EUGENE, Ore. – Facing its second top-10 opponent on the road in three matches to start Pac-12 play, the Husky volleyball team showed continued improvement, but was unable to score the upset against the sixth-ranked Ducks. The Huskies (9-5, 0-3 Pac-12) took the opening set at Matthew Knight Arena, and were in the mix late trying to extend to a fifth, but the Ducks (13-1, 3-0 Pac-12) held on for a 21-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22 win in front of 2,951 fans.
The Huskies had a well-balanced attack with Audra Wilmes leading with 12 kills, and May Pertofsky and Kierstyn Barton adding 11 apiece. Elise Hani had six kills on nine swings in the middle to hit .556 and Katy Wessels hit .300 with four kills, as both middles had four blocks. Molly Wilson dished 33 assists and Lauren Bays had 13 digs.
Washington struggled to manage Oregon’s serving as the Ducks had a 10-2 advantage in aces. Washington held Oregon below its season average offensively, but the Ducks attack was a bit more efficient than the Huskies, .239 to .200.
Just like their last road match last Sunday at Arizona State, the Dawgs came out and put pressure on the home team with an opening set win. The Huskies took the first three points of the set and Oregon never got into the lead, despite tying the Huskies several times. The last tie came at 19-19, but the Dawgs then won the next two points, and then took four of the final five to put the set away.
In the second set, the Huskies fought back from an early 0-5 hole to tie it up on several occasions, but this time it was the Dawgs that couldn’t inch ahead. After an Elise Hani kill made it 17-18, Oregon had its best run of the match to score the final seven points in a row to even up the match.
In set three the Huskies rallied from 13-19 down to 19-21, but Oregon got the sideouts it needed to take the 2-1 lead.
Set four had the Huskies leading by a slim 13-12 margin on consecutive Audra Wilmes kills, but the Ducks scored five out of six points to put the Huskies in trouble. But the Dawgs scored three-straight late to cut it to 22-23 and force the Oregon timeout. Out of the break, Oregon got a kill to reach match point, then the Huskies overpassed the next serve and it was hit down for a kill to end it, 25-22.
UP NEXT: Washington will look to break into the Pac-12 win column for the first time on Sunday in Corvallis, taking on Oregon State in a 12 noon match on Pac-12 Networks Oregon.
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