Oregon volleyball faced a pair of tough road challenges the past couple of days, traveling to the Midwest to face #18 Indiana and #9 Purdue.
Indiana
Oregon’s match on Friday was against Indiana, where they
lost to the #18 Indiana Hoosiers in four sets, 25-20, 21-25, 22-25, 14-25.
The Ducks started hot in the first set and jumped to a 5-1 lead. Indiana fought back and tied the set at 9, 10, and 11. From then on, Oregon established and kept the lead, ending the set with a 4-1 run.
Sets 2 and 3 were very similar, with the Hoosiers pacing ahead by mid-set behind superior blocking and defense.
Indiana ran ahead in the fourth set, and when Oregon fell behind 10-3 it was clear that they had run out of gas. The Ducks, who had hit .300, .265, and .419 in the first three sets hit a paltry .034 in the fourth.
The Boilermakers had the better serve/receive game, with 10 SA to 4 for Oregon, and only four reception errors to 10 for the Ducks.
Four Ducks had double digit kills, led by Alanah Clemente with 15. Cora Taylor had a double-double with 36 assists and was the digs leader with 11.
Purdue
Oregon showed grit and tenacity in knocking off the #9 Purdue Boilermakers in five sets, 23-25, 25-24, 25-16, 18-25, 17-15.
Purdue eked ahead in the first set, but Oregon played better defense in the match – a trait that would carry them to the end.
Tied at 20-20, Purdue did their job and closed out the set for the win, which is something this young Ducks team has had issues in replicating.
Oregon showed up to play, however, and gave Purdue fits all evening with their serve game.
Oregon would hold off a Purdue rally at the end of the set to tie the match at 1-1.
The third set was all Oregon. The Ducks ran ahead early, and the Boilermakers were thrown off their game. Alanah Clemente had six kills in the set alone, and gave Purdue fits all night. Her service game was also on:
Purdue stumbled and could not keep from falling in the third set, but they showed poise and fight in the fourth set. The Boilermakers started with a 4-0 run and led all the way.
That led to a nervous 5th set. The Ducks jumped to a 5-2 lead and were playing relatively relaxed. Purdue built an 8-6 lead, and Oregon tied the game 10-10 before Purdue went on a 3-0 run.
It did not look good, but the Ducks responded with a 3-0 run of their own.
The teams battled, and Purdue led 15-14, but Oregon finally did what they’ve needed to do (and couldn’t) in so many games, and that is to close out the set – especially when you have Match Point.
The Ducks picked up easily their best win of the season.
Alana Clemente could not be stopped, and had a monster game.
Valentina Vaulet had 16 kills and Sophia Meyers contributed with a double-double of 15 kills and 11 digs. Cora Taylor had 59 assists, and Reese Sheppard finished with a career-best 19 digs.
Oregon volleyball comes back to Eugene for their final homestand of the season. They host USC on Wednesday and Michigan on Saturday.
