Ducks Bounce Back with Sweep of Cal

Sunday, October 8

Eugene, OR

2:00 PM

University of Oregon

10-4, 3-3Pac-12

California

11-6, 2-4Pac-12

California

Oregon

10/08/17 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box: #16 Oregon 3 California 0

The No. 16 Ducks rebounded from back-to-back losses on Sunday afternoon with a straight-set sweep of California, 25-19, 25-19, 25-19

By: Nate Krueger

EUGENE, Ore. - The 16th-ranked Oregon volleyball team rebounded from back-to-back losses on Sunday afternoon with a straight-set sweep of California, 25-19, 25-19, 25-19, in front of 1,604 in Matthew Knight Arena.

How it Happened: The Ducks (10-4, 3-3 Pac-12) were a little sloppy to start the match as the Bears jumped out to a 7-3 lead, but a kill by Sumeet Gill out of a UO timeout ignited a 6-0 run that included back-to-back aces by Taylor Agost. Leading 15-14, the Ducks ripped off eight straight points to gain separation, and a Lindsey Vander Weide kill secured the opening-set win.

Oregon was able to pull away midway through the set again in the second, using another 6-0 stretch to turn a 15-13 lead into a 21-13 advantage. California (11-6, 2-4 Pac-12) began to rally and pulled within four, 23-19, before kills by Ronika Stone and Lauren Page sent Oregon into the locker room with a 2-0 lead.

The Ducks jumped on the Bears to start the third, using their third 6-0 run of the match to jump ahead, 9-4. Leading 16-9, the Ducks scored four straight to break the set open, 20-9. The Bears answered with four straight of their own and rallied within four, 23-19, but a pair of California attack errors ended the match and secured the sweep for Oregon.

Check out some of the top highlights from the Ducks' straight-set sweep of California #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/lqiA0chChU
— Oregon Volleyball (@OregonVB) October 8, 2017

Who Stood Out: Playing again without hitter Jolie Rasmussen, Agost played all the way around for the second match in a row and led Oregon with nine kills while recording a career-high five aces.. Vander Weide and Willow Johnson each had five kills, three other Ducks had three or more and senior libero Alex Hojnar paced Oregon with 13 digs. August Raskie finished two digs shy of a double-double with eight while dishing out 14 assists.

The Ducks held California to a hitting percentage of .041, and dominated on the block with 14 to Cal's five. Sumeet Gill tied her career-high with eight blocks to lead the defensive effort, while Page added six and Johnson sent back five.

What it Means: After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time this year entering the match, including a sweep at the hands of Stanford on Friday, the Ducks showed toughness in a great bounce-back effort. Oregon will now look to clean some things up from Sunday's match as they prepare for two road matches next week to complete a span of four matches in seven days.

Quotable: Matt Ulmer, Head Coach
On the match...
"Offensively, we were not very good tonight. Setters have to be better, but I thought we passed okay. We have to be sharper and make sure we show up every night. Defensively, we were a lot scrappier tonight. I thought we got a lot of weird plays that we handled well."

On going to Washington and WSU next week...
"Washington is favored to win the conference. They've had a few injuries, their setter is injured, but they're extremely talented everywhere. Then we drive to Pullman. Pullman is a very hostile environment, and they do a great job there. They are a really big physical blocking team so we will need to climb the ladder and bring our energy."

Notable: Agost's five aces are the most by a Duck this season … Oregon picked up its seventh sweep of the year … The Ducks are now 10-0 this season when leading their opponent in attack percentage … The Ducks held an opponent under .200 hitting for the ninth time this season, and under .100 for the third time.

Up Next: The Ducks will wrap up a stretch of four matches in seven days next week as they go on the road to face Washington (Wednesday, 7 p.m.) and Washington State (Friday, 6 p.m.). Both matches will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.