Tightly Contested Match Sees Ducks Fall Short

Sunday, October 12

Eugene, OR

1:00 PM

University of Oregon

11-5,2-4Big Ten

Washington

8-8,3-3Big Ten

Washington

Oregon

Photo by: GoDucks.com

10/12/25 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Oregon battled to the end of all three sets Sunday but dropped a match at Matthew Knight Arena.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — An otherwise evenly played match statistically saw the more efficient hitting team come away with the win Sunday.

The Oregon volleyball team dropped a three-set match to Washington at Matthew Knight Arena, 27-25, 25-22, 29-27. The scores attested to a tightly played contest, as did numbers like Oregon's 44-42 edge in kills, UW's 11-9 advantage in blocks, and the Ducks' 8-7 margin in aces. But the Huskies hit .243 while the UO women hit .155.

"So much about this match was, we're being tested by some good teams that can play a little bit and that can expose you," first-year UO coach Trent Kerstens said. "We're not where we need to be volleyball-wise, and credit Washington for exposing us on our tip defense and a couple other phases of the game that are just not good enough to win against a quality team right now."

The Ducks (11-5, 2-4 Big Ten) showed their competitive grit by fighting off at least one set point in all three sets Sunday. But they were also unable to take advantage of set points of their own in the first and third.

"When we choose to execute, when we choose to do the right things, we can play," Kerstens said. "We just aren't choosing it enough right now. We're not consistent enough."

How It Happened: The Ducks took advantage of Reese Sheppard's serving touch to build a lead in the opening set. She served seven straight points early in the set as Oregon took an 8-2 lead, and then five more in a row later in the set as the UO women went up 20-15. One of UO freshman Alanah Clemente's team-high 12 kills in the match gave the Ducks set point at 24-22, but UW stayed alive. Down 25-24, Oregon stayed alive in the set before UW ultimately prevailed.

Washington hit .370 in the second set, while Oregon's efficiency fell from .244 in the opening set to .111 in the second. Two straight UO errors helped UW take an early 10-6 lead, and it was 18-14 when the Ducks got a kill and then an ace from Valentina Vaulet, followed by a kill from Sophia Meyers to close within one. The Ducks got back within one at 22-21 and fought off a set point down 24-22, but Washington eventually closed it out.

Oregon's block was a big factor in the third, as Iva Sucurovic had a hand in three of Oregon's five total blocks in the set. The Ducks were down 7-5 before rallying into the lead with three straight points, the last on one of Maria Tabacuks' four kills in the set. Oregon eventually led 13-10 before UW closed the gap and a back-and-forth battle developed; the UO women had 25-24 and 27-26 leads but couldn't get the next point in either case and the Huskies took the set and the match.

Up Next: The Ducks host Minnesota on Friday (6 p.m., B1G+).