MATCH STATS
- #10 Oregon def. Loyola Marymount 3-2 (19-25, 28-26, 24-26, 25-19, 15-8)
- #10 Oregon improves to 3-1; Loyola Marymount falls to 2-3
- Eugene, Oregon
- Box Score
Eugene, Oregon – The Ducks overcame a 2-1 set deficit to escape being upset by Loyola Marymount on their home court last night.
Loyola Marymount held Oregon to a .167 hitting percentage in the opening set as Sara Kovac led the offense. That offense was more prevalent than the defense in sets two and three, as she led the Lions with 17 kills (.333). The teams would split those second and third sets – each in extra points.
Trailing 2-1 in sets, Oregon made a stand in the fourth to even the match up in total points. They continued to play well in the fifth for a five-set win.
The Ducks would hit .292 to Loyola Marymount’s .192 as Oregon had the edge in blocks, 16-10. Taylor Agost (seven blocks) and Sumeet Gill (eight blocks) paved the way in that regard, while Lindsey Vander Weide (15 kills, 18 digs) also impressed.
In total, Oregon had five players with double-digit kills, while Loyola Marymount had four.
Oregon looks to complete their weekend of hosting undefeated as they finish up with Northern Illinois. Up next for Loyola Marymount is UT Rio Grande Valley as they wrap up this weekend looking to get back to .500.
PRESS RELEASES:
EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 14 ranked Oregon volleyball team battled back after losing two of the first three sets on Friday night to beat Loyola Marymount in a five-set thriller, 19-25, 28-26, 24-26, 25-19, 15-8, on the second day of the Oregon Classic at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks (3-1) were sluggish out of the gate and struggled with consistency throughout the night against a solid LMU team, but were able to use big scoring runs and a balanced attack in the final two sets to pull the match out and move to 2-0 in the Oregon Classic.
“LMU is a very good team,” said head coach Matt Ulmer. “I’m just really proud of us. We knew it was going to be a frustrating match, and generally when you get frustrated that’s when you fall apart, but we were able to hang in there and we finally got more disciplined and finally figured out the rhythm of the match. I’m proud of us for being able to pull it out that way.”
How it Happened: Facing a 2-1 deficit in the fourth, the Ducks mounted a furious 7-1 run to take the set and force the match to a fifth game. Kills by Ronika Stone and Lauren Page ignited the scoring run, and Willow Johnson added two kills in a span of three points to help the Ducks gain separation.
LMU (1-3) started the fifth set well, jumping out to a 5-2 lead before Ulmer called a timeout. The Ducks caught fire out of the break, ripping off six straight points to take control of the set, 8-5. The Lions got back within a point, 9-8, before Oregon put together another big scoring run, this time a 6-0 stretch, to end the set and win the match. The Ducks did a good job of forcing LMU into mistakes in the final set, pressuring them into eight attack errors and a team hitting percentage of -.130.
The Lions took advantage of the slow start by the Ducks in the first set, forcing Oregon to burn both its timeouts while jumping out to leads of 10-5 and 16-11. Oregon began to mount a rally with four straight points to get within four, 22-18, but the Lions finished the set strong to take a 1-0 lead. The Ducks were held to a .167 hitting percentage as a team in the set with seven attack errors.
The Ducks and Lions went back and forth in the second set, with Oregon eventually separating with a 5-1 run to take a 21-16 lead. With Oregon leading 24-20, LMU fought off four set points and pushed the score to 26-26, but kills by Lindsey Vander Weide and Taylor Agost ended the drama and tied the match up at intermission.
The two teams played to a 20-20 tie in the third before LMU moved ahead, 23-21, but the Ducks responded with three straight points to gain set point, 24-23. LMU wouldn’t go away, though, as the Lions fought off set point and then used an Oregon error and a kill to win the set and take a 2-1 advantage before Oregon mounted its comeback in the final two sets.
Who Stood Out: The Ducks finished with an impressive five players with double-digit kills while hitting .292 as a team, with Vander Weide leading the way with 15 kills and 18 digs for her second double-double. Stone put down 12 kills on .304 hitting with a career-high eight blocks, Johnson had 11 kills on .292 hitting, Page hit .333 with 11 kills and Agost finished with 10 kills at a .346 clip. August Raskie recorded her team-high third double-double of the year with 25 assists and 10 digs, and Maggie Scott led the Ducks with 27 assists.
