Ducks Stumble at No. 12 Stanford

Wednesday, November 23

Stanford, Calif.

7:00 PM

University of Oregon

19-9, 12-7Pac-12

Stanford

20-7, 14-5Pac-12

Oregon

Stanford

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

11/23/16 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score #12 Stanford 3, #19 Oregon 0

Oregon Will Look to Rebound in Regular Season Finale at Oregon State on Friday (12 p.m., Pac-12)

By: Nate Krueger

EUGENE, Ore. - The 19th-ranked Oregon volleyball team struggled with errors and containing long scoring runs in a straight-set loss at No.12 Stanford, 25-22, 25-11, 25-22, on Wednesday night at Maples Pavilion.

How It Happened: The Ducks (19-9, 12-7 Pac-12) hung tough with the Cardinal (20-7, 14-5 Pac-12) in the first set, building an early four-point lead before Stanford used a 7-1 run to move ahead and hold on for the win. Stanford used three different runs of four points or more to run away with the second set, and then rattled off a 10-2 stretch in the third to seal the sweep.

Freshman Ronika Stone was an offensive standout for the Ducks on a night they hit just .196 as a team, putting down 14 kills on 21 swings with a .524 hitting percentage while also adding two blocks. Lindsey Vander Weide had eight kills and Taylor Agost put down five, but both players finished with hitting percentages below .100. Sophomore Sumeet Gill got the start at middle blocker and contributed three blocks, and Maggie Scott paced the offense with 21 assists. Amanda Benson recorded nine digs, marking only the second time this season she failed to finish in double-digits. Stanford hit .356 with only 11 attack errors and no serving errors.

Set 1: Back-to-back kills by Stone helped fuel a 4-0 Oregon run that put the Ducks up 11-7 and forced an early Stanford timeout, but the Cardinal responded with a 7-1 stretch after trading a few rallies to jump ahead, 20-17. Oregon scored three out of four to get within one, 21-20, and then two in a row to again cut the lead to one at 23-22 before two Duck errors sealed the opening win for the Cardinal. Stone carried the offense with six kills on eight swings while adding a block, and Benson did the bulk of her night's work in the opening set with seven digs.

Set 2: The second was all Stanford from the start, as the Cardinal took control early with a 13-6 lead. Up 16-10, Stanford scored five in a row and nine of the last 10 points to run away with the game, 25-11, and go up 2-0 in the match at intermission. Stone was stellar once again with six kills on eight swings, but the Ducks only added three more kills total while hitting .033 in the set.

Set 3: Looking to force a fourth set, the Ducks started strong out of the break with an initial 6-3 lead. With Oregon up 10-7, Stanford used a 4-0 run to take a one-point lead and then a 6-0 run to extend its lead to 17-12. The Ducks fought back furiously with five in a row to pull the set even and played with the Cardinal to a 19-19 tie, but Stanford found its groove again with a 6-3 stretch to end the set and the match. The Ducks hit .265 in the set, their best mark of the night, with Vander Weide leading the way with four kills and Agost adding two service aces.

What It Means: Entering the match at No. 21 in the RPI ranking, the loss probably nullifies any hopes the Ducks had of hosting in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. But with 19 overall wins,12 in conference and five over top-25 teams, Oregon's chances of getting into the tournament field appear very strong. The Ducks' loss at Stanford was only their second road loss of the season (8-2), and their .196 hitting percentage marked only the sixth time in 28 matches they failed to hit better than .200.

Up Next: Oregon will look to rebound from this loss and finish the regular season strong in a Civil War match-up at Oregon State on Friday at noon on Pac-12 Network. The NCAA tournament field will be announced at 6 p.m. on Sunday on ESPNU.