University of Oregon
2-0
North Carolina
0-2
No. 11 Ducks Sweep Tar Heels
08/30/08 | Women's Volleyball
* Boxscores in PDF and HTML format are available in the LINKS box to the right.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ? The No. 11 University of Oregon volleyball team opened the final day of the State Farm Illini Classic Saturday with a three-set sweep of North Carolina at the University of Illinois' Huff Hall.
UO (2-0) won 25-19, 25-16, 25-19, and trailed only once in the match with its early 3-1 deficit in the second set, and its defense held the Tar Heels to a .066 hitting mark.
In comparison, UO combined to hit .286, including a .387 mark in game two (17 kills, five errors, 31 attempts).
In her second career start for UO, senior and second-year Duck Marija Milosevich posted seven kills ? one off her career high (8) from last year's Sweet 16 match vs. UCLA. The Ljig, Serbia native paced the team in hitting (.438), just ahead of junior middle blocker Neticia Enesi (.375, nine kills). Junior Sonja Newcombe was tops on the team in kills (11), and sophomore Heather Meyers added seven.
Junior setter Nevena Djordjevic accounted for 39 assists and senior libero Katie Swobda posted 19 digs.
Early in game one, the Ducks registered six straight points to charge out to a 6-1 lead with Sonja Newcombe registering a service ace among her five straight serves. Scoring then proceeded to remain fairly even with UO eventually extending to a 21-10 advantage, before UNC rallied with 4-0 runs to make it 21-14 and 24-19, before Newcombe ended the game with a kill for a 25-19 decision. For the game, Newcombe had four kills, while Enesi and Meyers added three (and Enesi logging only four attempts).
In game two, the Duck points came more methodically as UO gradually pulled away from the Tar Heels and held leads of 5-3, 10-7, 15-10 and 20-13 in its five-point increments to a 25-16 victory. Forristall had five kills among her eight attempts in game two ? a Duck season-best mark for kills in a game so far this season ? and Enesi and Newcomb each had three kills. Enesi registered three blocks in game two, and Milosevich had two.
In game three, UO used a 3-0 start to jump out to a 9-4 advantage. UNC eventually clawed back within one, 17-16, but UO ended the match on an 8-3 run to win 25-19. Milosevich and Newcombe each had four kills in the final set (with Milosevich hitting .800 in the game). From the service line, Milosevich and Meyers added their first and second aces of the match, respectively.
Among the Ducks that played Saturday, freshman Rhiannon Tooker and Dana Stephenson became the first freshmen to see action in '08 in games one and two, respectively. Their presence complemented the Ducks' veteran roster that returns six starters and its libero from the record-breaking 2007 season.
For North Carolina (0-2), its top hitter Saturday was Christine Vaughen (seven kills, .267), while setter Brianna Eskola claimed team match highs in assists (25) and digs (9).
Earlier in the tournament, the Ducks won Friday's season opener, 3-1, vs. No. 23 New Mexico State by a score of 25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 25-17. The victory was the fourth straight season-opening win under head coach Jim Moore, and its sixth overall vs. a top-25 team under the fourth-year mentor.
Looking ahead, the Ducks return for their final match of the University of Illinios-hosted tournament at 5 p.m. Central Time Saturday afternoon (3 p.m. CT). Huff Hall featured a raucous crowd of 1,989 Friday night that cheered the Illini to a sweep of North Carolina, 25-21, 25-14, 25-12. Illinois also won their Saturday morning opener vs. No. 23 New Mexico State, 24-26, 25-21, 25-19, 25-14).
The home blue and orange will try and beat UO for their 18th title in the 25th edition of the tournament with their lone losses in previous tourney finals to Rice (2005), Florida (2001), Stanford (1994, 1990), BYU (1987), San Jose State (1986) and Missouri (1984).
QUICK QUACKS: Fourth-year head coach Jim Moore raised his overall record to 53-41 with the win over North Carolina... Oregon's non-conference record under Moore is 34-2 ... Saturday's win raised UO's all-time record to 2-1 vs. North Carolina, and in their previous meeting UNC won in 2003 (21-30, 14-30, 21-30) in the Ducks' season opener. ... UO is 1-1 vs. Illinois all-time with the Illini winning their last meeting in 1987 (8-15, 15-12, 10-15, 2-15). ... North Carolina was tabbed fourth in the ACC coaches preseason poll and was 15-16 in 2007 (and sixth in the conference with a 15-16 mark).
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