Ducks Survive in Five-Set Thriller

Tuesday, September 17

Princeton, NJ

4:00 PM

University of Oregon

3-3

at Princeton

2-5

Oregon

Princeton

Photo by: Samuel Marshall

09/17/19 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score #14 Oregon 3, Princeton 2

By: Nate Krueger

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Oregon volleyball team got off to a slow start and fell behind 2-1 on Tuesday night against Princeton, but the No. 14 Ducks came roaring back to beat the Tigers, 23-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-15, 18-16, in a wild five-set match in Dillon Gymnasium.

The Ducks improved to 3-3 on the season and opened the final week of nonconference play with a comeback win over a veteran Princeton squad. Oregon was led by the all-American duo of Brooke Nuneviller and Ronika Stone, who combined for 37 kills to pace a shorthanded Duck squad.

Leading by example.

All-Americans Brooke Nuneviller and Ronika Stone were huge tonight for the Ducks, combining for 37 kills to pace the comeback victory ?? #GoDucks @brookeyy_5 | @ronikastonee pic.twitter.com/8a8e6wBq70
— Oregon Volleyball (@OregonVB) September 18, 2019

How it Happened: The Ducks struggled to get things going in the opening set, falling behind 10-4 and then 18-13 while using both of their timeouts. Princeton (2-5) had its biggest lead of the game at 21-14 when Oregon started to string some points together, using an 8-2 run to get within one, 23-22. But the Ducks were unable to come all the way back as Princeton scored two of the final three points to take a 1-0 match lead.

Oregon came out with much better energy in the second set, forcing Princeton into burning both of its timeouts while jumping out to a 14-6 advantage. The Ducks led 20-15 when the Tigers began to fight back, playing to within two at 23-21, but Oregon finished things off down the stretch to win, 25-22, and tie the match at one set apiece going into intermission.

The third set was back and forth from the start, with Princeton playing to a slight 17-15 lead. Oregon scored three straight to move ahead and then broke a 20-20 tie with another 3-0 run. The Ducks had set-point, 24-23, after a Princeton attack error, but the Tigers answered with three straight points to steal the set and take a 2-1 match lead.

Determined to force a fifth frame, the Ducks used a 10-2 run to race out to an early 12-5 lead in the fourth set. Leading 18-11, Oregon kept its foot on the gas with a 6-1 run to earn set-point and, after three straight Princeton points, freshman Morgan Lewis found the floor with a kill to send the match to a fifth and final game. Nuneviller was huge for the Ducks in the fourth with eight kills, including a stretch of four kills in five rallies.

The fifth set was tied 10-10 when Princeton began to swing the momentum back in its favor with a 3-0 run to take a 13-10 lead. Oregon responded with its own 3-0 run to tie it up, but the Tigers followed with a kill to earn match-point, 14-13. The Ducks fended off three straight match-points, with Nuneviller making it 16-16 with a kill, and an Oregon block followed by a Princeton attack error ended the wild fifth frame and secured the Ducks' comeback victory.

Who Stood Out: Nuneviller enjoyed her best match yet since moving to outside hitter with a career-high 19 kills on .389 hitting while adding 11 digs for her fourth straight double-double, and Stone added a season-high 18 kills while hitting .293. Redshirt freshman Karson Bacon was impressive in the middle with a season-high 11 kills on .381 hitting as well as five blocks, and Lewis hit .400 with a season-high 10 kills. Setter Kylie Robinson dished out a season-high 52 assists, libero Georgia Murphy led Oregon with 14 digs and freshman Bea Wetton added 10 digs and a match-high three aces.

Notable: Oregon earned the win despite playing without injured senior all-American Willow Johnson for the third straight match, as well as senior outside hitter Taylor Borup … Led by Wetton, Oregon racked up nine total service aces, with Stone and Nuneviller each adding two and Murphy and Elise Ferreira adding one apiece … The Ducks went to a fifth set for the first time this season … Oregon hit .305 as a team while holding Princeton to a .198 mark … The Ducks improved to 2-0 all-time over Princeton after winning the first meeting between the two teams since 1975.

Up Next: Oregon will be back in action on Thursday against St. John's in the opening match of the Hofstra Invitational in Hempstead, N.Y. The Ducks will wrap up the final week of nonconference play on Friday with a pair of matches against Duke and Hofstra.