Ducks Take Down USC in Five-Set Thriller

Sunday, November 24

Los Angeles, CA

1:00 PM

University of Oregon

8-19,4-14Pac-12

USC

16-12,10-8Pac-12

Oregon

Southern California

Photo by: Samuel Marshall

11/24/19 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score | Oregon 3, USC 2

By: Zach Lawson

EUGENE, Ore. – Playing in its second five setter of the weekend, the Oregon volleyball team capped its road trip to Los Angeles with a 3-2 road win (20-25, 27-25, 25-18, 22-25, 18-16) over USC. Sunday's win snapped the Ducks' six-match skid and marked a three-straight victory on USC's home floor. On its fifth match point, Oregon got a solo block from redshirt freshman Karson Bacon to seal the win.

How It Happened: In the decisive fifth set, the score was tied at 5-all when the Ducks rattled off four of the next five points for a 9-6 advantage. Bacon had two kills during the stretch, sandwiched between kills from Johnson and freshman Morgan Lewis. USC (16-12, 10-8 Pac-12) pulled to within one with the Ducks leading 12-11.

Lewis put down another kill, and after an attack error by the home team, Oregon was ahead 14-11 with three match points in hand. However, the Trojans fought off all three and forced UO head coach Matt Ulmer to call a timeout with the score tied at 14-all.

Out of the timeout, Lewis and senior Ronika Stone teamed up for a block to give the Ducks their fourth chance to close out the match. USC won two points in a row to go from the brink of losing to having a match point of its own. Oregon fought off the point and extended the match with another kill out of the middle from Bacon.

Redshirt freshman Kylie Robinson went back to the line and served up an ace, her 21^st of the season, and UO had its fifth match point of the afternoon. During the next rally, the Trojans turned to Khalia Lanier out of the back rown but Bacon was there for the match-winning block.

Three of Bacon's 12 kills came during the fifth set. With her offensive showing, the Fontana, Calif., native equaled her season high. Bacon registered a .360 hitting percentage against USC.

USC took the opening set and led 16-13 in the hotly contested second frame. The Ducks won six of the next seven points to take a 19-17 lead, capping the surge with a tandem block by Johnson and Stone. In the back-and-forth later stages of the set, the Trojans pulled ahead 23-22 after a block but Oregon took the next two and had a set point at 24-23 after a block by Bacon and Brooke Nuneviller.

The teams traded the next four points including two set-saving plays for USC. With score tied at 25-25, the Ducks got another kill from Johnson to establish a third set point. An attack error by USC put the Ducks on the scoreboard and the match was tied at one set each.

Oregon (8-19, 4-14 Pac-12) used a six-point run midway through the third to turn a 13-13 score into a 19-13 advantage. Stone had two service aces and a kill during the stretch of points. The Ducks went on to win the set and take a 2-1 match lead. Similarly, USC used a quick surge midway through the fourth and eventually won the set to tie things up.

Who Stood Out: Johnson's 16 kills were a follow up to her career-high 20 kills in Friday's match at UCLA. She average 3.60 kills per set with a .338 hitting percentage during the Ducks' weekend in LA. The Ducks posted four double-doubles Sunday including a team-leading 14^th from Nuneviller.

Double-Doubles at USC
Elise Ferreira: 27 assists, 12 digs
Brooke Nuneviller: 11 kills, 24 digs (ties season high)
Kylie Robinson: 27 assists, 11 digs
Ronika Stone: 11 blocks (season high), 11 digs

Behind the Oregon block, freshman libero Georgia Murphy picked up 20 digs to go along with five assists and an ace. Stone added eight kills against USC and tied her career high with four aces.

Notable: Including Sunday's result, the last four wins for Oregon in the series have come on USC's home floor. The Trojans were receiving votes this week's AVCA national poll. Oregon played in its ninth five-set match (3-6) of the season. The Ducks matched their season high with 13.0 total team blocks Sunday.

Up Next: Oregon will close out its season with a Nov. 27 road match at Colorado before returning home to Matthew Knight Arena for Senior Day on Friday, Nov. 29 against Oregon State. The season finale is set for a 5 p.m. (PT) start.