Ducks Run Win Streak To Six With Sweep Of Belmont

Saturday, September 10

Eugene, Ore.

3:00 PM

University of Oregon

6-2

Belmont

6-4

Belmont

Oregon

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

09/10/16 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Oregon Has Now Won 18 Of Its Last 19 Sets After Straight Set Victory

By: Nate Krueger

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon volleyball team earned its sixth straight win and has now won 18 of its last 19 sets after sweeping Belmont, 25-19, 25-18, 25-17, in the Nike Invitational at Matthew Knight Arena on Saturday afternoon.

How It Happened: The Ducks (6-2) used a balanced attack to take down the Bruins (6-4) in straight sets, as eight different players finished with three kills or more. A phenomenal third set by freshman Jolie Rasmussen vaulted her to the top of the Oregon kill count with nine, picking up seven on 10 swings in the final set. Sumeet Gill, Taylor Agost and Lindsey Vander Weide each added six kills, with Vander Weide digging 14 balls to give her double-digit digs in five straight matches and seven of eight this season. Brooke Van Sickle, Kacey Nady and Willow Johnson each had five kills, with Johnson leading Oregon with four blocks.
The Ducks finished with a hitting percentage of .311, and have eclipsed the .300 mark in four of their last five matches, raising their team percentage for the season to .299. Oregon held Belmont to .113 hitting, while besting the Bruins in digs, 56-46, behind 17 from Amanda Benson. Maggie Scott had 24 assists to pace the Ducks' 41.

Set 1: Belmont held tough with the Ducks in the opening set, playing to a 6-6 tie after an early 4-0 run by the Ducks. Oregon used two more four-point runs to go up 17-11, and then kept pace with the Bruins over the final 16 points to win, 25-19. Van Sickle led the Ducks with four kills on four swings, while Agost added three kills. Vander Weide dug four balls and Nady and Johnson each had a pair of blocks.

Set 2: The Ducks started strong in the second set, racing out to an early 9-4 lead before Belmont climbed back within two at 18-16. Oregon then caught fire with a 7-2 run to take the set, 25-18. Oregon capitalized on multiple attack errors by the Bruins during the final stretch, and Agost and Jolie Rasmussen finished the set off with a kill each. Agost and Lauren Page led the Ducks with three kills each in the set, while Benson led all players with seven digs. Through two sets, the Ducks hit .258 as a team with eight attack errors while holding Belmont to a .085 clip with 16 attack errors.

Set 3: The final set was a back-and-forth battle for the first half, with the two teams playing to a 12-12 tie. After Belmont took a one-point lead, the Ducks went on a 5-0 run to begin to pull away. The Bruins got two back on consecutive points, but three straight Rasmussen kills sparked a 7-1 Oregon run to put the set and the match away. Willow Johnson helped fuel the final run with two kills and a block, and the match ended on a challenged call by head coach Jim Moore that went in the Ducks' favor. Vander Weide added four kills and seven digs to compliment Rasmussen's strong closing set.

Who Stood Out: The final set by Rasmussen was a very positive sign after the freshman missed last weekend's Oregon Classic with an injury. Gill hit .500 after a quiet night against Illinois on Friday, while Agost continues her recent dominant stretch with a .455 clip. During the Ducks' six-match winning streak, Agost is hitting .511 while averaging a team-high 3.19 kills per set.

Quotes:
Head Coach Jim Moore
On the start…
"It was important that we had a strong start. We just have to come out with more of a sense of urgency and be ready and get after it."

On the message after the first set…
"The message is are we getting better and the answer is no. We just have to get better. It is difficult to play matches like this"

On Jolie Rasmussen…
"She's really good. She had the good first week and then she was out the next weekend. The one chance we had to see her was the alumni game and she was really good in that. But I think she is going a very good player."

On Ronika Stone…
"She has shin splits. I told her last night she wasn't going to play and she said 'Are you kidding me?' She wouldn't believe me and I said you're going to have to believe me tomorrow because I'm not going to play you. It was just to give her a chance to get a rest and to get her off those legs. We'll have a break next week, so it was just to get her completely healthy."

Up Next: The Ducks will look for their second straight undefeated weekend at noon on Sunday when they take on Saint Mary's in the final match of the Nike Invitational at Matthew Knight Arena.