Match Info
- #11 Utah at #16 Oregon (PAC-12 Match)
- Eugene, Oregon
- Oregon improves to 14-5 (7-4 PAC-12); Utah drops to 17-5 (8-3 PAC-12)
- Attendance: 1250
- Box Score
In a battle of top-20 teams, it was the host Oregon Ducks that pulled out a hard fought four set victory over the visiting Utah Utes. Set scores were 25-18, 21-25, 25-23, and 25-22. Jolie Rasmussen led a balanced Ducks’ offense with 15 kills (.375 hitting %), while Ronika Stone and Taylor Agost added 10 kills each. Sharing setting duties, August Raskie and Maggie Scott dished out 27 and 26 assists respectively with Scott adding 12 digs. Alex Hojnar led the defense with 14 kills. With the win, the Ducks have now secured four straight victories and improve to 14-5 (7-4 PAC-12). Oregon will return to the court on Friday, October 27th to host Colorado.
Oregon led the match in hitting percentage .287-241 although the Utes had more kills. Utah was done in by 25 hitting errors on the match, 10 more than Oregon committed. Oregon led the match in blocks 9-7 and aces 5-4. Meanwhile, Utah led the match in assists 61-58, and digs 77-50.
It was a tough loss for Utah who placed four players in double digits in kills. Berkeley Oblad led the way with 14 kills, while Adora Anae added 12 kills, and Kenzie Koerber and Tawnee Laufalemana each put down 10 kills. Bailey Choy handed out 35 assists while libero Brianna Doehrmann had a match high 20 digs. Utah drops to 17-5 (8-3 PAC-12) and will return to action on Friday, October 27th as they continue their Oregon road trip to face Oregon State.
Press Release:
Courtesy of Oregon Athletics
EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon volleyball team continued its surge toward the stretch run Wednesday night, when the No. 15 Ducks extended their winning streak to four by beating No. 12 Utah, 25-18, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22 before 1,250 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.
“This was a match I was looking forward to,” UO coach Matt Ulmer said. “We’re both healthy, we’re both full strength, and we’re both really good. For our confidence, this should do wonders, because that was a really good team that played well. And we played better.”
How It Happened: Oregon (14-5, 7-4 Pac-12) started hot in the opening set. Kills from Jolie Rasmussen and Lindsey Vander Weide, two by Willow Johnson and another by Ronika Stone quickly made it 5-51. The Ducks capitalized on two errors by Utah (17-5, 8-3) to score four straight for a 10-3 lead, and scored another four in a row to go up 15-8. Down 19-10, the Utes clawed back within 22-18, but Oregon finished it off from there with three straight, two of those kills by Taylor Agost.
After hitting .355 in the opening set, the Ducks hit .120 in the second, and Utah won 25-21. But Oregon found its groove after the set break, hitting .371 in the third set and .364 in the fourth. In the third, Oregon trailed 13-12 before rallying into a 20-15 lead with more well-rounded offense. Utah scored five in a row to stave off set point, but after a UO timeout, Stone drove home the winner.
The fourth played out in similar fashion. Two Rasmussen kills got Oregon out to an early lead, two in a row from Agost made it 9-7, and a couple of blocks by Stone contributed to a five-point rally for a 19-12 advantage. Lauren Page set up set point with an emphatic kill for a 24-20 lead, and though the Utes rallied with two straight, Stone finished off another set for the victory.
“We were jumping higher at the end than we were at the beginning, and that’s pretty amazing,” Ulmer said. “I think we’re in great shape, and we feel good. And it’s late October, so if you’re in shape and feeling good, that’s a real plus.”
Who Stood Out: Ramussen hit .375 with 15 kills and Stone hit .450 with 11 kills to lead the Ducks. Agost added 10 kills with no attack errors, Johnson had nine and Vander Weide finished with eight. Rasmussen added 12 digs, and Maggie Scott also had a double-double with 26 assists and 12 digs. As a team, the Ducks had nine blocks, with Stone factoring in seven.
