University of Oregon
Portland
Volleyball Drops Four-Game Match At Portland
09/23/03 | Women's Volleyball
PORTLAND ? The University of Portland Pilots broke a three-match losing skid to the University of Oregon volleyball team, defeating the Ducks 30-24, 30-21, 25-30, 30-26 in front of a record crowd at the Chiles Center in Portland. It is Portland's first win over Oregon since 1999 and improved the Pilots to 10-3 overall. Oregon is 3-8 overall, 0-2 Pacific-10 conference after the non-conference match-up Tuesday evening.
Oregon sophomore Jaclyn Jones had a career-high 19 kills and hit .389 in the match while freshman Sarah Mason added 15 kills and hit .310. Middle blocker Kelly Russell was the Ducks' third player to have 10 or more kills, finishing with 13. Defensively, juniors Lauren Westendorf and Katie O'Neil led the way with 15 and 14 digs, respectively. Freshman Kristen Bitter continued her strong net play, finishing the match with a team-high six blocks. Portland was led by Michelle Oakland and Sara Vercruyssen's 18 kills each while Heather Denison added 16. The Pilots controlled the tempo in game one, taking an 11-5 lead after a service ace by Vercruyssen. Vercruyssen had seven kills and three aces in the first game to lead Portland to the win in the first game. Oregon was able to pull within two points, 12-10, after a Portland attack error, but the Ducks were never able to take the lead, despite six kills by Jones and a .282 team hitting percentage. In the second game, Oregon took the early 5-3 lead after a kill by Russell. The Ducks later led 13-12 after two kills by Jones, but Portland took the lead 14-13 after a service ace by Liz Lord. The game was tied three more times ? the last at 16 ? before the Pilots outscored Oregon 14-5 down the stretch, eventually taking a 2-0 lead in the match with a kill by Lord. The Ducks responded after the 10-minute intermission, taking an 8-2 lead in the third game after a block assist by Lauren Westendorf and Kristen Bitter. Oregon never trailed in the game and led by as many as six points. Portland rallied late to pull within three points, 21-18, but the Ducks extended their lead to 25-18 and later won the game on an attack error by the Pilots. Oregon led early again in the fourth game, taking an 8-4 lead after a kill by freshman Stephanie Alleman. The Ducks led until a kill by Denison tied the game at 10. The team's traded leads until late in the game when Portland took the largest lead, 23-19 after a kill by Denison. The Ducks pulled within 21-23 on a block assist by Mason and Bitter, but Portland narrowly outscored Oregon down the stretch, winning the match on a kill by Vercryyssen. Oregon returns to conference action Friday, traveling to Los Angeles to take on UCLA at 7 p.m.
