Oregon volleyball continued in the second half of their conference schedule, splitting matches at home with a 3-1 win against UCLA and a 2-3 loss against Michigan State
UCLA
The Ducks played the Bruins a couple
of weeks ago and had put together a surprise sweep of UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. Oregon put together a 3-1 victory at home on Thursday, 25-9, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22.
The Ducks immediately put the Bruins on their heels in the first set with a 7-1 run to open the set.
Oregon had another 7-0 run in the mid-set, with all parts of their game contributing to a huge 19-7 lead that UCLA had no hope of closing.
Sets 2, 3, and 4 had more balanced play from both teams. In the second set, UCLA pulled ahead with a 5-0 run, and then Oregon answered with a 5-0 run of their own. From there, the sides played neck-and-neck and the Ducks got the final two points for the win.
In the third set, Oregon had an early lead, but errant attacks contributed to a 7-1 UCLA run that had the Ducks playing catch-up all set.
Oregon fell behind in the early part of set four, but tied the set up with a couple of aces from Alanah Clemente.
The Ducks closed the set well to take the match.
Oregon’s serve game was top-shelf in this match, with 12 aces to 8 service errors. Clemente led the Ducks with 5 aces. As you can see from the clip above, she has perhaps the most wicked serve that we’ve ever seen from an Oregon player – it’s like she’s hitting a kill from beyond the baseline.
To go with her aces, Clemente had a double-double, leading the team in kills with 14 and digs with 13. Sophia Meyers was big in this match with a double-double of her own – 13 kills and 10 digs.
An interesting side note is that two days prior to this match, Alanah Clemente had celebrated her eighteenth birthday.
Here is what head coach Trent Kersten and Clemente had to say after the game:
Michigan State
Oregon volleyball hosted the Michigan State Spartans yesterday, losing in five sets, 25-23, 16-25, 21-25, 25-21, 14-16.
Especially in the sets they lost, the Ducks had problems with the MSU blocking and their own shot placement. Despite having their backs to the wall, Oregon battled back to a tiebreaking fifth set. They even served for match point, but MSU gritted out three points for the win.
In set 2-5, the Ducks hit .000, .122, .038, and .000, respectively. Their match H% of .102 will not win many matches, and Oregon was fortunate that they had a chance to win yesterday, but for little errors here and there.
When Oregon was on, they played very well.
But there were too many mistakes that reflected the youth of this team, best highlighted in MSU’s match point:
Oregon hit .102 on the day, while MSU hit .208. Blocking was even; Oregon had 12 blocks to 13 for the Spartans.
MSU kept Oregon off-balance much of the game, spreading the ball around to five different attackers. The Ducks don’t have that kind of depth this year, and that’s what they’ll need in seasons to come as they get better.
Alanah Clemente was the kills leader with 21. Valentina Vaulet had 15 kills. Sophia Meyers had seven kills and 14 digs, and was battling illness during the match. Cora Taylor had 41 assists, and Reese Sheppard was the digs leader with 18.
Here is what coach Kersten had to say after the game:
Oregon hits the road for what will be a difficult road trip this coming weekend, where they will face #18 Indiana and #9 Purdue.
