University of Washington
Oregon
Dawgs Grind Out Comeback Road Win Over Ducks
November 21, 2015 | Volleyball
EUGENE, Ore. – With just three matches between them and the NCAA tournament, the second-ranked Husky volleyball team received a major challenge from an Oregon Ducks squad fighting for a tourney bid of its own. Trailing in every set at Matthew Knight Arena, the Huskies dug deep and rallied back for a four set win, 19-25, 25-21, 29-27, 25-21, in a match that had all the drama of a NCAA tournament struggle.
“I don't hope for a match like that necessarily on our end, in terms of our execution, but we were looking for some adversity in these last two weeks of the season and we got it from Oregon,” said Head Coach Keegan Cook. “They played outstanding on both sides of the ball and made us work and made us grind, and give a lot of credit to them, as well as a lot of credit to our girls for sticking through that match.”
Washington (26-2, 16-2 Pac-12) earned its ninth consecutive win, and sixth in a row over the Ducks (14-13, 8-10 Pac-12), as well as a third-straight win in Eugene. Oregon had won its past two matches, including a five-set upset at UCLA last week, and was looking to make a late season statement in favor of postseason inclusion. The Huskies instead kept one match behind No. 1-ranked USC with two matches to go in the Pac-12 title race.
Watch 3 minutes of the best plays from U-Dub's win
The Dawgs were outhit for just the second time all year, .236 to .211, but UW held a big advantage in blocks, 15.0 to 8.0, and served up seven aces to just two for Oregon. The Huskies had a season-high 76 digs, while Oregon dug 78.
It was not only a comeback from one set down, but in sets two, three, and four, all of which the Huskies ultimately won, Washington fell behind by five, five, and four points, respectively.
“Oregon's first two servers were really good,” said Cook. “Maggie Scott got us into trouble right away. I don't think there was more to it than they were just playing well. Maybe we weren't ready, but we hung in there through all of them. We're going to have to win a match ugly in the tournament, and it's good to know you can count on each other when things aren't going well and find a way to win.”
Senior All-American Lianna Sybeldon had a new career-high with 12 blocks, one match after she reached the 500 career blocks plateau. She also had nine kills, the majority over the final two sets, hitting .333. Cook was pleased with Sybeldon's “ability to affect the ball early in the match, she was at her best defensively when things weren't working offensively, then the offense came.
Lianna finishes off the great match!! Give her two swings a rally, and the odds are in her favor! https://t.co/FpDSRxSKOn
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) November 21, 2015
Senior setter Katy Beals also had a new career-high of her own, as she posted 17 digs to go with 23 assists. “They came after Katy, and she responded by being her steady self all match,” said Cook.
Sophomores Tia Scambray and Courtney Schwan each had 12 kills, with Scambray adding 14 digs for a double-double and Schwan just missing one, as she had nine digs. Scambray also had 2 aces and two blocks, while Schwan had four blocks and an ace. Sophomore Crissy Jones earned 10 kills and seven block assists, and sophomore Bailey Tanner recorded 23 assists, five kills, nine digs, an ace and a block. Freshman Destiny Julye had four kills in big moments, hitting .500, and Melanie Wade added five kills, three blocks and an ace. Senior Cassie Strickland had more than 20 digs for the third time in the past five matches, as she had 22 tonight to go with six assists.
Tanner landed a kill to get the Huskies going in the first set, but an early four-point rally by the Ducks put UW in a 3-6 hole. Schwan and Sybeldon got UW's first block of the day, but three more Oregon points forced the Huskies to take the early timeout, down 4-9. The Huskies made three more attacking errors, two forced by the Oregon block, to trail 6-14. Washington made its first response with a 3-0 run to cut the deficit to five at 10-15, as Tanner put away a Strickland bump set, then Wade and Schwan had kills set up by Beals, on the serve of Scambray. But two points back Oregon's way made it 10-17 and prompted UW's last timeout. Wade had a kill out of the timeout, and Sybeldon had her first two points later, but UW could not score on its own serve. Jones got a kill to spark another three-point Husky push, with Sybeldon getting a block at one pin with Jones and then on the other side with Scambray to pull within five points again at 15-20, but the Huskies could not get closer. Down set points at 17-24, Tanner saved one and then Scambray served up an ace for another, but Oregon got the side out to win the set, 25-19. The Huskies hit a very uncharacteristic .070 in the set, making seven errors, while Oregon posted a .308 mark.
