Oregon volleyball had a chance to defeat #6 Wisconsin in Madison on Thursday night, but let a clear opportunity at an upset slip through their fingers as they lost in four sets, 26-24, 19-25, 24-26, 14-25.
The Ducks accomplished the first task they faced to get the win, which was not come out of the gate lethargic in set 1 and have to play catch-up on the road. The sides were neck and neck all set, with 13 ties and five lead changes.
Tied at 24-all, the Ducks did what they needed to do – punch the last two points home and win the set.
Oregon picked up the first point of the second set, but it was all Badgers from then on. Down seven points at 4-11, the Ducks had no chance of catching up. Time and again, Wisconsin’s presence at the net posed problems for Oregon.
Oregon had the lead for most of the third set, showing renewed energy.
Up 24-22, the Ducks could not close the deal. They let Wisconsin fire off two kills to tie the set, and then consecutive Oregon attack errors handed set 3 to the Badgers.
That set pretty much undid Oregon’s play, and Wisconsin killed and blocked their way to an easy set 4, and match, victory.
Wisconsin hit .382 on the night, with Audrey Flanagan delivering 19 kills and Decelise Champion notching 16 kills.
Oregon had no answers for Wisconsin’s net play. The Badgers ended with 11 blocks to just two for the Ducks.
Sjakkie Donkers was the star for Oregon. She led the Ducks in kills (20), aces (2) and digs (11). Valentina Vaulet was next in kills with nine. Oregon only managed to hit .207 on the night, and that won’t win matches.
All is not well for Alanah Clemente. She did not start, and only played in 2 sets, hitting one kill and getting one attack error, and no other stats. Clemente essentially was not in the game, and it’s amazing that Oregon played as close as they did in this match. I will not speculate on the cause for her absence; I will just note that unless Oregon can make the proper adjustments in her absence they will have a difficult time defeating Minnesota this afternoon. In fact, the Ducks will have a tough go of it, period, without their star OPP player available. I just hope she heals from whatever is ailing her.
Or maybe there’s hope for a rebound, however illusory that hope may be. The Golden Gophers lost in four sets to an unranked Illinois team. In any event, we shall find out this afternoon, when the Ducks play in Minneapolis at 4:00 pm PT. The match will be shown on B1G+.
