Wednesday, November 19
Eugene, OR
7:30 PM
University of Oregon
15-12,6-11Big Ten
1
vs
3
USC
21-6,12-5Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Southern California
31
28
28
25
3
Oregon
33
26
26
19
1
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Home Finale Next After Tough Battle With USC
11/19/25 | Women's Volleyball
Oregon won the first set Wednesday and took No. 16 USC to extra points in the second and third before falling.
EUGENE, Ore. — Six weeks after being swept at USC, the Oregon volleyball team won the first set of the rematch Wednesday and pushed the No. 16 Women of Troy to extra points in the second and third before dropping a four-set match at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks (15-12, 6-11 Big Ten) have been garnering attention as a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament since winning at No. 9 Purdue last Saturday, and Wednesday brought another chance to burnish their credentials. They came up short, 31-33, 28-26, 28-26, 25-19, but only after a fierce battle by a team that features just one returning player from the 2024 roster.
"I've shared this with the team a bunch, of, we're not trying to chase a bunch of wins right now," first-year UO coach Trent Kersten said. "We're trying to chase peace of mind, and knowing that we went for it. And I thought for three sets, we did a pretty dang good job."
Freshman Alanah Clemente continued her torrid play of late, finishing with 24 kills to reach at least 20 for the third time in the last four matches. Valentina Vaulet and Sophia Meyers added 12 kills each, Iva Sucurovic had six kills with five blocks and Cora Taylor had 52 assists, her second straight match with 50 or more.
The UO women have three more chances to enhance their résumé for a postseason bid, against Michigan at home Saturday and then next week at Rutgers and Maryland. But Kersten doesn't want his program focused on the big picture, and life on the postseason bubble.
"I've been on it before as a coach, and haven't loved, like, the stress it caused," Kersten said. "Because as a coach, when you're stressed about being on the bubble, your team feels it. And it makes for a miserable two weeks when you're putting that on your team. And so everything messaging-wise is, it doesn't matter. Let it rip. Let's go. Let's fight for peace of mind right now."
The Ducks had added perspective Wednesday, when the staff wore T-shirts on the bench that players warmed up in, displaying the hashtag "#ENDALZ." The drive to raise awareness for the fight against Alzheimer's disease is personal to the program — assistant coach and former UO player Lauren Page's father battled the disease.
"That was a night to play for something a lot bigger than ourselves," Kersten said. "Lo's father had Alzheimer's, and it was really motivating for us to play for him and anyone else impacted by this."
How It Happened: The Ducks got off to a scorching start, hitting .333 to win the opening set. USC led early and was up 14-11 in the middle of the set, before Oregon scored four of the next five to tie it up. Late in the set the Ducks scored five of six points to pull ahead, 23-22, but the teams went back and forth from there, neither able to clinch it. Oregon eventually had five chances to clinch the set and couldn't, then fought off three set points for USC before a kill by Clemente — her 11th in the set — and two by Vaulet finished it off.
Oregon outhit USC in the second, .219 to .086, but the Women of Troy turned the tables and pulled out another set that needed extra points. The set was tied, 17-17, when the UO women scored four straight, a run that included a kill by Clemente and a block by Clemente with Holley McFadden. That put Oregon up 21-17, but USC fought back to lead 23-22. Two UO points had the Ducks serving for the set, but the Women of Troy fought that off and clinched it on their third set point.
The Ducks again had a slight hitting edge in the third, .189 to .171. They led 8-3 early, and later 14-10 after consecutive kills by Vaulet, Clemente and McFadden. USC rallied ahead, 17-16, the Ducks later scored three in a row to go up 23-21, and the Women of Troy fought back to lead 24-23. A kill and then an ace by Vaulet again had Oregon serving for a set, but USC again weathered a storm and pulled it out.
The UO women hit just .132 in the fourth, while USC hit .286. The Ducks fell behind from the outset, 6-1, and never got closer than three the rest of the set.
"In the fourth, I'm not sure we walk away thinking, yeah, we went for it and left it all out there in the fourth," Kersten said. "And so I'm pretty bummed about the fourth set. That being said, did we make progress from the first time we played these guys? Absolutely. We're a better team than we were a month ago."
Up Next: The Ducks host Michigan on Saturday (6 p.m., B1G+).
