Oregon volleyball traveled to sunny California this last weekend, and picked up expected, but needed, wins against unranked USC and UCLA.
USC
The Ducks first swept the USC Trojans on Thursday evening. It may have been a sweep, but USC played very tough in sets 1 and 3, and forced the Ducks into additional points to claim those sets, with Oregon winning 26-24, 25-14, 32-30.
The first set was a neck-and-neck battle against a pair of old, familiar,
Pac-12 foes. With 17 ties and six lead changes, USC looked to take the set but Oregon scored three in a row to get to 24-23. USC tied it, but Oregon took the set with the next two points, capped by an Alanah Clemente kill.
USC could not put it together in set 2, but roared back in the third set. Every time that Oregon tried to take a decisive advantage, the Trojan would hang points and stay with the Ducks. The 14 ties in this set were mostly during the stretch, but Oregon knocked down the final two points to whip out the brooms.
Abigail Mullen led USC with 8 kills. No USC players his double digits in the match.
Sjakkie Donkers may have hit 17 kills, but Alanah Clemente had a double-double with 17 kills and 11 digs. Valentina Vaulet was the other high scoring Duck with 11 kills. Marina Crownover had a double-double of 46 assists and 11 digs.
UCLA
The Ducks defeated the UCLA Bruins for the ninth time in a row, a four-set victory 28-26, 25-17, 19-25, 25-22.
Oregon was cruising in the first set, but UCLA made it a game, tying several times late before taking the score to 25-all. The Ducks racked up the final two points to take the lead, 1-0.
After an early 4-0 run, Oregon dominated the second set and the Bruins were never really in it.
The Bruins got their game together in the third set. They came out hot and did not let up.
The Ducks were behind the entire set. Well, no matter – the Ducks came out firing on all cylinders in the fourth set. Despite ties and lead changes, it felt like Oregon had complete control of the set.
UCLA pulled ahead 22-21, but the Ducks were lifted by Alanah Clemente and her pair of kills to put the Bruins away.
UCLA hit .207 in the match, led by Mija Bendziute with 14 kills.
Oregon held the edge in the service game, with 10 aces to 8 for UCLA. The Ducks also had the blocking advantage, 13 to 11.
Alanah Clemente left her mark all over this game, notching her second double-double in as many games with 17 kills and 10 digs. Sjakkie Donkers contributed 16 kills and just missed a double-double with 9 digs. Marina Crownover picked up a double-double with 46 assists and 11 digs. Alaina Pollard led the team with 9 blocks, and Reese Sheppard’s 13 digs led the way for Oregon’s defense.
Oregon volleyball (22-4, 13-3 Big-10) has just one game left before finding out the seeding for the first-ever Big Ten Women’s Volleyball Tournament. That game is going to be a home stand barn burner against #18 Washington. That’s a match you won’t want to miss, and it will be on Tuesday at 6:00 pm PT and can be seen on B1G+.
