Ducks Go Five To Upset Utes Sunday

Sunday, September 29

Eugene, OR

12:00 PM

University of Oregon

4-6

Utah

9-3

Utah

Oregon

Photo by: Samuel Marshall

09/29/19 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Oregon 3, Utah 2

Oregon won the first two games, saw Utah force a fifth and then pulled out a thrilling victory before a packed house at Matthew Knight Arena.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — Senior all-American Ronika Stone set up match point by smashing the ball to the floor at the end of a long rally Sunday afternoon, then finished off No. 18 Utah with another kill that gave the No. 24 Ducks a five-set victory before 3,860 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.

Returning home for the first time in nearly a month, the UO volleyball team bounced back from its loss at Oregon State on Thursday by upsetting the Utes, 25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 20-25, 5-13. The Ducks came off an eight-match road trip that saw them go 2-6, but got to celebrate a win on their home court Sunday.

"I think we forgot what it feels like for a second," Stone said. "The feeling of defeat — I hate losing way more than I love winning. We really needed this, to remember how it felt, to remember that we can do it."

How It Happened: A day that saw Stone and fellow senior Willow Johnson come up big time and time again began that way, with the two combining on a block for Oregon's first point of the afternoon. The Ducks were the better serving team a majority of the afternoon, and that also was on display in the first set Sunday. Freshman libero Georgia Murphy took over serve at 7-7, and three of the next four points were Utah errors as the Ducks built a lead of 11-7. It was 18-18 when freshman Kylie Robinson set Stone on the slide for a point, and the Ducks took the lead for good at 20-19 on an athletic, one-handed set by Robinson to Stone for the quick strike in the middle. On set point, Utah settled for a free ball that Oregon answered with an emphatic kill by Stone.

Another kill by Stone opened the second set, but at that point Johnson really made her presence felt. The lefty served an ace that gave Oregon a 3-1 lead, and another that put the Ducks up 11-10. Freshman middle Karson Bacon had kills that provided UO leads of 19-14 and 21-15, and Johnson took over serve with the Ducks up 22-17 before bringing the set home with three straight points, one a kill by Brooke Nuneviller.

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Utah used the long break between the second and third sets to stabilize itself. Oregon took a 7-4 lead on a block by Johnson and Bacon in the third set, and a Utah error put the Ducks up 14-11. But the Utes then reeled off nine straight points, a run that survived a UO timeout and two coach's challenges — one by each side — before finally ending on a kill by Bacon. A quick kill by Stone got Oregon within 23-18, sparking a run that included another Johnson ace, a kill by Nuneviller and another by Stone on the slide. Freshman Taylor Williams kept the Ducks alive as they fended off a couple set points, but Utah held on.

The fourth set played out in similar fashion. Oregon led early as Bacon got in on back-to-back blocks, first with Nuneviller and then Johnson, to make it 10-6. The Ducks appeared to go up 13-10 midway through the set, but Utah challenged a call and the ball was ruled to have struck the antennae outside the net. Utah then rallied to an 18-14 lead, and held on to win the set by four points.

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Utah had the advantage for much of the early going in set five. An ace by Robinson survived another coach's challenge to tie the set at 7-7, and another ace by Johnson gave Oregon a 12-11 lead. Utah had the lead at 13-12 but committed a service error, putting the serve in Nuneviller's hand with the score tied 13-13. The next point was a marathon; Murphy kept it alive with two diving pancakes, and then Johnson had a monster dig to keep the ball off the floor yet again before Stone slammed down the go-ahead point. The Ducks went back to Stone with the match on the line and she sent another kill off the Utah block, clinching the match for Oregon.

Who Stood Out: Johnson had 18 kills to lead the Ducks, but also five aces and 13 digs, including the crucial defensive play to set up match point. "Obviously I've always been a strong hitter; that's my job — to score points," Johnson said. "Knowing that I'm a senior, my role was going to be to play six rotations. I had to step up in my serving and my defense. I've just been working a lot on defense every day with the coaches."

Nuneviller and Stone each added 16 kills. Stone hit .300 for the match, getting her 16 kills on 40 total swings — more than double her total from the five-set loss to Oregon State. "There's a lot of things that go into that," UO coach Matt Ulmer said. "You have to pass well enough to get her the ball; Kylie has to feel comfortable enough to set her; she has to work hard enough to get approaches and be available to get those opportunities. And all those things were happening tonight. That was excellent."

Bacon added eight kills with three block assists, and Williams had seven kills. Murphy and Nuneviller combined on 27 digs and also received serve a combined 46 times with just two errors, and Robinson had 57 assists with nine digs and four kills.

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Notable: Sunday was the Ducks' "Stomp Out Cancer" match, and 9-year-old cancer survivor Danielle Bixby was on the UO bench for the match. … The home crowd was amplified by a significant student turnout, on the final weekend before fall quarter classes begin, and also the full band. … Nuneviller notched her team-leading seventh double-double of the season while Johnson recorded her fourth. …

Johnson's career-high five aces are tied with Murphy for the most by a Duck this season. … The Ducks improved to 3-0 at home this season. … Oregon extended its lead in the all-time series against Utah to 14-8 with its fourth win in the last five meetings. … Prior to the match, Stone was honored in a ceremony recognizing her recent achievement of 1,000 career kills.

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