The second set didn't start off much better for the Dawgs, as Oregon won the first five points, before a block by Jones and Sybeldon got the Huskies on the board. Scambray had a kill, then Wade and Tanner had a rejection and Wade added another kill to cut the gap to 6-8, and then a finish from Schwan shrunk the lead down to one at 9-10, but Oregon answered right back with four unanswered points for 9-14 and the Huskies called time. Schwan finished a Tanner set out of the break, and then Sybeldon and Jones added another with a stuff block. A Scambray finish and another block from Sybeldon and Scambray forced Oregon into a timeout as UW was on a 4-0 run of its own. The Huskies got back level with yet another stuff by Sybeldon and Jones at 14-14. The Ducks stopped that run, but the determined Dawgs ran off four more points to take their first lead, forcing a Ducks timeout at 18-15, on a 9-1 overall run. Oregon would push back to within a point on three occasions, but the Huskies got big sideouts, two on swings from Julye. Kim Condie subbed in late and served up an ace on her first attempt to make it 23-20. Sybeldon tipped one down to get UW to set point at 24-21, and she and Schwan then finished a long rally with a block after a diving Scambray dig kept the point going, and UW had evened things at a set apiece with the 25-21 win. The Dawgs racked up seven blocks in the second set alone, with Sybeldon getting five of the block assists. UW hit .306 and held UO to .150.
After tying it up at 5-5 in the third, the Huskies gave up a 5-0 run to the Ducks to fall behind 5-10 and need a timeout. Julye got the Huskies out of that valley with a kill from Beals, and the Huskies crept one closer at 8-11 after a Sybeldon and Schwan assisted stuff. Schwan put one down for 10-12, but Oregon fought back with a 4-1 run of its own to get a five-point cushion back at 11-16. Kills from Sybeldon and Scambray kept UW in contact, within three points at 14-17. Beals set up Schwan for a kill to get within two again at 16-18, but UW missed its next serve. Down 17-20, a tough Wade serve led to an Oregon error, and on the next point, Schwan rose up to send back the Oregon swing and cut it to 19-20 Ducks, and UO took timeout. Another Husky rejection knotted things up for the first time since 5-5, at 21-21. The Ducks then made an error, going under the net on a set attempt, as the Huskies moved on top by one, 22-21, and the Ducks used their last timeout. Oregon tied it up, but on the next point, Tanner bumped one out of system and Jones pummeled off the block and down for 23-22. Sybeldon then stuffed a quick attempt by the Ducks to get the Dawgs to set point at 24-22. UW had a dig on the next point but had to send over a free ball and the Ducks converted to save the first. Washington had a poor pass and had to send a long bump set to Scambray, and she was blocked to tie things up at 24. Again the Huskies couldn't finish, and Oregon killed one in transition to get its first set point, but UO served long. The Ducks came back with a sideout, but again missed serve to give UW another chance. The Huskies then went up one on a miss to earn a third set point, but Oregon saved that one with a kill in serve-receive to make it 27-27, but UO missed a third serve to give UW a fourth set point chance. Scambray stepped up to serve, got the rally going, and the Ducks knocked it long out of the middle to end it, 29-27. Five team blocks helped make the difference for UW, as the Huskies hit just .175 but also held Oregon to .186.
The early set issues bit the Huskies again in the fourth, as the Ducks won five of the first six points, with Jones getting a couple early kills to stem the tide. A 3-0 Husky burst got them back within a point at 5-6, as Scambray and Schwan finished sets from Beals, and Oregon misfired. An ace from Wade drew UW within one again at 7-8. The Huskies tied it up at 8-8 as Tanner hit hard to end a long rally. The teams traded sideouts with Sybeldon landing a tip and Jones going high hands for 10-10. Scambray lasered one sharply off the defense to put UW up for the first time at 11-10, but the Ducks scored a couple to retake the lead. Some phenomenal defense by both sides produced some intense rallies and countless digs that Scambray eventually finished to get UW back up one, and then Beals served an ace off the tape to make it 15-13 at the media timeout. The Ducks scored twice out of the break to tie it back up, but Julye finished through the block on the left pin for 16-15, and then Scambray placed another perfect ace, and a Tanner dig let Beals set Schwan for a roll to make it 18-15 and force Oregon to take time. Oregon missed its next swing for 19-15 Dawgs before Scambray served long to end the 4-0 run. The Ducks missed a couple more serves as UW went up, 21-18, and Tanner followed that with a serve up the line that Oregon let fall for an ace, as Oregon called for time at 22-18. Washington expanded after Tanner found Sybeldon for a huge slam in transition for 23-18. The Huskies reached match point at 24-19 after an Oregon dig sailed over and Sybeldon jumped up to put it down. The Ducks saved the first with a quick strike out of the middle, and Oregon saved a second with a big dig against Sybeldon and an offspeed kill. The Huskies took timeout at 24-21, and out of the break, Tanner went to Sybeldon again, who was dug but right back over to UW's side, and another set to Sybeldon was finished off with authority, giving the Dawgs the 25-21 win and the match. The Huskies hit .298 in the set while Oregon hit .302, but the difference was the four aces for the Dawgs to none for the Ducks. Scambray put away six kills herself in the final set.
Washington has one more road stop ahead, visiting Utah next Wednesday, the 25th, for the first and only meeting this year against the Utes. The Huskies then close the regular season at home against Washington State on Nov. 28, honoring six seniors for Senior Night.