Notable: Vander Weide’s 18 digs match a career-high for the junior … The Ducks out-blocked the Lions, 16-10, behind Stone’s eight … Oregon held LMU to a .192 team hitting percentage … Freshman Kyra Hanawahine saw the first extended action of her career, dishing out three assists with three digs … The Ducks pulled out the win in their first five-set match of the season.
Up Next: Oregon will look to finish 3-0 in the Oregon Classic on Saturday when it takes on Northern Illinois (0-6) at 12 p.m. PT at MKA. LMU will wrap the three-day tournament against the University of Texas Rio-Grande Valley at 2 p.m.
Playing on the road at #14 Oregon (3-1) on Friday night, LMU volleyball (2-3) took the Ducks the distance, but eventually dropped a five-set decision by scores of 19-25, 28-26, 24-26, 25-19, 15-8. For LMU, the five-set match was the first of the year after going 0-6 in such matches a season ago.
Junior Sara Kovac led all players with 17 kills on 33 swings for a .333 hitting percentage, while Megan Rice picked up 13 kills with three digs and three blocks, helping LMU to 10 blocks as a team. Sophomore setters Jessie Prichard and Tess Reid each dished out 28 assists as the Lions hit .192 as a team in the setback.
LMU’s serving game continued to be a strong point for the Lions, as LMU served up seven aces, including two apiece from Savannah Slattery and Alexis Morrow. In addition to the two aces, Morrow also contributed four blocks, falling one short of Emma Johnson for the team lead.
Lindsey Vander Weide paced the attack for Oregon, finishing with 15 kills, 18 digs and three blocks to claim a double-double. The Ducks hit .292 over the course of the match, with Maggie Scott and August Raskie dishing out 27 and 25 assists, respectively. Perhaps the biggest difference in the match came at the net, with Oregon managing 16 team blocks, including eight blocks each from Ronika Stone and Sumeet Gill.
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It was all LMU in the first, as the Lions jumped out to an early 10-5 lead to force an Oregon timeout. A pair of Slattery aces allowed LMU to advance the lead to 16-11, pushing the Ducks to call their final timeout of the period. A kill from Morrow handed LMU the set point chance at 24-19 before Lindsey Vander Weide erred on a swing to hand the Lions the opener.
Oregon seemingly had the second set in hand at 24-20, but kills from Kovac, Johnson and back-to-back aces from Morrow erased four set points chances and drew LMU back even at 24-24. After trading a pair of points, Vander Weide connected for her sixth kill of the set, setting the table for a Taylor Agost kill to even the match score at one set apiece.
The third set proved to be a back-and-forth affair, as the two teams played to 15 tie scores and six lead changes. The Lions actually led 23-21 and forced an Oregon timeout, but the Ducks emerged from the huddle and eventually got back even at 23-23 following a block from Agost and Gill. Still even at 24-24, LMU’s Sierra Bartley and Johnson teamed to stuff Vander Weide to hand LMU set point at 25-24. Bartley finished off the period one play later, finding the floor for the second time in the set as LMU took the 2-1 lead in the match score.
Kovac did her best to try to seal the upset victory in the fourth, notching five of her 17 match kills in the period, but LMU could not finish off the Ducks despite claiming a 16-13 lead in the middle of the stanza. Following an Oregon timeout, the Ducks rattled off four straight points, claiming a 17-16 lead and sending the set down the stretch. Back even at 18-18, the Ducks went on one final run, scoring six unanswered points, including a pair on blocks from Stone, to earn set point at 24-18. While LMU managed to erase the first opportunity, Slattery erred on the ensuing serve, pushing the match to a fifth and decisive set.
Although LMU controlled the early momentum in the race to 15, jumping out to an early 5-2 lead to force an Oregon timeout, Oregon utilized a pair of big runs en route to capturing the victory. It was a 6-0 run that turned that 5-2 deficit into an 8-5 lead, and the Ducks managed to turn a one-point advantage at 9-8 into a five-set victory as they closed the match on another 6-0 run, fittingly capped by a block from Agost and Gill.
LMU will conclude play at the Oregon Classic on Saturday at 2 p.m. when it meets UTRGV.
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