After an uninspired first set, Oregon volleyball fixed what was ailing them and defeated the Missouri Tigers 16-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-19.
In the first set, the Ducks looked like they had just gotten out of bed. There was no defense to speak of, no energy – Oregon was out of position, or bunched up, and looked unnervingly clueless.
The lack of defense set the Ducks up to hit a paltry .185 in that first set.
They also notched all three of their reception errors in that first set and recorded zero blocks.
The rest of the game was a different story. The Ducks surged ahead 13-6 with a 7-0 run that the Tigers could not mount a challenge to. Valentina Vaulet (6 kills) and Alanah Clemente (4 kills) led the charge in the set. The Ducks hit .464 and actually blocked effectively. Whereas they had an anemic 7 digs in the first set, the 18 digs in the second set showed the defensive turnaround and renewed energy that Oregon was showing on the court.
The final two sets were more of the same, to a lesser degree. In the third set, Mizzou held a momentary 2-point lead early on, but when the Ducks put together a 3-0 run to go ahead 13-11, they were on their way to taking the set.
For the second time in as many matches, inspired play off the bench by freshman Laura Eichert really drove Oregon in the late sets. She had 6 kills in the fourth set alone, and it seemed like she was everywhere.
Missouri played well, but they could not match the Ducks once Oregon woke up and decided to actually play volleyball. The Tigers scorched the Ducks in the first set with a .565 H%, but ended the match hitting .276 overall. Lauren Larkin led Mizzou with 14 kills, and the Tigers finished with 10 blocks in the match, with eight of those coming in the first and third sets.
Oregon finished the match hitting .339 as a team, with six service aces (to three for Mizzou) and 11 blocks.
Once again, Valentina Vaulet was the driving force through the entirety of the match, and finished with 16 kills to lead all players.
Alanah Clemente ended her night also with 13 kills, and was second on the team with 5 total blocks.
But it was the outstanding performance of Laura Eichert that really stood out. She picked up 15 kills and led the team in H% (.465), and digs (13). Eichert really is a marvel to watch.
Iva Šucurovic led Oregon with 6 blocks, and while she had “only” six kills, Šucurovic has a knack for putting up points at very opportune times. Marina Crownover had 48 assists, 2 service aces, and 11 digs against her former team.
That does it for Oregon volleyball’s season-opening road trip through Missouri. They come back to Eugene with a 3-0 record and face Long Island University and Washington State this weekend at Matthew Knight Arena.
