Sunday, November 8
Eugene, OR
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
20-4,11-3Big Ten
3
vs
1
Northwestern
7-18,0-14Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern | 20 | 24 | 25 | 11 | 1 |
| Oregon | 25 | 26 | 18 | 25 | 3 |
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
11/08/26 | Women's Volleyball
Coming off an emotional match the night before, Oregon needed to dig deep at times to beat Northwestern on Sunday.
EUGENE, Ore. — When next the schedule for Oregon volleyball includes the potential for playing on back-to-back days, the Ducks will be in the postseason. They got a preview Sunday evening.
A day after an emotional match-up with No. 1 Nebraska before the largest home crowd in program history, the UO volleyball team returned to action Sunday and posted a four-set win over Northwestern. The Ducks were cruising most of the match until the third set, and at least bounced back in the fourth to clinch a win by scores of 25-20, 26-24, 18-25, 25-11.
"We obviously can play a much cleaner brand of volleyball than what we showed tonight," UO coach Trent Kersten said. "But at the same time, we came out with a 'W' against a good Northwestern team, and had some moments where some people really toughed some things out. So there were some positives there, and we get back to work this week."
Coming off a historic Saturday night in Matthew Knight Arena, the Ducks (20-4, 11-3 Big Ten) rebounded well and outhit the Wildcats in the first set, .278 to .114. Northwestern threatened to win the second set before Oregon rallied to pull it out, and the visitors did take the third, hitting .286 while the Ducks hit minus-.111.
"I thought we just ran out of gas a little bit, ran out of juice, ran out of some, like, competitive fire," Kersten said. "We've got to have that all the time, because the reality is, the next time we're playing in a back-to-back is the Big Ten Tournament, and after that it'll be the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament. And so we need to be prepping our minds, our bodies, our competitive spirit to be able to do that."
Sunday was the final weekend match at home this regular season, and so the Ducks celebrated their Senior Night. That class led the way, with Valentina Vaulet posting 16 kills while Marina Crownover had 46 assists with 21 digs.
The Ducks also got big production from their middles, with Alaina Pollard, Iva Sucurovic and Dalia Virlan combining for 15 kills with 11 blocks. And they were timely points for the most part, such as a kill by Pollard when Northwestern had set point in the second set.
"As a group, a positional group, we come in every single day willing to work," said the freshman Pollard, who led the group with nine kills. "And we know, in moments like that, our team really needs us to really get out and max out and take really big swings and really find space."
How It Happened: The Ducks broke open the first set when it was 7-7, going on a 7-1 run that included two kills from Virlan and an ace by Vaulet. Oregon's ability to side out was on display throughout, as Northwestern never put together a run of more than two consecutive points.
The second set was a different story, as Northwestern scored three straight to go up 5-4, and later four in a row to take a 12-10 lead. Another three-point run put the visitors up 23-22, and the Wildcats led 24-23 before Pollard's timely kill extended the set and sparked a 3-0 run by Oregon to clinch it.
Vaulet had seven kills with no errors in the second set, putting her at 12 kills already in the match. She finished with 16, her best output in Big Ten play this fall.
"Val's been on an upward trend the past couple weeks and is playing better and better offensively, and so it was nice that she got to do that," Kersten said. "Her folks were here visiting, and I think it meant a lot to her for them to be here and to have that experience on Senior Night."
The scare for the Ducks late in the second set extended into the third, as Northwestern used a 5-1 run to go up 12-10. It was 17-14 when Oregon really hit the wall, as Northwestern scored seven of the next nine to go up 24-16 on the way to winning the set.
A silver lining for the Ducks late in the third set was two kills off the bench by Sucurovic, whose last appearance was Oct. 16. She had two more kills as Oregon dominated the fourth set to win the match.
"Iva just did a great job of coming in for us and was a game changer off the bench," Kersten said. "Came right in, took a big swing right away. We're gonna have more of that — people being needed in some big moments. And she really stepped up for our team."
