The Ducks never go quietly into the night, it’s in their DNA. Wednesday night at Matthew Knight Arena proved just that. After pulling away in set one for a 25-18 point victory, the No. 11 Ducks struggled to put the No. 16 Trojans away in the second set. The score was neck and neck with the largest lead on either side reaching two points — until kills from both Ally Batenhorst and Adonia Faumuina, combined with an attacking error from Oregon middle blocker Colby Neal, put USC ahead 22-19.
They were just three points away from tying the match at one set apiece. Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer called a timeout to gather his team, one that would prove to snap his players into action.
Out of the timeout, USC’s Jadyn Livings committed a service error that brought a little bit of life to Matthew Knight Arena. On the next point, a long rally ended in an attacking error from USC’s Faumuina to cut the score to 22-21 and force a Trojans’ timeout. Duck fans rose to their feet smelling the comeback. Neal responded with a kill to make it a one-point game. On the next point, opposite hitter Noemie Glover picked up a block assist on another USC attacking error. Just like that, the match was tied at 23. The Ducks and Trojans went back and forth for the next four points, each achieving a score of 25.
Another back-and-forth rally saw the Ducks almost surrender the point but yet another attacking error from the Trojans gave the Ducks a 26-25 point lead and the set point. Matthew Knight Arena came to life as the fans tried to will this team to victory. On the following possession, Cristin Cline put up a perfect set for senior middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu, one that Ofoegbu crushed into the floor for the final kill of the set. Matthew Knight exploded as the Ducks won 27-25.
The set two comeback proved to be a crucial moment in the match. Oregon rolled into set three with a 2-0 advantage and coasted to a sweep of the Trojans. After the game, Ulmer spoke on the comeback.
“Really important execution at the end of that second set,” Ulmer said. “I thought we let a few points go that were in our scouting report that we were handling pretty much the whole match, but we just had a few lapses and that got them that lead. So I thought we locked back down to our game plan really well, and then Michelle [Ohwobete] made a couple really nice plays… In those moments you have to go make the plays. You have to be the aggressors and go for it. I thought they did that and then I thought that carried over for the rest of the match, and then we didn't back off again. That was really encouraging to see.”
Oregon libero Mackenzie Morris also shared her thoughts on the end of Set 2.
“I would say we’ve been working on getting through those moments when we’re down, like staying in it and staying more consistent. That's one thing we’ve really been talking about in practice and wanting to get better at,” Morris said. “So I’m super proud of our fight that we had in that second set to push back and close out the game.”
Next up for the Ducks, is a date with the No. 24 ranked Washington Huskies at Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday, Oct. 13. The first serve is set for 1:00 p.m.