Dancing To The Sweet Sixteen!

Friday, November 30

Eugene, OR

7:00 PM

University of Oregon

22-10

Baylor

20-9

Baylor

Oregon

Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto

11/30/18 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score: Oregon 3, Baylor 2

The Oregon volleyball team won an epic five-set match over Baylor on Friday to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2014.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — Just two weeks ago, the Oregon volleyball team walked off the court in Matthew Knight Arena wiping away tears and forcing smiles for the team's traditional post-match autograph session.

That was the Ducks' Senior Day, on Nov. 16, and it was a five-set loss to Colorado. At the time, it seemed to end all hopes that Oregon might host postseason play. Lindsey Vander Weide and her fellows seniors were forced to swallow a bitter pill in their last home appearance.

But fortune smiled on the Ducks, who did end up hosting NCAA Tournament play at MKA. And it provided a memory Vander Weide and her teammates will never forget, when Ronika Stone spiked home the final point in a five-set victory Friday over Baylor that advanced the UO volleyball team to the regional round of NCAA Tournament play for the first time since 2014.

"It's awesome," said Vander Weide, who led the Ducks with 21 kills on a mind-boggling 60 swings. "I'm probably not going to be able to sleep tonight for a while. This is just great, especially with this team — I couldn't have asked to do it with anyone else."

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Fresh off a four-set win over New Mexico State in the opening round — and less than 24 hours after Baylor endured a five-set war with Hawaii — Oregon blazed out of the gates to a dominant win in the opening set Friday. The Bears stabilized themselves in the second set, Oregon won the third, Baylor answered again and the Ducks fought off another rally late in the fifth to secure a 25-18, 13-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-13 victory.

Oregon advances to the regional round next weekend, most likely at No. 2 Minnesota. The Gophers, who were No. 1 when the Ducks beat them back on Sept. 7 at Stanford, need to win their second-round match Saturday to secure hosting rights for regionals.

With their second-round opponent not yet certain, then, the Ducks could only bask in the joy of their victory Friday, after two straight years of seeing their season end in the second round.

"It's the greatest feeling, just for our state, and our university and our seniors, to be able to continue to fight for them," Stone said. "… It just shows where our program is heading. It's only up from here."

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The fifth set was a microcosm of the match, with Oregon jumping out to an early lead, 5-2. The Ducks scored three straight points to go up 8-4, and another three straight for an 11-5 lead. But Baylor didn't let its season end without a fight, clawing back within 14-13 before Stone slammed home the final point to clinch the match.

The game-within-the-game was a stirring battle of all-Americans, with Vander Weide going swing-for-swing with Baylor's Yossiana Pressley. Vander Weide led the match with 23 points, posting four block assists along with her 21 kills, and Pressley had 18 points, with 17 kills and two block assists.

No match comes down to a single point, of course. But one in particular loomed large Friday — when Oregon took that 5-2 lead in the fifth set, on a block of Pressley by Vander Weide, with help from Stone. If Baylor gets that points, it's 4-3, and the Bears have a chance to seize moment. Vander Weide didn't allow that, denying her counterpart from Baylor.

"I just think stuff blocks are the best feeling in the world," Vander Weide said. "I hate getting stuff blocked, so just shutting someone down is a great feeling."

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The Bears had some success against Vander Weide too, limiting her to a .183 hitting average. But she was dominant at times, particularly in Oregon's third-set win, when Vander Weide was in on another block of Pressley that put the Ducks up 11-6, and had three more kills later in the set.

"When our block was relevant, we had a shot to keep it going," Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre said. "When our block was not relevant, she was bouncing some balls pretty good. …

"In these type of games, your all-American players have got to play like all-Americans, or they're not really all-Americans. Five sets, that's the thrill of it. It's a fight. Those girls loved playing volleyball out there."

Friday's post-match press conference featured the rare case of two teams proud of their effort, neither hanging its head after what McGuyre described as an "epic, five-set battle." Neither left anything back out on the court.

"Baylor played well, and we were able to beat them," UO coach Matt Ulmer said. "That's a big deal to us. I just thought we played with a lot of pride. We were going to do everything we could to come out of here with a win."

The Ducks, after all, had experienced the sting of losing in what they thought was their last home match of this season. In a rare chance to right that wrong, they came through in unforgettable fashion Friday.