Ducks Fall Short at No. 2 Stanford

Thursday, November 8

Stanford, CA

8:00 PM

University of Oregon

16-9, 9-6Pac-12

Stanford

23-1, 15-0Pac-12

Oregon

Stanford

Photo by: Samuel Marshall

11/08/18 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box: #2 Stanford 3, #17 Oregon 1

By: Nate Krueger

STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 17 Oregon volleyball team went point-for-point with No. 2 Stanford in the first three sets on Thursday night, but ultimately fell short of handing the Cardinal their first Pac-12 defeat in a 26-24, 25-22, 22-25, 25-11 loss in Maples Pavilion.

The Ducks, who moved to 16-9 overall and 9-6 in Pac-12 play with five matches left in the regular season, will look to bounce back Saturday at California (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network).

"I thought we played much steadier in this match," said head coach Matt Ulmer. "The last time (against Stanford) had highs and lows, we were really high in the first game, and this time I thought we came out and we were in every point. Against great teams, you have to win the close ones. We had three really close sets there, and we only won one of the three.

"I thought we played two good sets (against Stanford) at our place, and tonight I thought we played three good sets. So that's definitely improvement for us and that's a plus, but for us we have to play five good sets against Stanford if we're going to beat Stanford."

How it Happened: The Ducks led for most of the opening set, jumping out to an 8-3 lead and playing to an 18-15 advantage. Stanford (23-1, 15-0) scored three straight to tie it, but Lindsey Vander Weide gave UO back the lead with a kill and the Cardinal followed with an error. Stanford responded with a 5-2 run to move ahead 23-22 before the Ducks earned set-point with back-to-back blocks, but the Cardinal scored the next three points to steal the set and take a 1-0 match lead.

Oregon got off to another good start in the second, using a pair of 3-0 runs to take a 9-4 lead and force the Cardinal into a timeout, but Stanford came right back with a 10-2 run to move ahead, 14-11. The Cardinal played to a 21-18 lead when back-to-back Willow Johnson kills sparked a 4-1 Oregon run that tied it up, 22-22, but again Stanford scored the final three points of the set and took a 2-0 lead into intermission.

Stanford took control out of the break, scoring seven of the first eight points of the third set and playing to a 9-3 lead while forcing Oregon into using both of its timeouts. The Ducks responded in a big way, scoring four straight to start a 13-4 run that put Oregon ahead, 17-15. Stanford cut UO's lead to 21-20, but a kill by Ronika Stone and a Cardinal error put the Ducks up by three. Another Stone kill earned Oregon set-point, and a Stanford service error gave Oregon the set and sent the match to a fourth frame.

Similar to the third set, the Ducks fell into a 9-4 deficit to start the fourth and called both of their timeouts, but they were unable to recover for a second straight game as the Cardinal ran away with the set and secured their 21st straight win and 30th in a row at home.

Who Stood Out: Stone and Vander Weide tied for the team lead with 11 kills, Johnson hit .304 with 10 kills and Borup added nine kills and 13 digs in her first action since suffering an injury on Oct. 14. August Raskie finished with 47 assists, five blocks, three kills and three digs, and freshman Brooke Nuneviller led all players with 18 digs. Vander Weide had UO's only two aces of the match. Reigning national player of the year Kathryn Plummer led all players with 21 kills on .311 hitting for the Cardinal.

What it Means: The Ducks showed once again Thursday night they can go toe-to-toe with the nation's elite, but were unable to come up with the big play down the stretch in the first two sets. Oregon entered the week at No. 20 in the NCAA RPI rankings, and will need a strong finish over its final five matches in order to move into the top 16 and earn a host bid in the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Quotable: Head Coach Matt Ulmer
On Borup's return to the lineup…
"It was nice to have Taylor Borup back on the court. I thought she did some nice things, and she's going to be an important piece for us if we're going to make a run in the tournament."

Notable: Vander Weide finished with 13 points, raising her career total to 1,533 to move past Kelly Russell (2002-05) for No. 5 all-time at Oregon … Vander Weide's two aces also put her just one shy of 100 in her career … Raskie is now seventh all-time at Oregon with 2,513 career assists, passing Heather Madison (2003-06) … Stone's five total blocks gave her 338 in her career, putting her ahead of Mindee Adams (1988-91) for eighth in UO history … Nuneviller has double-digit digs in 17 straight matches and 21 of 23 matches this season … The Ducks lost on the road for just the second time in Pac-12 play … Eight different Ducks finished with at least one kill.

Up Next: Oregon will stay in the Bay to face Cal on Saturday at 5 p.m. (Pac-12 Network).