Ducks Dominate Dawgs in Seattle to Move into Tie for Pac-12 Lead

Friday, November 4

Seattle, Wash.

7:00 PM

University of Oregon

16-6, 9-4Pac-12

Washington

19-4, 9-4Pac-12

Oregon

Washington

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

Ducks Dominate Dawgs in Seattle to Move into Tie for Pac-12 Lead

11/04/16 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score #20 Oregon 3, #8 Washington 0

Oregon Hits .343 To Sweep No. 8 Washington In Straight Sets; First Win Over UW Since 2012

By: Nate Krueger

SEATTLE – The 20th-ranked Oregon volleyball team dominated No. 8 Washington on the road in straight sets, 25-21, 25-8, 25-22, to move into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 on Friday night at Alaska Airlines Arena.

How It Happened: The Ducks (16-6, 9-4 Pac-12) were dominant from the start in a hostile environment in Seattle, jumping all over Washington (19-4, 9-4 Pac-12) in the first set and then winning in astounding fashion, 25-8, in the second to go up 2-0 in the match. The Huskies found their groove a bit to start the third, but Oregon got back on track and ended the match on a furious run to claim its first win over Washington since 2012 and move into a tied for first place in the conference with Washington, UCLA and Stanford.

Lindsey Vander Weide led the way for the Ducks on a night they hit a combined .343, putting down 14 kills while hitting .393. Taylor Agost was just as effective tallying 11 kills while hitting .500 with just one attack error. Jolie Rasmussen added nine kills and tied her career-high with three aces, and fellow freshmen Willow Johnson and Ronika Stone each had five kills. Amanda Benson led all players with 22 digs, and Maggie Scott paced the Ducks with 26 assists. Oregon held Washington to a hitting percentage of .131 after it entered the match hitting .264.

Set 1: The Ducks started fast from the first serve, taking a 10-6 lead to force an early Washington timeout punctuated by back-to-back kills by Johnson. After Oregon extended its lead to 18-13, the Huskies started to find a groove with four points in five rallies to get within 19-17. Washington was able to pull even, 19-19, after a Ducks' timeout, but Rasmussen responded for Oregon with a kill followed by an ace to go up 21-19 to prompt the Huskies to take their second timeout. After UW tied the set, 21-21, the Ducks rattled off four straight points to win the opening set, 25-21, with Stone ending it with an ace. Vander Weide led the Ducks with five kills while Rasmussen added four, and Stone and Rasmussen combined for three aces. Benson led al players with nine digs.

Set 2: The Ducks carried the momentum from their opening set win into the second, jumping on the Huskies for an 8-4 lead. A Washington timeout did virtually nothing to slow the Ducks down, as they erupted for an impressive 14-0 run to pour it on the Huskies and take a 19-4 lead before the Huskies got back on the scoreboard. Washington was unable to gain any momentum, as the Ducks ended on a 5-2 run to take a 2-0 match lead with a dominating 25-8 set win. Oregon hit an astounding .667 in the set with just two errors while holding the Huskies to a mark of -.190. Vander Weide was stellar, putting down six kills on seven swings without an error, Agost added three kills on four swings and Rasmussen recorded her third ace of the match. The Huskies committed eight errors on 21 attacks while suffering their worst set loss of the season.

Set 3: Washington was able to regroup a bit during the intermission, taking a 12-9 lead after an initial 9-9 tie. The two teams traded points for a handful of rallies before the Huskies went on a 4-1 run to go up 19-15 and force Oregon into the second of its two timeouts. Out of the break, the Ducks responded with a 4-1 stretch of their own to get within one, 20-19. The Huskies tried to kill the Oregon momentum with a timeout, but the Ducks finished the match off with a furious 6-2 run to sweep the eighth-ranked team in the nation. Agost was dominant in the third set with six kills on 11 swings, Rasmussen added four kills and Benson dug an astounding 12 balls. Oreogn hit .310 in the final set to close out the Huskies.

What It Means: With the emphatic win over the Huskies and a UCLA loss to Arizona, the Ducks move into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 with UW, UCLA and Stanford, and split the season-series with the usually-dominant Huskies. Entering the weekend at No. 26 in the NCAA RPI rankings, Oregon should get a significant boost from this win and drastically improve its chances of hosting in the NCAA tournament. In addition to picking up its first win over the Huskies since 2012, Oregon defeated UW in Seattle for the first time since a five-set victory in 2009. The Ducks improved to an impressive 6-0 on the road this season.

Up Next: The Ducks will stay on the road this weekend looking to keep a hold on first place in the conference as they travel to Pullman to take on Washington State at 11 a.m. on Sunday on Pac-12 Networks.