Middles Run Wild in Sweep of LBSU

Friday, August 31

Eugene, OR

8:00 PM

University of Oregon

3-2

Long Beach State

3-3

Long Beach State

Oregon

Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto

08/31/18 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box: #18 Oregon ,3 LBSU 0

By: Nate Krueger

EUGENE, Ore. – The 18th-ranked Oregon volleyball team won its third straight match and second of the day on Friday night to wrap up the first day of the Oregon Classic, sweeping Long Beach State, 25-14, 25-17, 25-18, in front of 1,044 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.

Middle blockers Sumeet Gill and Ronika Stone combined for 23 of Oregon's 42 kills on .564 hitting to lead the Ducks (3-2) to their third consecutive sweep. Oregon swept Utah Valley earlier on Friday and will go for an undefeated weekend on Saturday when it takes on Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 1 p.m. PT.

Middle domination. @SumGill and @ronikastonee combine for 23 of Oregon's 42 kills on .564 hitting to lead the Ducks to a sweep of LBSU #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/WKCNB06xnA
— Oregon Volleyball (@OregonVB) September 1, 2018

How it Happened: Long Beach State (3-3) scored the first three points of the match, but the Ducks quickly regrouped to take an 8-7 lead before blowing the set open with multiple scoring runs. A Willow Johnson kill broke an 8-8 tie and ignited a 10-3 scoring stretch for the Ducks, and Gill, who was a perfect 4-for-4 in the first game, bookended a 5-0 UO run that ended the set with a pair of kills.

LBSU used a 4-0 run midway through the second set to take a 13-11 lead, but the Ducks responded once again with a furious finish. Trailing 15-14, a pair of LBSU errors jumpstarted a 9-0 run for the Ducks that included a pair of kills by Gill, and Oregon scored 14 of the final 18 points to run away with the set and take a 2-0 lead. Gill put down six swings on eight chances in the frame to pace the UO offense.

The Ducks didn't wait until late in the set to put together a big run in the third game, racing out to a 13-2 advantage behind four early kills from Stone, who had a six-kill set of her own. Oregon extended its lead to 21-11 and then 24-14 before a late 4-0 run by the 49ers, but an LBSU error secured the match and the sweep for the Ducks.

Who Stood Out: Gill hit .632 with a career-high 12 kills and no errors to lead the Oregon attack, and Stone was right behind with 11 kills on .500 hitting to go with three aces, four digs and three blocks. UO's two middles combined for just one attack error on 39 swings. Lindsey Vander Weide led Oregon with 15 kills while adding five kills, August Raskie dished out 35 assists and dug five balls and freshman Brooke Nuneviller had a pair of aces to go with 14 digs.

Quotable: Head Coach Matt Ulmer
On the performances of Gill and Stone…
"I think Ronika and Sumeet are two of the best offensive middles in the country. The threat of August (Raskie) dumping the ball really opens them up a lot behind. I think Sumeet's been really consistent all year; she's doing a great job, she's stepping up as a senior and she's coming into her own."

On the team's performance…
"I liked our emotional consistency tonight. I thought it was the most engaged we were as a team. I thought everyone came prepared tonight."

Sumeet Gill, Senior Middle Blocker
On how much the middles are used in Oregon's offense…
"I think it is really special that we are on a team where we can run such an aggressive attack in the middle. I think that is really unique and its hard for other people to stop."

Up Next: The Ducks will look to finish 3-0 in the Oregon Classic on Saturday when they take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1 p.m., Oregon Live Stream. LBSU will face Utah Valley at 11 a.m. in the first match of the day.