No. 14 Ducks Torch Sun Devils, 3-0

Saturday, November 7

Eugene, Ore.

7:00 PM

University of Oregon

16-6, 6-6

Arizona State

13-12, 3-10

Team	1	2	3	Final F
ARIZONA STATE	16	16	20	0
OREGON	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

11/08/09 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: GoDucks.com

* A play-by-play and boxscore is located in the LINKS box to the right, and updated season/career stats are available via the link above.

EUGENE - The No. 14 University of Oregon volleyball team (16-6, 6-6) got back on the winning track Saturday night at McArthur Court, and swept Arizona State (13-12, 3-10) for the fourth straight time.

Oregon raised its home record to 10-2 on the season, thanks to a 25-16, 25-16, 25-20 victory over the Sun Devils, and raised head coach Jim Moore's record vs. ASU to 6-4 in his five seasons at the Duck helm (and a 5-1 mark the past three seasons).

Senior outside hitter Sonja Newcombe led UO in kills (14) and hitting (.394), and her 12 digs led to her 10th double-double of the season and 44th of her career. Newcombe has led UO in kills in seven of the last eight matches and 13 times overall in '09, and she has also led the team in hitting four times.

"We were a little drained after last night, but we felt the spark again," Newcombe said. "We made some adjustments and showed up ready to play, and did a better job of pursuing the ball and blocking."

Junior outside hitter Heather Meyers finished just behind in the same offensive categories (13 kills, .393), and added seven blocks and six digs en route to a team-high 17.5 points. For the Temecula, Calif., native it was the second straight night and seventh time that she has paced the team in scoring this season, while her nightly best block total was the sixth of '09.

"It felt great to be back on the right side," Meyers said. "It's a place I had played at as a freshman and sophomore so it was an easy switch back. Its causes some adjustments on the floor, but people did a good job of shifting roles and responsibilities."

Freshman libero Kellie Kawasaki finished with a career high 20 digs - one more than her previous high (19) that came in a five-set match at Oregon State in early October. The West Linn, Ore., native has now led the team in the category five times in Pac-10 play and in six contests overall this season.

Among other notable Duck stats, senior setter Nevena Djordjevic racked up 38 assists and 11 digs for her third double-double of the year and 21st of her career; senior middle blocker Neticia Enesi posted six blocks and seven kills; sophomore middle blocker Dana Stephenson tied the team Meyers for the team season high in blocks (7); and freshman outside hitter Katherine Fischer added seven kills, seven digs and three blocks.

In the team comparison, UO held healthy advantages in kills (46-31), hitting (.277-.083), assists (44-30), digs (57-51) and blocks (14-6), while ASU finished with a 4-2 advantage in service aces.

For ASU, outside hitter Sarah Reaves led in kills (10) and points (11.5) and other category leaders included Paige Mittelstaedt (.235, 3 blocks), Cat Highmark (17 assists), Sarah Johnson (18 digs) and Sofie Schlagintweit (2 aces).

Saturday's sweep erased the frustration of a 3-1 loss Friday night to No. 18 Arizona that ended a four-match home win streak.

"We sat down and talked it out and came back refocused and re-energized tonight," Moore said. "Heather looked comfortable back on the right side, and our defense was improved. We had runs of points because of our serve tonight, and against a good ball control team, so that was pleasing to see.”

In the first set, neither team led by more than two points through 16-16, when UO reeled off a 9-0 surge to win, 25-16. During that stretch, Kawasaki made a great sideline dive for a dig that was cashed in for a kill by Newcombe at 21-16, then had another impressive dig – her team-high 11th of the set - that led to another Newcombe kill on an assist by Stephenson at 23-16.

In the second set after a 10-10 tie, UO again fought ahead to go up 18-14 before ASU briefly cut it to 18-16 on a Reeves kill and Duck attack error. Oregon, however, ended the match on another 7-0 run to again win 25-16, thanks to two of Meyers' set-high six kills and another by Fischer in the final stretch.

In the third set, after the Ducks jumped out to a 15-8 lead, the Sun Devils cut it to 17-14, then 22-20, which forced an Oregon timeout. UO, however, ended the set with three straight kills by Newcombe, Meyers and Fischer for the 25-20 clincher. Newcombe and Meyers had six and five kills in the set, and the former player hit .750. Djordjevic logged her highest set totals of the evening in assists (15) and digs (4) after she had nearly identical totals (14 / 4) in the second set.

In other league action Saturday night, Oregon State topped No. 18 Arizona, 2-1 at home, No. 5 Stanford won 3-0 at No. 24 Washington State, and No. 14 California won 3-2 at conference leader and No. 4 Washington.

Looking ahead, UO heads to the Bay Area next weekend to play at No. 5 Stanford, Friday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m., and at No. 13 California, Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m.

Duck fans are also invited to sign up next week for the team's special End of the Year Celebration brunch, Sunday, November 22 at 10:30 a.m. Cost is $20 per person, and those interested can contact the UO volleyball program during normal weekday business hours at 541.346.5776.

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