Friday, October 27
Pullman, WA
7:00 PM
University of Oregon
18-4,8-3Pac-12
3
at
1
Washington State
18-4,8-3Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Oregon
19
25
25
25
3
Washington St.
25
14
19
23
1
Photo by: Aimee Sinacola/GoDucks.com
Ducks Rally in the Fourth, Beat WSU in Top-10 Rematch
10/27/23 | Women's Volleyball
Oregon improves to 18-4 overall with an 8-3 mark in Pac-12 play.
PULLMAN, Wash. — After trailing by as many as six points late in the fourth set, the Oregon volleyball team ended Friday's match at No. 6 Washington State on a 5-0 run to secure the four-set victory. With the result, the Ducks improve to 18-4 overall with an 8-3 mark in Pac-12 play.
Gabby Gonzales led all players with 13 kills followed by Mimi Colyer and Kara McGhee with 11 each in the win. Hannah Pukis notched her 16th double-double of the year with 43 assists and 13 digs. Oregon was also aided by nine service blocks 13.0 total team blocks.
Individually, senior Karson Bacon recorded a career-high 10 blocks while libero Georgia Murphy led all players with 18 digs and tied for the match high with three service aces.
How It Happened: After dropping the opening set, the Ducks sprinted out to a 9-0 lead in the second. Freshman Kate Thibault served the final eight points of the surge that featured two kills and blocks by Bacon. The team's lead never dropped under double digits after an ace by Colyer extended the lead to 11-1. Oregon had set points at 24-12 after a McGhee kill and on its third chance, tied the match at 1-1 with the help of a WSU service error.
Washington State (18-4, 8-3) answered with a 5-2 start to the third but the Ducks replied with a run of their own, taking eight of the next nine points for a 10-6 lead. The back and forth continued thanks to a 7-1 run by the Cougars to go back ahead, 16-14, but Oregon responded immediately with four in a row to take an 18-16 lead and force the home team to take a timeout.
The Cougars won the first point out of the huddle to pull to within one but would get no closer. Oregon ended the set—and took the 2-1 match lead—on a 7-2 run. Bacon put down a kill to give the Ducks set point at 24-19 and the following rally ended with a WSU error to clinch the third.
With the score tied at 8-all in the fourth set, the hosts reeled off six of seven points for a 14-9 lead. In efforts to force a decisive fifth, Washington State twice led by six points—16-10 and 19-13—before UO rallied. An ace by Murphy brought the Ducks to within two with the Cougars leading 22-20.
Twice at that score, however, Oregon thought it had pulled to within one—a would-be 22-21 deficit—but back-to-back successful challenges by WSU reversed the original calls on the floor, the latter a kill from Pia Timmer for a 23-20 lead. It was the Cougars' final point of the night.
Morgan Lewis, who had nine kills and three blocks in the win, had a kill to give the serve back to Oregon and Thibault. Bacon and Pukis teamed up for a block to get to within one and after a WSU error, things were tied at 23-all. Out of a Washington State timeout, Thibault dialed up her first ace of the night and the ensuing serve resulted in a free ball back to the Ducks which led to the match-winning kill by Colyer.
Notable: Thirteen of the past 14 matches between Oregon and Washington State have gone at least four sets…Bacon's previous career high of nine blocks came back in 2019, also against WSU…for a third time in four years, the teams split their two regular-season matches…the Ducks held Washington State to a season-low .128 hitting percentage; UO hit .273 in the match…Oregon is 4-4 against ranked teams this season, now including two top-10 road wins.
Up Next: The Ducks are off to Seattle for a Sunday matchup with Washington. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. on ESPN. Between sets two and three of the UO-UW match, the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee will reveal its latest top-10 ranking. Oregon was seventh in the first reveal of the season (Sept. 23).
For more news and information about Oregon Volleyball, follow @OregonVB on Instagram and Twitter, and @OregonVolleyball on Facebook.
Gabby Gonzales led all players with 13 kills followed by Mimi Colyer and Kara McGhee with 11 each in the win. Hannah Pukis notched her 16th double-double of the year with 43 assists and 13 digs. Oregon was also aided by nine service blocks 13.0 total team blocks.
Individually, senior Karson Bacon recorded a career-high 10 blocks while libero Georgia Murphy led all players with 18 digs and tied for the match high with three service aces.
How It Happened: After dropping the opening set, the Ducks sprinted out to a 9-0 lead in the second. Freshman Kate Thibault served the final eight points of the surge that featured two kills and blocks by Bacon. The team's lead never dropped under double digits after an ace by Colyer extended the lead to 11-1. Oregon had set points at 24-12 after a McGhee kill and on its third chance, tied the match at 1-1 with the help of a WSU service error.
Washington State (18-4, 8-3) answered with a 5-2 start to the third but the Ducks replied with a run of their own, taking eight of the next nine points for a 10-6 lead. The back and forth continued thanks to a 7-1 run by the Cougars to go back ahead, 16-14, but Oregon responded immediately with four in a row to take an 18-16 lead and force the home team to take a timeout.
The Cougars won the first point out of the huddle to pull to within one but would get no closer. Oregon ended the set—and took the 2-1 match lead—on a 7-2 run. Bacon put down a kill to give the Ducks set point at 24-19 and the following rally ended with a WSU error to clinch the third.
With the score tied at 8-all in the fourth set, the hosts reeled off six of seven points for a 14-9 lead. In efforts to force a decisive fifth, Washington State twice led by six points—16-10 and 19-13—before UO rallied. An ace by Murphy brought the Ducks to within two with the Cougars leading 22-20.
Twice at that score, however, Oregon thought it had pulled to within one—a would-be 22-21 deficit—but back-to-back successful challenges by WSU reversed the original calls on the floor, the latter a kill from Pia Timmer for a 23-20 lead. It was the Cougars' final point of the night.
Morgan Lewis, who had nine kills and three blocks in the win, had a kill to give the serve back to Oregon and Thibault. Bacon and Pukis teamed up for a block to get to within one and after a WSU error, things were tied at 23-all. Out of a Washington State timeout, Thibault dialed up her first ace of the night and the ensuing serve resulted in a free ball back to the Ducks which led to the match-winning kill by Colyer.
Notable: Thirteen of the past 14 matches between Oregon and Washington State have gone at least four sets…Bacon's previous career high of nine blocks came back in 2019, also against WSU…for a third time in four years, the teams split their two regular-season matches…the Ducks held Washington State to a season-low .128 hitting percentage; UO hit .273 in the match…Oregon is 4-4 against ranked teams this season, now including two top-10 road wins.
Up Next: The Ducks are off to Seattle for a Sunday matchup with Washington. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. on ESPN. Between sets two and three of the UO-UW match, the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee will reveal its latest top-10 ranking. Oregon was seventh in the first reveal of the season (Sept. 23).
For more news and information about Oregon Volleyball, follow @OregonVB on Instagram and Twitter, and @OregonVolleyball on Facebook.
Team Stats
Oregon
WSU
Kills
54
40
Errors
18
24
Attempts
132
125
Hitting %
.273
.128
Points
76.0
57.0
Assists
49
39
Aces
9
7
Blocks
13
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
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