EUGENE, OR. - The Oregon Ducks looked to continue their strong run of form as they hosted former PAC-12 and in-state rival Oregon State to start the season. Both teams were fresh off sweeps against their I-5 foe, Portland State, and looked to carry momentum from those matches into today. Oregon entered with an 8-1 record, good for 23rd in the country, while OSU was 5-5 and aiming to make some noise in enemy territory.
Unfortunately for the Green and Yellow, they would be without star player Alanah Clemente, who appeared at the game in a walking boot on her right foot. According to coach Trent Kersten, Clemente went down in practice the day before the game. However, that wouldn’t stop the Ducks from completing their second straight sweep of the season, winning each set 25-10, 25-17 and 25-15.
Oregon came out of the gates swinging as they took an early 7-2 lead before Oregon State called a timeout. And while OSU looked to change momentum, they were forced to quickly call a second timeout as Oregon got three straight service aces right out of the break. Firm control and a kill from Sjakkie Donkers allowed the Ducks to take set one by 15 points.
The second set was a tighter contest as OSU came together to take a 13-14 lead on Oregon going into a technical timeout behind strong attacks and communication. But that would be their only lead of the entire game as they then gave up a 4-0 scoring run to the hosts and continued to slide from there. Another set was won by the Ducks via an emphatic kill from Iva Sucurovic.
Getting the sweep took some extra effort as OSU remained feisty and continued to challenge Oregon’s defense, but it just wasn’t enough in the end against a team that seemed to be one step ahead at all times. Oregon would run away with it after the only technical timeout of the set, completing their second sweep in a row.
The box score helps put into perspective how dominant Oregon was throughout the match - winning kills 43-28, a hitting percentage advantage of .370 to .092, and dominating service with 11 Aces compared to OSU’s 0. Oregon also outblocked the Beavers 7-2 while getting points on 54.2% of their attacks compared to an underwhelming 20.9% for the visitors.
“I thought our team was ready to rip the hinges off the doors,” head coach Trent Kersten said. “Obviously not perfect, we’ll keep getting better, but it feels really good to get that one after maybe not our best performance against Portland State earlier this week.”
Kersten put an emphasis on highlighting multiple players who took a step up in this game in place of Clemente’s absence, including senior Valentina Vaulet and Junior Marlee Arrington. Vaulet finished with 10 kills, 2 assists, 3 blocks, and 13 points, while Arrington had one of her finest games as a Duck with 16 attacks, 2 blocks, and 2 assists.
“I think a lot of people have been ready for Marlee to come in and have a performance like she did tonight. She's been working really hard….She put in a lot of work this offseason, and it was really nice to see her come out and have a performance like she did tonight.”
While Oregon State did walk away without winning a set, there were still some positive takeaways for individual players. Taylor Treahy and AC Froehlic led all attack attempts with 34 and 24, respectively; Taray Tela and Isabel Bertelsen also had above .500 hitting percentages, and Jackie Matias recorded 29 assists. Yet, the team finished with 19 errors, which was simply too many to walk away with a win.
Ultimately, behind an all-around fantastic performance from the monster athletes in Eugene, the Matthew Knight Arena crowd gave a massive boost to the team to help them take down their rivals. When asked about the energy in the building, Vaulet said, “It shows how important it is for everyone…It just makes everything more fun to play.”
It's going to get a lot tougher for Oregon, who, now at 9-1 on the season, head into Big Ten conference play with their first games slated for Thursday, September 24th at #6 Wisconsin and Saturday, September 26th at #14 Minnesota.