Ducks Drop Match To UW In Three Sets

Thursday, November 7

Eugene, OR

8:00 PM

University of Oregon

7-15,3-10Pac-12

Washington

18-5,9-4Pac-12

Washington

Oregon

Photo by: Samuel Marshall

11/07/19 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

The Oregon volleyball team will be back at home to host Washington State on Sunday (noon, Pac-12).

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — A season of near constant lineup and personnel fluctuation continued Thursday night for the Oregon volleyball team, which suffered a three-set loss to No. 14 Washington, 25-19, 26-24, 25-20, before 1,813 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.

The Ducks (7-15, 3-10 Pac-12), who played without setter Kylie Robinson due to a concussion, have seven matches left this fall after being eliminated from postseason contention with Thursday's defeat.

"We're young, but the youth is learning a lot; we're getting a lot of experience," UO coach Matt Ulmer said. "I think future-wise it's very exciting. … It's a roller coaster — a very exciting roller coaster. The highs are high, and the lows are low. We need to continue to stabilize, and that can only happen with practice and time."

How It Happened: The opening set was indicative of the match to come. The score was tight throughout, but a mid-set run by the Huskies gave them the cushion they needed. The Ducks led early at 8-7 after a kill by Ronika Stone and then a UW error. Willow Johnson got a kill off the UW block to get Oregon within a point at 11-10, but Washington put together a short surge to lead 15-11, and the Ducks couldn't get closer than two the rest of the way.

The second set began with Oregon out front. An ace by Johnson, a kill from Brooke Nuneviller that survived a UW challenge and a block by Nuneviller and Abby Hansen capped a 4-0 run to a 7-3 lead. Washington fought back to lead 9-7, but the Ducks responded and led 14-12 after a block by Hansen and Stone. Washington scored the next six points in a row, however, and though Oregon was able to fight off one set point with a kill by Johnson that tied it 24-24, UW closed it out.

Set three saw another UO lead, and another early UW challenge. This time, it appeared a kill by Stone put Oregon up 8-5. But the ball was ruled out, the Huskies seized momentum and soon they led 16-11. UO redshirt freshman Karson Bacon briefly took over the match, scoring three straight points for Oregon on a kill, a block and a dump over the next. She tooled another ball off the block to get the Ducks within 17-15, but that two-point margin was as close as Oregon could get.

Who Stood Out: Stone led the Ducks with 11 kills, Nuneviller added eight kills with eight digs, and Hansen had five kills with six blocks. Bacon had six kills and no errors to hit .545, and added four blocks. Freshman Elise Ferriera ran the Ducks' offense in a 5-1 rotation without Robinson, and had 33 assists plus eight digs. To facilitate the 5-1, Stone played on the right side and Johnson made a rare appearance on the left side, recording seven kills.

"That's the number six team in the RPI and we're right there, with a makeshift lineup," Ulmer said. "… I'm really proud of Ronika and Willow for being great leaders and continuing to fight. Our fighting — our effort — is never questioned. We give everything that we have; it's just a matter of, can we execute enough to beat some of the top teams? We have three wins against top-25 teams, but it's just, we have a hard time sustaining it right now. But it's a great group and they're learning a lot and we're just going to keep growing."

Up Next: The Ducks remain at home to face Washington State on Sunday (noon, Pac-12 Network).