University of Oregon
9-2, 2-1
Utah
11-3, 2-1
Ducks Hold On to Win Top-15 Thriller
09/29/17 | Women's Volleyball
No. 12 Oregon took the first two sets in Salt Lake City and then held on in a dramatic and back-and-forth fifth set to beat No. 15 Utah in a thrilling top-15 match
SALT LAKE CITY - The 12th-ranked Oregon volleyball team took the first two sets against No. 15 Utah and then held on to win a back-and-forth fifth set in thrilling fashion and beat the Utes, 25-16, 25-13, 16-25, 17-25, 21-19, in a top-15 matchup on Friday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
The Ducks (9-2, 2-1 Pac-12) earn a big road win in their second straight top-15 match and rebound after losing at UCLA last week, and they pick up their second win of the season against top-15 teams.
How it Happened: Oregon dominated the first two sets before Utah (10-3, 2-1 Pac-12) returned the favor in the third and fourth to force the match to go the distance. The fifth set was as back-and-forth as they come, with the teams trading points to a 12-12 tie. Oregon was able to string a couple points together to take match point, 14-13, but the Utes wouldn't go away as they fought off six match points. Tied at 19-19, sophomore Willow Johnson found the floor with back-to-back kills to end the drama and seal the win for the Ducks.
"I'm really proud of our effort and our fight," said head coach Matt Ulmer. "It was a crazy (fifth) set that could have been anybody's. Utah had all the momentum and all the energy going into the set, and I thought WIllow (Johnson) did a great job of getting us the momentum back. Utah is an excellent team and this is a really difficult place to play, so I'm just really proud of us."An insane finish to the fifth set. Here's a full look at how the Ducks clinched their five-set win over the Utes #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/znK2WSAP3I
— Oregon Volleyball (@OregonVB) September 30, 2017
Oregon broke an early 9-9 tie in the first with a 9-2 run that gave the Ducks command of the set, 18-11. A pair of kills by Johnson made the Oregon lead 20-13, and Alex Hojnar put down back-to-back aces before a Utah error ended the set and gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead.
A few Oregon kills and a slew of Utah errors gave the Ducks an early 10-4 lead in the second set. The Utes made it 11-7 before a 5-0 Oregon run gave the Ducks control, 16-9, and forced a Utah timeout. Lindsey Vander Weide and Ronika Stone took over for the Ducks down the stretch, combining for all of Oregon's final nine points with a flurry of kills and a pair of aces by Stone. Vander Weide was dominant in the set with nine kills.
Utah turned the tables out of intermission, using multiple scoring runs to win the set, 25-16, and force a fourth. Utah broke a 13-13 tie with a 4-0 run, and then scored five in a row and seven out of eight to get on the board. The fourth set played out in a similar fashion, with Utah turning an 8-8 tie into a 16-9 advantage. The Utes scored five of the final six points after Oregon got within 20-14 to force the epic fifth set.
Who Stood Out: Vander Weide notched her team-best sixth double-double with a team- and season-best 19 kills and 10 digs, and Johnson finished with a career-high 17 kills on .412 hitting, with five of those coming in the fifth set. Taylor Agost hit .500 with 10 kills and no errors while adding four blocks, and Stone put down nine kills (.350) with a team-best three aces. Senior Maggie Scott earned her first double-double of the year with 29 assists and 11 digs, and classmate Alex Hojnar dug 12 balls to go with two aces.
What it Means: Ulmer was preaching an aggressive mindset all week after mental lapses cost the Ducks last week at UCLA, and Oregon showed that attitude in the first two sets and down the stretch in the fifth. The Ducks will now look to sustain that type of energy throughout entire matches as they make their way through the grueling Pac-12 Conference. Oregon now moves to 3-2 against ranked teams this year, and 2-0 in five-set matches..@lindseyvdub earns her team-best sixth double-double of the year after leading the way with 19 kills and 10 digs #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/cbWu2NuYaY
— Oregon Volleyball (@OregonVB) September 30, 2017
Quotable: Head Coach Matt Ulmer
On the differences between the first two sets and sets three and four…
"We were so in our game plan in the first two sets. Our game plan was laser sharp and we were giving them a lot of trouble, especially with our serving. Then our serving got really timid and we started doubting ourselves, and then we were kind of able to get back to it in the fifth. I think serving was the key in this match."
On the Ducks' quick turnaround to Colorado tomorrow…
"I'm really tired of having to have the conversation with them about how good we are. We can't be as good as we were in the first two sets and then as bad as we were in the second two. We can't keep doubting ourselves, we need to trust ourselves and be aggressive. Colorado is a really good team and this is a tough trip, so we absolutely cannot come out timid."
Notable: Oregon is now 13-7 all-time against Utah, and the Ducks have won in Salt Lake City for the second straight year … The Ducks are now 9-0 when leading in hitting percentage after leading Utah, .300 to .232 … Oregon finished with seven service aces but also 13 service errors … The Ducks earned their first road win of the season.
Up Next: Oregon will face a turnaround of less than 24 hours as they fly to Boulder, Colo., to face Colorado on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT.
