Freshman team and an All-Pac-10 honorable mention nominee, was better in the second game than the first. With seven kills in 11 attempts, she improved upon her .375 game one hitting percentage.
With a winless conference season on the line, Oregon was again dominated by the Trojans in game three, falling behind 7-1 early on. The Ducks could never overcome that deficit, and lost game three by 10 points.
On the night, Oregon finished with 23 kills and a -.028 hitting percentage. Senior Monique Tobbagi, in her last collegiate match, led the Ducks with eight kills. Westendorf, her first Oregon season officially over, led Oregon’s defense with 10 digs.
“We fought hard, played our hardest, and they were pretty unbeatable tonight,” Westendorf said.