University of Oregon
18-10,8-8Pac-12
Arizona
10-15,4-12Pac-12
Wildcats Storm Back to Beat Ducks in Five
11/12/17 | Women's Volleyball
The No. 16 Ducks were unable to protect a two-set lead on Sunday as Arizona stormed back to win the match in five sets, 24-26, 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-13
TUCSON, Ariz. - The No. 16 Oregon volleyball team was unable to protect a two-set lead on Sunday afternoon as the Arizona Wildcats stormed back to win the match in five sets, 24-26, 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-13, in McKale Memorial Center.
How it Happened: The Ducks (16-8, 9-7 Pac-12) opened the match with a 3-1 lead on a pair of Taylor Agost kills before Arizona scored six straight to take the lead, but the Ducks would rip off a 7-0 run of their own to pull the set even, 19-19. Arizona (10-15, 4-12 Pac-12) scored five of eight to gain set-point, 24-22, but the Wildcats were unable to close out the win as Oregon scored four straight points, capped by a Jolie Rasmussen kill, to steal the set and a 1-0 lead.
Oregon carried the momentum from its opening-set comeback into the second, using two 3-0 runs to take a 12-7 lead before breaking the set open with nine unanswered points. The Ducks led by as much as 21-8 while hitting .481 in the set to take a 2-0 lead into intermission.
The third set went back and forth before Arizona broke a 16-16 tie with five straight points. Down 23-17, the Ducks fought back with four points in five rallies to get within three, but Arizona's Elizabeth Shelton ended the set with a kill and forced a fourth a frame.
Looking to force a fifth set, Arizona mounted early runs to get out to leads of 13-7 and 17-11 to start the fourth. Oregon went on a 4-1 run to get within three, 18-15, but the Wildcats responded with three straight and then held off a late Oregon rally to win, 25-21, and take the Ducks to five sets for the second time this season.
Arizona raced out to a 6-2 lead to start the fifth, but Oregon was able to fight back to within two, 8-6. The set went back and forth before three straight Oregon points knotted it up, 13-13, but Arizona responded with back-to-back points to complete the comeback win and hand the Ducks a heartbreaking loss.
Who Stood Out: Agost put down 18 kills on .514 hitting without an error to pace four Ducks with double-digit kills, and Rasmussen put down 15. Lindsey Vander Weide and Ronika Stone, who hit .455, each had 11, and Willow Johnson and Lauren Page finished with seven and six, respectively. Senior Alex Hojnar dug a career-high 27 balls to lead UO, while Vander Weide (21) and Rasmussen (10) also finished with double-digit digs to notch double-doubles. Vander Weide led with six blocks, Maggie Scott matched her season-high with 32 assists and Stone and Hojnar each had two aces. Oregon finished with a good night on the attack despite the loss, hitting .315.
What it Means: The loss to the Wildcats, who are near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings, will be a bit of hit to the Ducks in terms of their postseason outlook. Oregon entered the week at No. 9 in the RPI rankings, but will likely see that number fall at least a little after Sunday's loss. With four matches remaining in the regular season, including three at home, the Ducks are hoping to mount a strong finish and secure a host bid in the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Quotable: Matt Ulmer, Head Coach
On the loss...
"Arizona played well the whole match. The crazy thing is I thought this was one of our better matches as well. We out-dug a team that's pretty good defensively, but we didn't do a very good job blocking. Ultimately, we have to execute better down the stretch.
"I felt like this was a good response for us. We're very disappointed in losing, but we need to bring this energy back home and keep fighting and try and finish strong in these last four matches."
Notable: Vander Weide earned her team-best eighth double-double, while Rasmussen recorded her second … Vander Weide's 21 digs tied her career-high … The Ducks lost for the first time this season when winning the first two sets (12-1) … Oregon is now 16-3 when leading in attack percentage (.315 to .215) … The Ducks are now 4-5 on the road this season … Oregon and Arizona split the regular-season series.
Up Next: The Ducks will open a stretch of three straight home matches on Friday against Washington State (3 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Network).
