Slow Start Hurts Ducks in Four-Set Loss

Thursday, September 19

Hempstead, NY

4:00 PM

University of Oregon

3-4

St. John's (New York)

6-4

St. John's (NY)

Oregon

Photo by: Alex Mowrey

09/19/19 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score SJU 3, #14 Oregon 1

By: Nate Krueger

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The 14th ranked Oregon volleyball team fell into an 0-2 hole and was unable to come all the way back on Thursday night in the opening match of the Hofstra Invitational, dropping a four-set contest to St. John's, 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center.

How it Happened: St. John's (7-5) took control early in the match, using a pair of 5-1 runs to jump out to a 10-5 advantage. The Ducks trailed 15-10 when Ronika Stone forced a Red Storm timeout with a kill and an ace, and Oregon kept its foot on the gas out of the break with six points in the next seven rallies to move ahead, 18-16. But St. John's responded with a 5-0 run to retake the lead, 22-19, and Oregon wasn't able close the gap in a 25-23 opening set loss.

Oregon (3-4) used a 4-0 run early in the second set to break a 4-4 tie, with Stone putting down two kills and an ace before St. John's called a timeout. St. John's battled back to a 14-14 tie before kills by Taylor Williams and Karson Bacon put UO back in front, but the Red Storm answered again with a 6-1 run to take a 20-17 lead. Kills by Bacon and Brooke Nuneviller ignited a 6-2 Oregon run that gave the Ducks a 23-22 lead, but St. John's regrouped out of a timeout and ripped off three straight to steal the set and take a 2-0 match lead.

Looking to avoid a sweep, the Ducks raced out to a 9-4 lead out of intermission and later used a 5-1 run to make it 18-11. Oregon appeared to be on its way to an easy set three win, leading 23-17, but the Red Storm reeled off five points in six rallies to get within two, 24-22, and force a timeout by the Ducks. Needing a point to send the match to a fourth game, the Ducks went to their all-American middle in Stone, who hammered one to the floor to secure the 25-22 win.

The Ducks started well in the fourth frame, once again jumping out to an 8-4 advantage. But St. John's came roaring back as it did all night, using a 9-1 run to take control of the game, 16-11, and prompt the Ducks into using both of their timeouts. The Red Storm traded points to a 23-17 lead before Oregon began to mount a comeback with four straight to get within two, but St. John's scored two of the final three points to clinch the set and secure the upset victory.

Who Stood Out: Nuneviller hit .389 with 18 kills and added eight digs, and Stone put down 17 kills on .433 hitting while racking up a match-high seven blocks and three service aces. Bacon had a strong performance in the middle with 10 kills (.368), Williams finished with seven kills and setter Kylie Robinson recorded 45 assists, seven digs and three kills.

Notable: Oregon was without Willow Johnson for the fourth straight match, though the senior all-American did go through pregame warm-ups as she continues to work her way back from injury … Freshman Elise Ferreira contributed two service aces, and libero Georgia Murphy added one while finishing with eight digs … Oregon finished with a healthy .305 attack percentage, but struggled to contain a Red Storm attack that hit .321 … St. John's beat Oregon for the first time, cutting its deficit in the all-time series to 2-1.

Up Next: Oregon will play its lone two-match day of the season on Friday to close out nonconference play. The Ducks will face Duke at 10 a.m. PT before taking on Hofstra at 4 p.m. PT.