Johnson Gets Career High in 3-2 Loss at UCLA

Friday, November 22

Los Angeles, CA

6:00 PM

University of Oregon

7-19,3-14Pac-12

UCLA

15-11,10-7Pac-12

Oregon

UCLA

Photo by: Samuel Marshall

11/22/19 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score | UCLA 3, Oregon 2

By: Zach Lawson

EUGENE, Ore. – Behind a career-high 20 kills from senior Willow Johnson, the Oregon volleyball team forced a fifth set Friday night in Los Angeles but fell short in a 3-2 setback (26-24, 17-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-6) at UCLA. The Ducks continue their SoCal road trip Sunday with a 1 p.m. (PT) match against USC.

How It Happened: Oregon (7-19, 3-14 Pac-12) won four of the first five points of the match including a pair of aces from freshman Bea Wetton. The Bruins pulled even but, Oregon regained a three-point lead at 11-8 with consecutive kills from Ronika Stone. Down by two points later in the set, the Ducks capped a three-point run with an ace from Georgia Murphy to lead 21-20.

UCLA (15-11, 10-7 Pac-12) responded with three of the next four to regain the advantage and eventually had a 24-23 lead for set point. The Ducks erased the set point with a kill by Johnson, and then with a set point of its own, UO got another kill from the senior to take the opening frame.

Wetton finished the match with 13 digs and three aces, and now has 23 services aces this season. She was one of three Ducks with double-digit digs along with Brooke Nuneviller (15) and freshman libero Georgia Murphy (12). Nuneviller also had nine kills Friday, one shy of a double-double.

The home team used early runs in the second and third sets to take the 2-1 match lead.

Oregon jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the fourth set after the teams exchanged four-point surges to open the game. The Ducks pushed their advantage to six at 13-7 after a kill by Stone. Another Stone kill gave UO a 16-11 lead but UCLA rattled off seven points in a row to go ahead, 18-16. Facing a 20-19 deficit, the Ducks put together a five-point run and led 24-20 with a handful of set points.

The Bruins fought off three of Oregon's set points but on the team's fourth opportunity to close it out, Johnson cranked one off a UCLA defender to force a decisive fifth set. Friday's match marked Oregon's eighth (2-6) fifth-set match of the season.

Off a tough serve by Murphy, Stone put down an overpass and the Ducks led 2-1 in the fifth. However, the home team won the next seven points and was ahead 8-2 when the teams switched side. Johnson cut the deficit in half—UCLA, 8-4—with a kill off a nice assist from Kylie Robinson. Oregon got no closer and the Bruins pulled away for the set and match win.

Who Stood Out: Johnson entered the match with a career high of 18 kills which she had accomplished twice before, most recently Sept. 26 at Oregon State. The UO senior finished Friday's match with a .421 hitting percentage. Johnson committed just four attack errors on 38 swings in the match.

Notable: Dating back to the 2015 season, Oregon and UCLA have played at least four sets in seven of the past nine matches in the series. Stone finished Friday's match with 13 kills, good for her fifth consecutive and 19^th this season with 10 or more.

Up Next: The Ducks close out the weekend with a Sunday road match at USC. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. (PT) on the Pac-12 Networks. Oregon's next home match is Friday, Nov. 29 against Oregon State.