Civil War Marathon Goes to OSU

Thursday, September 26

Corvallis, OR

5:30 PM

University of Oregon

4-6

Oregon State

7-5

Oregon

Oregon St.

Photo by: Samuel Marshall

09/26/19 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score OSU 3, Oregon 2

By: Nate Krueger

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon volleyball team came up just short in its Pac-12 opener on Thursday night against Oregon State, dropping a five-set Civil War marathon, 9-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18, 15-13, in front of 2,618 OSU fans in Gill Coliseum.

The No. 24 Ducks (4-6) will look to rebound on Sunday against No. 18 Utah in their Stomp Out Cancer match at Matthew Knight Arena.

How it Happened: Playing with senior all-American Willow Johnson back in the starting lineup for the first time since Sept. 11, the Ducks came out swinging in the first Civil War showdown of 2019-20. Johnson put down two kills early to give UO a 5-2 lead, and the lefty added three more in a 9-1 run as the Ducks extended their lead to double digits, 17-7. Leading 18-9, Johnson's sixth kill of the frame ignited a stretch of seven straight Oregon points as the Ducks rolled to a 1-0 match lead. Oregon hit .556 without an error in the set while holding OSU to a .000 hitting percentage.

Oregon State (7-5) used a 4-0 run to take an early lead in the second set, but the Ducks responded with four straight of their own to move ahead, 14-13. With Oregon down one, 15-14, the Beavers took advantage of four UO errors to score seven straight and take control, 22-14. The Ducks started to mount a comeback with four points in five rallies, but OSU finished off the set and evened the match at one set apiece.

After three straight Beaver points gave OSU a 10-8 lead out of intermission, Brooke Nuneviller began to take over for the Ducks with three consecutive kills to jumpstart a 7-1 Oregon run. Three kills in four points for freshman Taylor Williams made it 19-15, Ducks, and Oregon scored five of the next seven to earn set-point, 24-18. UO took a timeout after back-to-back points for the Beavers, but Nuneviller's fifth kill of the game and 14th of the match secured the win and a 2-1 match lead.

Oregon State jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the fourth and never looked back, winning 25-18 to send the match to a fifth and final game. Oregon fought to within one, 10-9, before the Beavers ripped off a 10-2 run to reclaim control. Oregon staved off four straight set-points late to force an OSU timeout, but the early hole was too much to overcome.

The Beavers scored the first two points of the fifth set, but Johnson followed with a kill to start a 6-1 Oregon run that included a pair of aces by Nuneviller. After three straight OSU points made it 6-6, Williams put down three kills and a block to fuel a 7-3 Oregon stretch that gave Oregon control, 13-9. But Oregon State, riding the momentum of its raucous crowd, ripped off six consecutive points to steal the final game and secure the five-set upset.

Who Stood Out: Nuneviller and Johnson finished with identical lines of 18 kills on .260 hitting, and they added 13 and 14 digs, respectively, to notch double-doubles. Williams put down 12 total kills, Ronika Stone hit .353 with eight kills but got only 17 attacks, and setter Kylie Robinson dished out 52 assists to go with eight digs and five blocks. Libero Georgia Murphy led all players with a season-high 19 digs, and Bea Wetton dug 13 balls and matched both Johnson and Nuneviller with three service aces.

Notable: Stone improved her career points scored total to 1,319.0, moving her past Neticia Enesi (1,315.5, 2006-09) for No. 9 on the Oregon all-time list … Nuneviller extended her team lead with her sixth double-double, and Johnson notched her third … Oregon State snapped an eight-match losing streak to the Ducks in the Civil War.

Up Next: Oregon will return home to host No. 18 Utah at 12 p.m. on Sunday in Matthew Knight Arena. Fans are encouraged to wear yellow to support childhood cancer awareness month.