The Oregon volleyball team stood within plays of upsetting the No. 4 team in the nation. Knowing that it was Washington, the defending national champion, made the Ducks’ five-game loss Friday night at McArthur Court even more painful.
Starting out behind, No. 24 Oregon gamely challenged Washington, escaping match-point once and tying the Huskies in the decisive fifth game before losing when a Mira Djuric block fell out of bounds.
Washington celebrated. Oregon walked around in a daze.
“Crushed,” middle blocker Kristen Bitter said.
Washington’s five game win (30-15, 28-30, 30-25, 29-31,16-14) improved the Huskies record to 21-3 overall, 11-2 in the Pacific-10 Conference while Oregon dropped to 17-5 and 7-5 in the Pac-10 before a crowd of 2,672, the second largest crowd in Oregon history.
“You have to be thrilled,” Oregon coach Jim Moore said. “The only thing that comes out is disappointment, but 16-14 in the fifth (game), that goes either way. Am I terribly disappointed in the way they played? Obviously not. Just disappointed in the outcome.”
“We have a lot of respect for them. We knew we had to play very tough against them and consistent, and I thought we did pretty well,” libero Katie Swoboda said.
Washington’s experience showed in the fifth game, taking a 7-4 lead on Oregon’s unforced errors.
“We knew we had to jump out early from the start and had just a couple uncharacteristic errors and then you have to play catch-up so that makes it hard,” middle blocker Sonja Newcombe said.
Down 13-9, Oregon started its rally as Swoboda dove for a dig to save a point which Oregon won on a Karen Waddington block. After trading points to give Washington match-point, Djuric made a kill and Swoboda snuck a serve over the top for an ace. A Washington error tied it at 14.
Following a time-out, Washington scored two straight points, leaving Djuric kneeling on the court and players seeking positives from a tough loss.
“This is a great experience for us, something you can’t get anywhere else,” Newcombe said. “You have to play in these kinds of matches.”
Newcombe led Oregon with 22 kills. The next closest were Djuric and Neticia Enesi, with 12 kills apiece. Swoboda added 32 digs.
Oregon overcame Washington’s flurry in game one when the Huskies used a 9-2 run to win 30-15 and make a three-game sweep appear likely.
“It was mostly Washington in game one,” Moore said. “They put all kinds of pressure on us serving. They jumped on us and I knew they would do that. We didn’t respond very well to that, but I knew these guys would not give up.”
The Ducks rallied and tied the score at 24 in game two after trailing 19-15. An Oregon block and an errant Husky attack gave Oregon a 27-25 lead until Djuric killed the ball to secure the win.
Oregon led briefly before losing game three and survived match point in game four. A poised Newcombe knotted the game at 29 on a kill as she pumped her fist in celebration. Oregon used kills from Djuric and Newcombe to take the lead and seal the win.
Washington coach Jim McLaughlin, who’s guided two programs – men’s and women’s – to national titles, sees improvement in Oregon’s team.
“They’re playing better volleyball,” McLaughlin said. “They got some better athletes and (Moore’s) doing a good job.”
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