Coming off their three-set sweep over Arizona State on Friday, No. 16 Oregon fell to the Arizona in five sets with scores of 26-24, 25-16, 22-25, 21-25 and 13-15.
The win ends an eight-game losing streak for Arizona (10-15, 4-12 Pac-12) and puts the Ducks at 16-8 overall and 9-7 in Pac-12.
Lindsey Vander Weide earned her eighth double-double of the season, finishing the game with 11 kills and 21 digs while Jolie Rasmussen earned her second with 15 kills and 10 digs. Alex Hojnar also recorded a career-high 27 digs. Maggie Scott and August Raskie both tied their season-highs in assists (Scott, 32, and Raskie, 27).
Oregon was quick to score the first four points of set three; however, Arizona came back fully charged with their own 4-0 run. The Ducks got within three at 21-24, but Arizona clinched the win at 25-21.
With the match win on the line for the second time for Oregon, Arizona put full pressure on set four as a 6-1 run gave them an early five-point lead. Oregon failed to keep up as the Wildcats took the set win of 25-21, forcing the match into a fifth set.
The fifth and final set, saw an early 4-1 run from the Wildcats as Oregon trailed by three. After switching sides, the Ducks scored three straight and briefly tied the set. Arizona responded with two straight and claimed the match victory, 15-13.
Oregon started set one with two kills from Agost, but the Wildcats responded with a 7-2 run. After the final timeout, Oregon scored seven straight to tie at 19-19.
After three straight attack errors from the Wildcats, the Ducks got their first lead at 25-24. A final kill from Rasmussen secured the first set win for Oregon, 26-24.
Continuing their momentum from set one, the Ducks got ahead of the Wildcats early on and kept the lead throughout set two. Through a 9-0 run and a deficit as big as 12, Oregon won 25-16. Agost took the lead for the Ducks with eight kills, Hojnar ended the set with 13 digs.
The Ducks will return home to host three of their final four games. Starting with the Washington schools this week, Oregon will play Washington State on Friday at 3 p.m.
Follow Maggie Vanoni on Twitter @maggie_vanoni