University of Oregon
13-5, 6-4Pac-12
Arizona State
10-12, 0-10Pac-12
Ducks Use Balanced Attack to Sweep ASU
10/21/17 | Women's Volleyball
No. 15 Oregon hit .323 and had five players finish with at least six kills in a 25-20, 25-21, 25-14 sweep of Arizona State on Saturday night
EUGENE, Ore. - The 15th-ranked Oregon volleyball team won its third straight match and second in as many nights on Saturday with a straight-set sweep of Arizona State, 25-20, 25-21, 25-14, in front of 1,414 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.
After going to five sets in each of their last three matches, the Ducks (13-5, 6-4 Pac-12) used a balanced offensive attack and hit .323 as a team to sweep Arizona State (10-12, 0-10 Pac-12). Oregon picks up its eighth sweep of the season and improves to 10-1 at home this season.
How it Happened: The Ducks and Sun Devils played to 12-12 tie to open the match before Oregon scored three out of four to move ahead. The Ducks led 18-17 when Willow Johnson sparked a 3-0 run with a kill, and the sophomore lefty put down another kill with Oregon up 22-19 as the Ducks scored three of the final four points of the set to take a 1-0 lead.
Oregon came out on fire to start the second frame, taking a 9-1 lead with nine straight points that included six kills and two Jolie Rasmussen aces. The Ducks extended their lead to 16-6 before ASU found its footing, going on an 11-3 run to cut the Oregon lead to two, 19-17. The Ducks responded with a 4-1 run to earn set point, but ASU stayed alive with three straight points before a Sumeet Gill kill sent the Ducks into the locker room with a two-set lead.
The Ducks led by three in the third when a Johnson kill followed by two kills from Gill gave Oregon a 15-9 lead. Leading 16-11, UO used four kills and two Alex Hojnar aces to mount a 7-1 run and take a commanding 23-12 lead before kills by Ronika Stone and Rasmussen secured the sweep. Oregon hit .483 in the final frame to run away with it, and Gill was perfect in the set with five kills on five swings.
Who Stood Out: In her second match since returning from a concussion, Rasmussen hit .360 with a team-best 10 kills while adding eight digs and two aces. Gill tied her career-high with nine kills while hitting an astounding .643 and adding six blocks, and Johnson finished with eight blocks (.375) and five blocks. Stone hit .625 with six kills and five blocks, Taylor Agost had six kills and Alex Hojnar paced the Ducks with 10 digs.Five players finished with 6+ kills as the Ducks hit .323 to sweep ASU. Check out some of the top highlights here #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/fh4YdvQC1i
— Oregon Volleyball (@OregonVB) October 22, 2017
What it Means: Playing two teams near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings, the Ducks protected their home court and a top 10 NCAA RPI ranking with back-to-back wins as they finish the first half of Pac-12 play with three straight victories. Oregon will now look to finish its four-match homestand strong next week as Utah and Colorado come to Eugene for matches on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.
Quotable: Matt Ulmer, Head Coach
On the match...
"I thought we played more of a complete game. I liked our energy throughout, they tested us a few times and I thought we responded really well. They're a very aggressive team, they swing hard and high and they serve tough. Jolie means a lot to us and tonight you could see what she is capable of, and where we could go with her."
On how the team is playing together...
"It's not so much about the wins and losses, it's about how we're playing. I thought we played one of our cleanest games in a very long time from start to finish. That was exciting. I liked our responses, I liked our attitudes, I liked our energy, I liked our execution, I liked our balance. That's what can make us so dangerous, when we can have everyone firing."
Willow Johnson, Sophomore Right Side Hitter
On tonight's win...
"I think we played well. I think that any game in the Pac-12 anyone can win, so we always have to play our best. I think that Sumeet has been playing really well and I think that's opening up other players. I've been having one-on-one or middles late on me so it's nice for me and other people."
Notable: Oregon improves to 13-1 this season when leading in attack percentage, 12-0 when its opponent hits worse than .200 (.165) and 10-0 when winning the first two sets … Stone finished the weekend with 15 blocks, 10 against Arizona and five against ASU … The Ducks have now won the last five meetings against the Sun Devils.
Up Next: Oregon will stay home for two more matches next week in MKA, beginning Wednesday against No. 12 Utah at 7 p.m. PT (Pac-12 Networks). The Ducks will wrap their four-match homestand on Friday against Colorado at 7 p.m.
Sight's from tonight's sweep of ASU, courtesy of @samwow55 #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/Ghxd6rBstS
— Oregon Volleyball (@OregonVB) October 22, 2017
More sights from @samwow55. Ducks are back in MKA on Wednesday to face No. 12 Utah at 7 pm #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/p44Tz7Y0GS
— Oregon Volleyball (@OregonVB) October 22, 2017
