University of Oregon
15-5, 5-5
Oregon State
11-11, 2-8
No. 15 Ducks Bite Beavers, 3-1
10/31/09 | Women's Volleyball
* A boxscore and play-by-play is located in the LINKS box to the right, and updated season/career stats are available via the link above.
* TV NOTE: Local rebroadcasts of the match will be shown by Fox Sports Northwest, Saturday (10/31) at 7 p.m.; and Sunday (11/1) at 2 a.m. and 1 p.m. (also note that this weekend that daylight savings time changes back to standard time).
EUGENE - The No. 15 University of Oregon volleyball team (15-5, 5-5) evened the season Civil War series with a 3-1 win over Oregon State (11-11, 2-8) Friday night at McArthur Court in a Fox Sports Net-televised event, thanks to a career-high 29 kills and 30 points by senior outside hitter Sonja Newcombe.
In its highest scoring set ever, Oregon won the extra-inning first stanza, 39-37 by fighting off nine Beaver set points, then took the third and fourth sets by 25-22 and 25-21 scores, respectively, while Oregon State won the second set by a 25-21 count.
Newcombe's 14 digs Friday also marked her 43rd career double-double and ninth of the season (including eight in Pac-10 play and her sixth straight). She also led UO in hitting (.364) for the second time this season after she also pulled the feat last week at then-No. 13 UCLA.
"That first set was a real learning point for this team and was a springboard for our confidence," Newcombe said. "I tried to keep calm since our team was more up and down emotionally the first time we played them this season, and be ready to do what was needed. Oregon State always seems to block well against us, but we dealt with it better later in the match. I was happy with how we minimized their runs, swung hard, and improved our blocking as we went along."
For Newcombe it was her top night stat-wise since her freshman season vs. the Beavers when she had 21 and 18 kills in the two matches in 2006 that went five and three sets. OSU had historically tried to key on her defensively, allowing her 15 and 13 kills in the four- and three-set sophomore season contests, 10 and 13 in the junior season three- and four-set tilts, and nine in this season's first showdown that went five sets.
Among other bright spots, senior setter Nevena Djordjevic also took possession of the school career assists record (3,924) with her 56 tally Friday - her second-highest of the season and most in a non-five set match (her season best 63 came vs. then-No. 5 Stanford at home in a five-set match two weekends ago). The Lazarevac, Serbia native rewrote the former mark owned by Stephanie Snyder (3,883, 1986-89).
Among other noteworthy UO efforts, junior outside hitter Heather Meyers added 12 kills, seven digs and a team-high five blocks; senior middle blocker Neticia Enesi also tied for the team lead in blocks (5) and had eight kills; sophomore middle blocker Dana Stephenson had six kills, hit .333 and had three blocks; and freshman outside hitter Katherine Fischer had six kills, 11 digs, three blocks and a team-high two aces.
Also on defense, freshman libero Kellie Kawasaki led UO in digs (18) for the fifth time this season and fourth time in league play. The West Linn, Ore., native also logged the team's highest dig total in a non-five-set match in '09 and its sixth highest overall this season.
In the team comparison, Oregon State held slight edges in kills (67-64), hitting (.210-.197) and assists (64-62), notable advantages in digs (75-64) and blocks (17-11.5), and the two teams tied in aces (3-3).
OSU outside hitter Rachel Rourke logged a career-high 36 kills for the Beavers - a season high for a Duck opponent that improved on the former mark (29) that she also owned from a five-set match four weeks ago in Corvallis. Rourke also became the Beavers' career kill leader (1,773), and her 36 kills and 38 points also were Pac-10 season highs.
Other Beaver category leaders included Jill Sawatzky (1 ace), Camilla Ah-Hoy (59 assists), Alyssa O'Neil (18 digs, 1 ace), Kiersten Sambrailo (9 blocks) and Megan McBride (1 ace).
"We knew this would be a dogfight," Oregon head coach Jim Moore said, "and we hung in there and showed our grit early which was critical. OSU is always up for this match emotionally, so I was glad our players pulled together and came away with the win. When Rachel Rourke plays like she did at the start, I'm not sure if there's anybody that can stop her. She was on fire, and they wisely went to her early. Sonja is playing at another level and did it for the entire match. She had a huge number of kills and also hit great (.364), played great defense and passed well - she lifted us in so many ways. Her hunger and desire carried over to her teammates, and they found a way to get it done."
Friday's victory raised Moore's record vs. OSU to 7-3 after his Duck teams won six straight matches in 2006, '07 and '08. All-time, UO owns a 51-41-1 advantage in the series.
The season's second-largest crowd of 2,518 Friday also stood as the eighth-biggest in school history, and Moore and his program have now played in front of 10 of the 16 largest crowds in Mac Court history.
In other league action Friday night, No. 4 Stanford won 3-1 over No. 16 USC in Palo Alto; No. 11 UCLA won 3-1 at No. 14 California; Arizona State upset No. 21 Washington State, 3-1, at home; and No. 5 Washington won 3-1 at No. 18 Arizona.
Statistical Note: The Ducks had scored slightly higher in Jim Moore's tenure in a 40-42 second-set loss vs. Arizona State in 2007, but that was when teams played five points longer in regulation to a best of 30 points in each set. Oregon's next-longest extra-point sets came in his first season in 2005 with a 38-36 four-set win at Washington State in 2005 and 36-38 first-set loss at Fresno State. Going back to the prior era of 15-point, sideout winning set scores, UO won a 24-22 first set vs. Portland State in 1984.
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