The Ducks (15-12, 6-11 Big Ten) have been garnering attention as a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament since winning at No. 9 Purdue last Saturday, and Wednesday brought another chance to burnish their credentials. They came up short, 31-33, 28-26, 28-26, 25-19, but only after a fierce battle by a team that features just one returning player from the 2024 roster.
"I've shared this with the team a bunch, of, we're not trying to chase a bunch of wins right now," first-year UO coach Trent Kersten said. "We're trying to chase peace of mind, and knowing that we went for it. And I thought for three sets, we did a pretty dang good job."
Freshman Alanah Clemente continued her torrid play of late, finishing with 24 kills to reach at least 20 for the third time in the last four matches. Valentina Vaulet and Sophia Meyers added 12 kills each, Iva Sucurovic had six kills with five blocks and Cora Taylor had 52 assists, her second straight match with 50 or more.
The UO women have three more chances to enhance their résumé for a postseason bid, against Michigan at home Saturday and then next week at Rutgers and Maryland. But Kersten doesn't want his program focused on the big picture, and life on the postseason bubble.
"I've been on it before as a coach, and haven't loved, like, the stress it caused," Kersten said. "Because as a coach, when you're stressed about being on the bubble, your team feels it. And it makes for a miserable two weeks when you're putting that on your team. And so everything messaging-wise is, it doesn't matter. Let it rip. Let's go. Let's fight for peace of mind right now."
The Ducks had added perspective Wednesday, when the staff wore T-shirts on the bench that players warmed up in, displaying the hashtag "#ENDALZ." The drive to raise awareness for the fight against Alzheimer's disease is personal to the program — assistant coach and former UO player Lauren Page's father battled the disease.
"That was a night to play for something a lot bigger than ourselves," Kersten said. "Lo's father had Alzheimer's, and it was really motivating for us to play for him and anyone else impacted by this."
How It Happened: The Ducks got off to a scorching start, hitting .333 to win the opening set. USC led early and was up 14-11 in the middle of the set, before Oregon scored four of the next five to tie it up. Late in the set the Ducks scored five of six points to pull ahead, 23-22, but the teams went back and forth from there, neither able to clinch it. Oregon eventually had five chances to clinch the set and couldn't, then fought off three set points for USC before a kill by Clemente — her 11th in the set — and two by Vaulet finished it off.
Oregon outhit USC in the second, .219 to .086, but the Women of Troy turned the tables and pulled out another set that needed extra points. The set was tied, 17-17, when the UO women scored four straight, a run that included a kill by Clemente and a block by Clemente with Holley McFadden. That put Oregon up 21-17, but USC fought back to lead 23-22. Two UO points had the Ducks serving for the set, but the Women of Troy fought that off and clinched it on their third set point.
The Ducks again had a slight hitting edge in the third, .189 to .171. They led 8-3 early, and later 14-10 after consecutive kills by Vaulet, Clemente and McFadden. USC rallied ahead, 17-16, the Ducks later scored three in a row to go up 23-21, and the Women of Troy fought back to lead 24-23. A kill and then an ace by Vaulet again had Oregon serving for a set, but USC again weathered a storm and pulled it out.
The UO women hit just .132 in the fourth, while USC hit .286. The Ducks fell behind from the outset, 6-1, and never got closer than three the rest of the set.
"In the fourth, I'm not sure we walk away thinking, yeah, we went for it and left it all out there in the fourth," Kersten said. "And so I'm pretty bummed about the fourth set. That being said, did we make progress from the first time we played these guys? Absolutely. We're a better team than we were a month ago."
Up Next: The Ducks host Michigan on Saturday (6 p.m., B1G+).
Team Stats
USC
Oregon
Kills
58
60
Errors
25
25
Attempts
140
155
Hitting %
.236
.226
Points
77.5
75.0
Assists
55
58
Aces
8
6
Blocks
11.5
9
Game Leaders
Kills
24
Aces
2
Blocks
5
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOPP/OH
/ Women's VolleyballTrent Kersten | Postgame vs. USC
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Trent Kersten | Postgame vs. Michigan State
Monday, November 10
Trent Kersten & Alanah Clemente | Postgame vs. UCLA
Friday, November 07
Trent Kersten & Sophia Meyers | Postgame vs. Wisconsin
Monday, October 27
