University of Oregon
Washington State
Cougars Defeat Ducks in Three
10/11/03 | Women's Volleyball
EUGENE ? Kristin Carlson had 15 kills and Jennifer Todd added 12 as Washington State defeated Oregon 3-0 in a Pacific-10 Conference volleyball match Saturday at McArthur Court.
The Ducks, (3-12, 0-7) pushed the Cougars (7-11, 3-5) in each game before surrendering a 30-20, 30-26, 30-25 loss, Oregon's eighth in a row. Each team struggled on offense, with the victor's hitting just .202 for the match while Oregon came in at .130.
Sarah Mason had 12 kills for Oregon, while Jaclyn Jones had 10. Katie O'Neil contributed a match-high 15 digs. Jodi Bell added 35 assists.
"We took rhythm and opportunity away from ourselves tonight," said Oregon coach Carl Ferreria. "It would be very easy to use inexperience as an excuse, but we're not going to hide under that."
The Ducks came out sluggish in game one, falling behind 18-11 before Mason rallied the team to a 5-3 run on a block and a kill, bringing Oregon within three at 21-18, but the Cougars took advantage of Oregon's errors to close out the game on a 9-2 run.
Game two was a different story as Oregon jumped out to a 7-5 lead on three straight kills by Jones. But WSU again took advantage of Duck errors to take a 20-16 lead. Oregon turned the table on the Cougars, taking advantage of a pair on WSU miscues in a 4-2 run that brought the Ducks within two, 22-20, but Carlson had three kills among the Cougars' final eight point to close out the game.
The teams were tied at 11-11 in a back-and-forth third game before Oregon went on a 6-1 run for a 17-12 lead ? its biggest of the match. But Todd rallied the Cougars with a three kills in a 9-1 run that left WSU leading 22-18. The Ducks made one final run and closed to 27-25 thanks to four kills in six points by Mason, but Todd stopped the Duck rally with a kill and Melanie Green served out the match.
"Do I think we're getting better? Yes," said Ferreria. "Just this last week I wrote down 50 things I thought we did better, but when you're in a stretch like this, you've got to be careful not to lose your own identity."
Oregon returns to action Thursday night at Arizona State.
