It was an emotional Sunday evening in Matthew Knight Arena as the Oregon Ducks fell to the #24 Washington State Cougars. It was an emotional game for the Ducks as this loss mathematically eliminates them from postseason contention and spoiled their tournament hopes. It was a game of runs for both sides as both teams scored points in bunches with seemingly little the opponent could do to stop them. Ultimately it was the stellar serving of Washington State which led them to victory over a Ducks squad that struggled early, but looked to be fighting back in the match. The Ducks dropped the first two sets after a back and fourth first set went the way of Washington State and a dominant second set by the Cougars. However, the third set was all Oregon as they jumped out to an early lead and kept it going as they would bounce back from a poor second set and win 25-16. The match got very dramatic at the end of the fourth set as Washington State went on a huge run late to put the Cougars up big, but the Ducks rallied back in large part due to Ronika Stone who managed to give the ducks key kill after key kill eventually tying the score at 24-24. The Cougars then went on to win the next 2 points steal to steal the eventual final set and the match. Stone was the heart and soul of Oregon in the loss recording 19 Kills, 15 Diggs, and 8 Blocks. Oregon now prepares to bounce back against the Arizona schools next weekend at Matthew Knight Arena.

Game Story – Ryan Milano