EUGENE, OR - It’s the beginning of a four-game homestand for Oregon Volleyball as the regular season starts to wind down. With only seven games left, it's crucial for the Ducks to gain as much momentum as they can heading into the Big 10 tournament and postseason play. Oregon comes off a quick two-game road trip where they split games between Penn State and Ohio State. They are 8-2 in their last ten and don’t plan on starting a losing streak tonight. It's the 17-3 Oregon Ducks hosting the 12-9 Maryland on Halloween eve in Matthew Knight Arena.
While it was a particularly ugly game on both sides of the net tonight, Oregon started the weekend with their sixth three-set and first Big Ten sweep by conquering the Terrapins, winning the sets 25-18, 25-21, and 25-18 once again. In front of over 2,700 strong inside Matthew Knight Arena, the Ducks found a way to fight through adversity and come out on top.
Set one was nothing memorable as both teams came out flat with too many errors overshadowing periodic spurts of greatness. Oregon ended the set with 3 aces, but 5 attack and service errors each. The Ducks also shot just .308%, a number below their standard. Maryland was no better with only 7 kills and 5 errors.
This energy would carry into set two as neither team was able to find a rhythm. The score was tied 9 times and had 4 different lead changes in this set alone. Oregon’s attacking struggles would also continue as they only hit for 0.25%. Even when one team strung together a few good plays, another error or sloppy mistake would shoot down momentum.
As it entered the third set, it was clear that anyone on either team was going to need to step up and put more weight on their shoulders. And for Oregon, it was no secret who that was going to be. Star players Alanah Clemente, Sjakkie Donkers and Valentina Vaulet took the game by the scruff of the neck and willed their team to victory behind ferocious attacking play and strong blocking. Clemente went for 14 kills on 23 total attacks, while Donkers and Vaulet each had 10 kills on 26 and 25 total attacks, respectively. As each player did their thing, the score got further apart, with the game ending on a successful challenge by Oregon to seal the sweep.
Coach Trent Kersten did not mince words postgame when asked about his thoughts on the sweep.
“That we’re done twenty minutes earlier. Like I don’t care how we get them. It’s about winning matches. Our conference is so tough. If you get too picky with it, you can get to a pretty dark place.” He also emphasized that in the Big Ten, there is “...no one you can take lightly.”
Kersten was also straightforward about the 19 errors that the Ducks committed tonight.
“We have a bunch of really great volleyball players that we have high expectations for and how they play the game, how they execute; luckily, Alanah had a very efficient night tonight.”
Looking ahead, Oregon will play host to Iowa, Nebraska, and Northwestern before taking their talents down to Los Angeles to face both USC and UCLA in their final road trip of the regular season. They will then face the Washington Huskies at home on November 17th before playing in the Big Ten tournament in Fishers, Indiana, between Nov. 20th and 25th.
The main message from the coaching staff on what they want to see in this final stretch is clear: have good training sessions, try not to get ahead of themselves, come ready to compete, and build towards December so they can be playing their best.
The Ducks currently stand at 18-3 on the season and 9-2 in conference play, good for No. 2 in the Big Ten Standings.