Match Stats
- Oregon defeats Utah 3-2 (25-27, 27-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-11)
- Oregon improves to 13-5
- Utah falls to 14-6
Oregon went down 2-1 on the road at Utah, but battled back to win 3-2.
The first 3 sets were extremely close, with Utah only outscoring Oregon by 3 total points between the three sets but going up 2-1.
But Oregon fought back to win the final two sets convincingly, powered by a 20-kill, .500-hitting day from Lindsey Vander Weide.
Utah’s Jessie Openshaw added 32 assists and 13 digs in the loss.
Press Releases
Oregon:
SALT LAKE CITY- The No. 20-ranked Utah Utes fell in five sets (27-25, 25-27, 25-22, 20-25, 11-15) to the No. 23-ranked Oregon Ducks on Friday night at the Huntsman Center.
Utah falls to 14-6 on the season and 5-4 in Pac-12 Conference play, while Oregon moves to 13-5 overall and 6-3 in league play.
Utah opened the match with kills from junior Adora Anae and sophomore Berkeley Oblad, followed by a block from Anae and Oblad to give the Utes an early lead, 3-1. Both teams traded points through the first set until a kill by sophomore Emma Kirst sent the set to a media timeout with Utah leading 15-12.
After an attack error from the Ducks, Oregon would go on a 7-2 run to take the lead 19-18. Trailing 23-22, a kill from Anae would tie things back up, but Oregon would get a kill to force set point.
After a service error from the Ducks followed by a service ace by Oblad, Utah gained the edge, 25-24. The Utes would eventually win the first set 27-25 after a kill from junior Carly Trueman and a ball handling error from Oregon.
After a back-and-forth second set, it came down to the final stages tied 20-20. Oregon scored a quick three points but Utah responded with kills from Trueman, Kirst, and junior Tawnee Luafalemana evening the score 24-24. Another kill by the junior transfer tied the score 25-25 until two Oregon kills clinched the set and evened the match 1-1.
Coming out of intermission, Utah gained separation in the third set scoring five of six points, aided by consecutive kills from junior Eliza Katoa and one from Anae, to take the lead 19-15.
After a kill from Oblad, Oregon would score three straight points to cut the Utah lead to 21-20. A block from Kirst and Lufalemana would give Utah set point at 24-20 and Kirst closed the frame with a kill to regain the lead, two sets to one.
The beginning of the fourth set looked very similar to the previous two sets with both teams trading points until midway through the frame. A kill from Oblad gave the Utes a 13-11 lead, but Oregon went on to score nine of the next ten points to take the lead 20-14. Utah scored three straight points to cut the Oregon lead to three, but could not comeback as Oregon forced a decisive fifth set taking the fourth set, 25-20.
Utah scored the first two points of the fifth set, but Oregon would go on a 5-1 run to force a Utah timeout trailing 5-3. Consecutive kills from Luafalemana and Katoa cut the Oregon lead to 11-10, but the Ducks would score four of the next five points to win the match.
Anae posted a double-double on the night totaling 16 kills and 13 digs. Oblad finished with a career high 15 kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Katoa posted a season high 12 kills and Luafalemana also added 12 kills for the Utes.
Setters Jessie Openshaw and Bailey Choy both posted double-double efforts on the night. Openshaw finished with 32 assists and 13 digs, while Choy notched 30 assists and 12 digs.
Sophomore Megan Shughrou finished the match with 20 digs to lead the Utes defensively. Freshman Brianna Doehrmann also posted a career high 15 digs.
The Utes will be back in action tomorrow night at the Huntsman Center to take on the Oregon State Beavers. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.
Utah:
SALT LAKE CITY – No. 23 Oregon volleyball rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to beat No. 20 Utah, 25-27, 27-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-11, in five back and forth sets on Friday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
How It Happened: After dropping the first set in dramatic fashion, the Ducks (13-5, 6-3 Pac-12) were able to outlast the Utes (14-6, 5-4 Pac-12) in the second set, 27-25, to pull even in the match at intermission. Utah capitalized on some Oregon errors late in the third set to take a 2-1 lead, but the Ducks responded with a strong showing in the fourth to pull even. An impressive finish in the fifth set, particularly on the block, fueled the Ducks to a 3-2 comeback win in an important conference match. The Ducks improved to a perfect 4-0 on the road this season.
