University of Oregon
23-9
LSU
20-9
Bettendorf Leads Ducks to Sweet 16 Berth
12/06/14 | Women's Volleyball
EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon volleyball team secured a spot in the sweet sixteen of the NCAA Tournament with a four-set win against LSU, Friday, 25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 25-20.
How it Happened: The Ducks (23-9) surged to a sizeable lead midway through the first set, but had to fight off an LSU run which came as close as 21-19, before moving on to a 25-22 win.
LSU came out swinging in the second set though behind the formidable middle blocker, Brianna Holman. Holman recorded eight kills during the second set as the Tigers evened the score at 1-1 but Oregon bounced back coming out of the locker room, using a 7-3 run in the third set to go up 21-15 before eventually winning 25-20.
Oregon was finally able to take an early lead in the fourth set and despite some late nervous moments, Oregon secured the victory 25-20.
It was again Martenne Bettendorf who paced the Ducks offensively, finishing with 18 kills and hitting above .300, at .311. Defensively, the Ducks outblocked their opponent for the second-straight match, but it was Amanda Benson's 27 digs which resulted in numerous Oregon points. Benson finished the weekend averaging 5.71 digs per set.
What it Means: Oregon now advances to the Regional site of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years and will await the winner of No. 7-seed North Carolina and USC. Those two teams will play in Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday at 3 p.m. PT.
After rolling through the first-round match in three sets, Jim Moore said the test and nerves were good for the team in the context of the tournament.
“I thought they needed to lose a set because last night, when you're that focused, you think it just happens and that it's easy,” Moore said. “But it's not easy. People were nervous and they absolutely knew they had to get it done.”
Bettendorf's Big Weekend: Martenne Bettendorf finished with 12 kills in the opening round against Santa Clara and added 18 more to average 4.29 kills per set and a .368 hitting percentage during the Eugene sub-regional.
Notes and Numbers: Bettendorf, Frankie Shebby (11) and Liz Brenner (10) finished in double figure kills for Oregon…Brenner recorded her 19th double-double of the season with 10 digs as well…Amanda Benson led the team with 27 digs…Maggie Scott led the team with 28 assists.
Up Next: Oregon will play either UNC or USC, Friday, Dec. 12., at either 4 p.m. PT or 7 p.m. PT. That match will be live on ESPN3 and will also be carried on KWVA 88.1 FM.
