University of Oregon
16-13, 10-10Pac-12
Oregon State
6-24, 4-16Pac-12
Civil War Sweep Closes Regular Season
11/28/15 | Women's Volleyball
EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon volleyball team appears to be peaking at just the right time as it closed out the regular season with a three-set sweep of Oregon State, 25-21, 25-20, 25-21 at Matthew Knight Arena, Friday. The Ducks have now won their last six sets and hope to have the opportunity to carry that momentum into the postseason.
How it Happened: Oregon (16-13, 10-10 Pac-12) trailed by a small margin early on in the first set but a 7-1 run put the Ducks up 23-19 and they sailed in to a 25-21 win. Similar to their win on Wednesday against Arizona State, setters Maggie Scott and August Raskie were spreading the ball around early, as Martenne Bettendorf and Lindsey Vander Weide finished with five kills followed closely by Kacey Nady with four.
It was another big run from the Ducks which helped them win the second set, this time making for a strong finish, an area where the Ducks once struggled this season but have improved down the home stretch. At 19-18, Oregon went on a 6-2 run to end the set with two kills apiece from the night's offensive leaders Bettendorf and Nady and finished winning 25-20.
Oregon opened up a five-point lead in the third set before the Beavers fought back to within two. The Ducks, however, finished strong out of timeout called by head coach Jim Moore to finish off the sweep with a 25-21 win.
What it Means: The Ducks made a strong case for their berth into the NCAA Tournament, winning three of their final four matches with the only loss coming to No. 2 Washington. The Ducks will be eagerly awaiting Sunday's announcement but already know that they are playing some of their best volleyball of the season at just the right time.
With a 10-10 record, Oregon finished sixth in the Pac-12 just behind Colorado (11-9) but ahead of both Arizona (9-11) and Arizona State (8-12).
Who Stood Out: Bettendorf, who was honored before the match along with fellow senior Chelsey Keoho, finished with a match high 13 kills while hitting .281. Junior Amanda Benson finished the night with 20 digs which is tied for fourth among Pac-12 players in a three set match this season.
Quotable:
Head Coach Jim Moore
On finishing the season strong...
"It was a gutsy performance by (the team). We needed to win a lot of matches and we did. I'm real proud of them and how they fought back. It's a lot of pressure, and I thought they handled it really well."
On going to the postseason...
"We deserve to go. Right now, we're really good. And they want to take the teams that are playing the best at the end."
Senior Martenne Bettendorf
On her own performance...
"I'm just playing as hard as I can. I don't know when my last game is going to be, so if that was my last game, I hope I showed everyone what I am capable of and if my next game is my last game, I'm going to swing as hard as I can, just like that."
What's Next: The NCAA selection show will begin Sunday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPNU, with first-round matches beginning Thursday, Dec. 3.
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