The Ducks were led by a pair of double-doubles, with Lindsey Vander Weide picking up her eighth of the season with a match-high 20 kills on .500 hitting to go with 17 digs and Jolie Rasmussen earning the first of her career with 14 kills and 12 digs.Ronika Stone was also very impressive for the Ducks, hitting .360 with 15 kills while adding five digs and five blocks. Taylor Agost added eight kills while Willow Johnsonhad seven, and Amanda Benson led all players with 24 digs. Vander Weide, Agost andLauren Page also each added five blocks. August Raskie (33) and Maggie Scott (31) paced the Ducks to 68 total assists while Oregon hit .272 and finished with 12 total blocks to the Utes’ five.
Set 1: Utah opened up an early 10-6 lead on its home floor but Oregon quickly responded with a strong stretch to tie the set, 18-18, forcing the Utes to call a timeout after a 6-2 run. The two teams would go back and forth to a 22-22 tie before the Ducks scored two of the next three to get set point, 24-23, but a service error followed by a Utes’ ace quickly swung Utah into set point, 25-24. Kacey Nady would put down a kill to pull the Ducks back even, but a Utah kill and an Oregon ball-handling error cost the Ducks the first set, 27-25. Vander Weide led the Ducks with five kills on seven swings (.525) with six digs, and Scott paced the offense with nine assists. Despite the loss, the Ducks hit .364 in the opening set.
Set 2: The battle continued into the second set, as the two teams went back and forth to play to an 11-11 tie midway through. Three straight Duck points erased a 14-13 Utah lead, but the Utes quickly responded to knot it back up at 17-17. A 7-4 Oregon run gave the Ducks set point, 24-21, but the Utes were able to fend off three straight set points to draw even, 24-24. After Utah erased another Oregon set point, a kill by Vander Weide and a successful challenge at the net by Lauren Page sent the Ducks into intermission tied, 1-1, with a 27-25 win. Rasmussen led the Ducks with five kills while Vander Weide added four and Benson dug seven bals.
Set 3: Late errors proved costly for the Ducks once again in the third set. After being tied 14-14, the Utes were able to get out to a 21-17 lead to put pressure on the Ducks. Oregon responded with three unanswered points to pull within one and force a Utah timeout, but a service error followed by an attack into the net extended the Utes’ lead to 23-20 and killed any momentum Oregon was gaining. Utah would win two of the next four rallies to win the set, 25-22, and take a 2-1 lead. Stone was impressive offensively in the third, putting down six kills on seven swings and adding a block.
Set 4: Trailing 12-10 midway through the set, the Ducks ripped off an 8-2 run to take an 18-14 lead and force Utah into a timeout. Out of the break, the Ducks would score two more before Utah answered with three straight to pull within 20-17. After an Oregon timeout, the Ducks were able to finish with a 5-3 stretch to win the set, 25-20, and take the Utes to a fifth set tied, 2-2. Five kills from Vander Weide and four from Rasmussen paced the Oregon offense, with Stone adding two more blocks and Benson digging six balls.
Set 5: After Utah scored the first two points to open up the final set, Oregon responded with five points in the next six rallies to go up 5-3 and force the Utes into a timeout. Oregon would extend its lead to 10-6 before the Utes battled back with four points in five rallies to pull within one, 11-10. After an Oregon timeout, the Ducks came out and rattled off a 4-1 run to win the set and the match with Agost and Johnson going up for the final block to seal the victory. The biggest success for the Ducks in the final set came on the block, where they totaled five as a team in the shortened game with Agost assisting on four.
What It Means: Entering the week in a seven-way tied for second place in the Pac-12 at 5-3, the win for the Ducks could go a long way down the road. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for Oregon, and gives it good momentum with another conference match on the schedule for tomorrow. The continued success on the road is also encouraging, as the Ducks are now 4-0 away from home after playing 14 of their first 17 matches at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks won for just the second time this season when trailing in kills (71-73), but improved to 13-0 when leading in attack percentage (.272-.200) and are now 12-2 when leading in blocks. Oregon improved to 2-1 in five-set matches and 3-4 against AVCA top-25 teams this season, and is now 12-6 all-time against the Utes.
Up Next: The Ducks will have a quick turnaround before hitting the court again, as they’ll head to Boulder, Colo. Tonight to take on the Colorado Buffaloes (12-7, 4-5 Pac-12) tomorrow night at 6 p.m. at the Coors Event Center. Colorado defeated Oregon State in four sets on Friday.
Leave a Reply