University of Oregon
16-7, 9-6Pac-12
Arizona State
10-17, 0-15Pac-12
Ducks Sweep Sun Devils in Tempe
11/09/17 | Women's Volleyball
The No. 16 Ducks swept Arizona State for the second time this season on Thursday night, 25-17, 25-23, 25-22
TEMPE, Ariz. - The 16th-ranked Oregon volleyball team swept Arizona State for the second time this season on Thursday night, 25-17, 25-23, 25-22, in front of 3,800 fans in Wells Fargo Arena.
How it Happened: Arizona State (10-17, 0-15 Pac-12) took a 10-7 lead to open the match, but the Ducks (16-7, 9-6 Pac-12) used a 9-3 run to take the lead, 16-13, and then ripped off six straight points before finishing the set on a 9-2 run to win, 25-17. Jolie Rasmussen paced the Ducks with five kills in the frame, while Ronika Stone put down three and had two aces late to help UO pull away.
The Sun Devils started well again in the second, jumping out to an 11-6 lead, but the Ducks played their way back to a 16-16 tie, with head coach Matt Ulmer saving a couple points with a pair of successful challenges. Oregon called a timeout after ASU took a 22-20 lead with three straight points, and the Ducks responded by finishing the set on a 5-1 run to win, 25-23, and take a 2-0 lead into intermission.
Oregon got out to a 4-1 lead in the third set and led the entire way en route to a 25-22 win to complete the sweep. The Ducks used three 3-0 runs to gain separation before holding off a late ASU rally, and Taylor Agost caught fire with six kills to lead UO to a .410 hitting percentage in the set.
Who Stood Out: The Ducks finished the night hitting an even .300 as a team, and they really spread the attack around as five players finished with seven kills or more. Agost, Rasmussen and Lindsey Vander Weide each had nine kills to share the team lead, Arizona native Willow Johnson put down eight on .533 hitting and Stone finished with seven. Rasmussen (9) and Vander Weide (8) paced the Ducks in digs, and Stone finished with a team-best three aces and three blocks. Oregon tallied six blocks while holding the Sun Devils to .179 hitting.
What it Means: The Ducks bounced back from a deflating loss at No. 2 Stanford last weekend by doing what they were supposed to do against the Sun Devils, who are in rebuilding mode this season. With five conference matches remaining in the regular season, including three at home, Oregon is hoping to carry the momentum from Thursday's win into a strong final push entering the postseason. Oregon came into the week at No. 9 in the NCAA RPI rankings and is hoping to earn a host bid in the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Quotable: Matt Ulmer, Head Coach
On the match…
"I thought we passed the ball really well. I was proud of Lindsey (Vander Weide), she played a good offensive game and allowed other people to get involved. I thought we responded well after Stanford where we didn't pass very well. It's always nice to get a Pac-12 win on the road."
On if this was a good first step towards a strong finish to the regular season…
"I felt like we were able to learn tonight, which is something we've struggled with this season. We were in a good mindset, we communicated well and it was a good team effort. Now we need to carry that over to Tucson on Sunday."
Notable: Agost finished hitting .333, while Vander Weide ended at a .320 clip ... The Ducks have now won six straight against ASU, and 10 straight in Tempe … Oregon is now 16-2 when leading in hitting percentage, 12-2 when leading in kills (45-34), 13-3 when leading in blocks (6-3) and 14-0 when its opponent hits worse than .200 … The Ducks picked up their 10th sweep of the season … Oregon improves to 4-4 on the road this season.
Up Next: The Ducks will wrap up their last true road trip of the season on Sunday at Arizona (11 a.m. PT, Pac-12 Live Stream).
