University of Oregon
18-12, 10-10Pac-12
Brigham Young
30-2, 13-1WCC
Ducks Fall to BYU in Second Round
12/02/17 | Women's Volleyball
Oregon's season came to an end Saturday with a 25-20, 25-21, 25-19 loss at No. 13 seed BYU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament
PROVO, Utah - The Oregon volleyball team saw its season come to an end on Saturday night with a 25-20, 25-21, 25-19 loss at No. 13 seed BYU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament before 2,935 fans in Smith Fieldhouse.
"I thought we fought really hard, I thought BYU fought really hard and I thought it was an entertaining match," said head coach Matt Ulmer. "I'm really proud of our group; our senior class means a lot to our program and I couldn't be more proud of them. I'm excited for their futures and I'm excited for the future of this program."
How it Happened: BYU (30-2) scored four straight points in the first set to take a 10-7 lead, and then used a pair of 3-0 runs to take a 20-13 advantage. Kills by Jolie Rasmussen and Taylor Agost ignited a 5-1 run to get Oregon within 21-18, but the Cougars scored four of the final six points to win the opening set.
Oregon (18-12) broke a 9-9 tie in the second with three straight points and then played to a 15-11 lead, but BYU fought back take a one-point lead, 16-15, with five consecutive points. Tied at 17-17, the Cougars scored three in a row and five out of six to move ahead, 22-18, and then traded points the rest of the way to take a 2-0 lead into intermission.
The Ducks scored three straight in the third set to pull even early, 7-7, and then trailed 12-11 when BYU scored three straight to take a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. Oregon rallied to within 20-18 with four points in five rallies, but the Cougars finished with a flurry, scoring four straight and five of the final six points to sweep the match.
Who Stood Out: Agost (below) finished off a tremendous season and her Oregon career with a team-high 18 kills on .457 hitting, and Rasmussen (.385) and Ronika Stone (.500) each put down seven kills. Setters Maggie Scott and August Raskie both had 18 assists, and senior Alex Hojnar had eight digs with Raskie leading with nine. The Ducks struggled to contain BYU's Veronica Jones-Perry, who hit an astounding .535 with 27 kills in just three sets (9 k/s).
What it Means: Oregon finishes its season 18-11 after making the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row and eighth time since 2007. Agost finished the season leading the Ducks with 3.08 kills per set on .288 hitting while earning all-Pac-12 honors, and she ends her collegiate career with 1,010 kills and a .281 hitting percentage. Scott closed her career with 3,369 career assists and as one of just four players in UO history with more than 3,000 assists. Hojnar moved into the libero role as a senior and led the Ducks with 3,17 digs per set, and fellow senior Marine Hall-Poirier dug a career-high 41 balls this season while serving as an important player for the Ducks in practice.
Quotable: Matt Ulmer, Head Coach
On Jones-Perry's performance...
"You know exactly what she's gonna do and we knew exactly what we wanted to do, but she just challenges you to make plays to slow her down, and we weren't able to do. It's frustrating because you know what's coming and you still don't stop her, but I thought she was extra special tonight. She's an incredible athlete and I think what I was most impressed with was her version. Her shot selection tonight was phenomenal."
On what he takes away from his first season as head coach...
"For me, it's about the relationships, and I think the relationships I have with the senior class and our team as whole couldn't be better. I'm just really happy about what we were able to accomplish. I think our culture is really strong."
Maggie Scott, Senior Setter
On her career at Oregon...
"I've been really lucky to be apart of this, (the seniors) have become my three best friends, and to really watch them grow has been so great. To see Alex be the libero her senior year was really special, to see Taylor have the year she had was really special and to see Marine grow into the person she is today while still contributing to the team has been really special. To see them grow and to be able to leave the program in a really good place is the best thing we could ask for."
Taylor Agost, Senior Outside Hitter
On moving into the six-rotation role as a senior...
"It's been amazing. It's so fun for me mostly just because I get to be on the court more with my teammates. It changes the whole game going from three rotations to six. Obviously there's things I can improve on, but that's what's most exciting for me is knowing I still have so much more room to grow."