What It Means: The Ducks began their second weekend with a healthy Rasmussen stabilizing what had been an improvised rotation for much of conference play. Rasmussen’s return has taken pressure off Agost to play start to finish, and allowed Stone to stay home in the middle. “For us, we looked way more comfortable out there together,” Ulmer said.
Notable: The Ducks are now 4-4 against ranked opponents this season. … Oregon improves to 11-1 at home this year. … The Ducks are 14-1 this year when leading in hitting percentage (.287 to .241). … Rasmussen’s 15 kills are a season high. … Scott notched her fourth double-double of the year, while Rasmussen recorded her first. … Oregon now has a 14-7 lead in the all-time series with Utah.
Up Next: The Ducks close out a four-match homestand when they host Colorado on Friday (7 p.m, Oregon Live Stream).
Press Release:
Courtesy of Utah Athletics
EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 12-ranked Utah Utes (17-5, 8-3) took No. 15-ranked Oregon (14-5, 7-4) to four sets on the road, but the Ducks came away with the victory (18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 22-25) Wednesday night at Matthew Knight Arena.
Carly Trueman opened the match with a kill for the Utes, but Oregon countered winning 10 of the next 12 points to take a 10-3 lead. A 5-1 run would get Utah back within three points, but the Ducks again went on a run, this time winning seven of the next nine points to take an 18-10 lead, and Utah was forced to call its final timeout of the frame. Utah would get a pair of kills from Dani Barton in its late 8-3 run, but Oregon capped off the frame winning the final three points to take the set 25-18.
Adora Anae and Tawnee Luafalemana combined for eight kills and a pair of blocks as Utah notched things up after taking the second set, 25-21. After trading points with the Ducks, Shannon Scully managed to register a kill and then an ace to force Oregon to call timeout, down 11-7. The Ducks countered with a 5-1 run to tie the frame at 12-12, and Utah came back with a 7-2 run to go up 19-14. Following three kills and a block from Berkeley Oblad, the Utes led 24-18, but a 3-0 run forced the Utes to call a timeout up set-point. Kenzie Koerber would send the match into the intermission though, following her third kill of the evening.
Both teams virtually traded points through the first half the of the set, but Oregon was ahead by a point and up 15-14, at the media timeout. Oregon would use a 4-1 run out of the break to go up 19-15 and force Utah to call a timeout. Not long after, a 4-2 run forced the Utes to call another timeout, down 23-17. A block from Koerber would ignite a 6-1 run, which forced Oregon to call both of its timeouts and see its lead down to just a point at 24-23. The Ducks would take the frame though when Ronika Stone‘s kill gave the home team the set, 25-23.
An early 4-1 run, which included an ace and a block from Oblad, would give Utah a 7-6 lead, but Oregon came back to win six of the next eight points and take a 12-9 lead. Both teams would trade points to the media timeout, but it was Oregon again leading at the break, up 15-12. Oregon’s 5-0 run would end in a service error and Utah countered with a 6-1 run to get back within two points of the Ducks, down 21-19 when Oregon called timeout. UO won three of the next four points to go up match-point, but the Utes came back with consecutive points to make it 24-22. Out of a timeout, Stone connected on her 11th kill of the match to give the Ducks the set, 25-22.
Utah will close out this week’s action on Friday in a road contest at Oregon State. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PT at Gill Coliseum.
MATCH NOTES
- The Utes snapped a six-match road winning streak with the loss. It also marked Utah’s first road loss in Pac-12 Conference play this season.
- Brianna Doehrmann finished with 20 digs, giving her 10+ digs for the ninth straight match. She has tallied at least 20 digs in two the last three matches.
- Koerber notched double-digit kills for just the second time this season, totaling 10 kills on the evening.
- Oblad led the Utes in kills for the first time this season, ending the match with 13 kills and a team-best .550 hitting percentage.
- Anae had 12 kills and 14 digs for her 11th double-double of the season.
- Bailey Choy led the Utes with 35 assists on the evening. Camryn Machado followed with 19 assists in the match.
- Scully registered two of Utah’s four service aces. Obald and Doehrmann both had one service ace each.
- Luafalemana led the Utes with four total blocks.
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