Up Next: The Ducks play at USC on Thursday (6 p.m., B1G+).
A day after an emotional match-up with No. 1 Nebraska before the largest home crowd in program history, the UO volleyball team returned to action Sunday and posted a four-set win over Northwestern. The Ducks were cruising most of the match until the third set, and at least bounced back in the fourth to clinch a win by scores of 25-20, 26-24, 18-25, 25-11.
"We obviously can play a much cleaner brand of volleyball than what we showed tonight," UO coach Trent Kersten said. "But at the same time, we came out with a 'W' against a good Northwestern team, and had some moments where some people really toughed some things out. So there were some positives there, and we get back to work this week."
Coming off a historic Saturday night in Matthew Knight Arena, the Ducks (20-4, 11-3 Big Ten) rebounded well and outhit the Wildcats in the first set, .278 to .114. Northwestern threatened to win the second set before Oregon rallied to pull it out, and the visitors did take the third, hitting .286 while the Ducks hit minus-.111.
"I thought we just ran out of gas a little bit, ran out of juice, ran out of some, like, competitive fire," Kersten said. "We've got to have that all the time, because the reality is, the next time we're playing in a back-to-back is the Big Ten Tournament, and after that it'll be the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament. And so we need to be prepping our minds, our bodies, our competitive spirit to be able to do that."
Sunday was the final weekend match at home this regular season, and so the Ducks celebrated their Senior Night. That class led the way, with Valentina Vaulet posting 16 kills while Marina Crownover had 46 assists with 21 digs.
The Ducks also got big production from their middles, with Alaina Pollard, Iva Sucurovic and Dalia Virlan combining for 15 kills with 11 blocks. And they were timely points for the most part, such as a kill by Pollard when Northwestern had set point in the second set.
"As a group, a positional group, we come in every single day willing to work," said the freshman Pollard, who led the group with nine kills. "And we know, in moments like that, our team really needs us to really get out and max out and take really big swings and really find space."
How It Happened: The Ducks broke open the first set when it was 7-7, going on a 7-1 run that included two kills from Virlan and an ace by Vaulet. Oregon's ability to side out was on display throughout, as Northwestern never put together a run of more than two consecutive points.
The second set was a different story, as Northwestern scored three straight to go up 5-4, and later four in a row to take a 12-10 lead. Another three-point run put the visitors up 23-22, and the Wildcats led 24-23 before Pollard's timely kill extended the set and sparked a 3-0 run by Oregon to clinch it.
Vaulet had seven kills with no errors in the second set, putting her at 12 kills already in the match. She finished with 16, her best output in Big Ten play this fall.
"Val's been on an upward trend the past couple weeks and is playing better and better offensively, and so it was nice that she got to do that," Kersten said. "Her folks were here visiting, and I think it meant a lot to her for them to be here and to have that experience on Senior Night."
The scare for the Ducks late in the second set extended into the third, as Northwestern used a 5-1 run to go up 12-10. It was 17-14 when Oregon really hit the wall, as Northwestern scored seven of the next nine to go up 24-16 on the way to winning the set.
A silver lining for the Ducks late in the third set was two kills off the bench by Sucurovic, whose last appearance was Oct. 16. She had two more kills as Oregon dominated the fourth set to win the match.
"Iva just did a great job of coming in for us and was a game changer off the bench," Kersten said. "Came right in, took a big swing right away. We're gonna have more of that — people being needed in some big moments. And she really stepped up for our team."
Up Next: The Ducks play at USC on Thursday (6 p.m., B1G+).
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP/OH
/ Women's VolleyballTeam Stats
NU
Oregon
Kills
40
56
Errors
25
23
Attempts
136
131
Hitting %
.110
.252
Points
53.0
74.0
Assists
38
53
Aces
3
5
Blocks
10
13
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Monday, November 09
Sunday, November 08
Monday, November 02
Saturday, October 31
