Ducks Hold on to Beat Hawai’i in Five

Friday, September 14

Honolulu, HI

10:00 PM

University of Oregon

7-3

Hawai'i

4-5

Oregon

Hawaii

Photo by: Jay Metzger -Hawai'i Athletics

09/15/18 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box: #12 Oregon 3, Hawaii 2

By: Nate Krueger

HONOLULU – The 12th-ranked Oregon volleyball team beat Hawai'i for the second time in as many nights to close nonconference play on Friday, surviving a furious comeback attempt by the Rainbow Wahine to win in five sets, 25-23, 25-10, 22-25, 23-25, 15-12, before 6,141 fans in the Stan Sheriff Center.

August Raskie, Ronika Stone and Lindsey Vander Weide all notched double-doubles to lead the Ducks, who wrap nonconference action at 7-3. Oregon will begin its rigorous Pac-12 Conference schedule next Thursday, September 20, with a Civil War showdown with Oregon State in Matthew Knight Arena.

How it Happened: Raskie picked up a couple kills on second-touch dump shots early on as the Ducks scored six straight to jump out to a 7-3 lead. Hawai'i (4-5) played to within one, 11-10, and then traded points with the Ducks to a 23-23 tie. Raskie gave UO set-point with her third kill before finding Sumeet Gill for a kill to finish off the set. Raskie filled up the stat sheet in the opening frame with 10 assists, five digs, three digs and two blocks.

Hawai'i held a brief 4-2 lead in the second, but five straight kills by Stone, Vander Weide, Taylor Borup (two) and Raskie ignited a 12-1 run as the Ducks broke it open, 14-5. Leading 19-10, Oregon put together a 6-0 run that included kills by Brooke Van Sickle, Stone and Borup, as well as two Vander Weide aces to run away with the set, 25-10, and take a 2-0 lead into intermission. The Ducks hit .361 and Borup had five kills in the set.

The Ducks scored four straight to take an 11-9 lead in the third, but the Rainbow Wahine responded with six out of seven to lead 15-12 at the media timeout. Oregon played back to within one, 22-21, but a kill and a block gave Hawai'i set-point, 24-21, before a Casey Castillo kill clinched the 25-22 win and forced a fourth game.

Oregon used a 4-0 run in the fourth to take a 16-14 lead, but were unable gain separation from the Rainbow Wahine. Trailing 20-18, Hawai'i ripped off five in a row to move ahead, 23-20, before holding off a late UO rally to win, 25-23, and send the Ducks to a fifth set for the first time this season.

Vander Weide took over early in the fifth set, putting down five kills to lead the Ducks to an 8-7 lead at the switch. Hawai'i moved ahead 10-9 before the Vander Weide's sixth kill of the frame pulled the Ducks even, and a pair of UH attack errors followed to give UO a 12-10 lead. Two kills by Borup earned Oregon match-point, and the duo of Gill and Willow Johnson recorded the season-high 18th block of the night as the Ducks held off the Hawai'i comeback to close nonconference play on a high note.

Who Stood Out: Raskie finished with an astounding stat line of 50 assists, 16 digs, seven kills (.385) and five blocks for her team-leading fourth double-double of the year, and Stone was also on triple-double watch with 11 kills, 10 blocks and eight digs. Vander Weide led Oregon with 14 kills while adding 12 digs and three aces, and Borup hit .385 with 11 kills and six blocks. Johnson had nine kills, six digs and five blocks, Gill hit .400 with seven kills and the freshmen duo of Brooke Nuneviller (16) and Camryn Tastad (12) combined for 28 digs.

What it Means: The Ducks close an extremely tough nonconference schedule at 7-3 after picking up a pair of wins in a terrific volleyball atmosphere at the Stan Sheriff Center. Oregon faced four teams ranked in the top five through its first 10 matches, headlined by a win over then-No. 1 Minnesota at last weekend's Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. The early-season experience playing against elite teams and in hostile environments should bode well for the Ducks as they prepare for a loaded 20-match Pac-12 schedule.

Notable: Oregon's previous season-high for blocks was 13 … Stone's 10 blocks matched her career-high … Vander Weide recorded her third double-double of the year while Stone earned her first and second of her career … Raskie's seven kills were a career-high and her 16 digs tied her career-best … Oregon held UH to .176 hitting and improved to 6-0 when holding its opponents under the .200 mark … Brooke Van Sickle had an ace to improve her team-best total to 18 … The Ducks have now won three straight vs. the Rainbow Wahine, who lead the all-time series 7-4.

Up Next: Oregon will host Oregon State next Thursday at 6 p.m. PT to begin Pac-12 play (Pac-12 Network).