No. 14 Oregon volleyball dominated No. 17 UCLA in straight sets behind superb defense and a balanced attack on Friday at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks got their revenge against a tough Bruins team that stifled them in four sets earlier this season in Los Angeles.
The Ducks tested a new strategy to start the match, leaving Maggie Scott, Martenne Bettendorf and Naya Crittenden on the bench. It took awhile for them to connect passes cleanly and UCLA capitalized on their errors to take an early advantage. But Oregon battled back behind key blocks from Bettendorf and Serena Warner and ferocious kills to retake the lead. Liz Brenner capped off the first set with an ace to take the first set 25-20.
UCLA quickly negated Oregon’s swagger in the second set with a trio of kills off the palm of Karsta Lowe. Lowe leads UCLA with a whopping 5.96 kills per set, and collectively the Bruins lead the nation with 15.14 kills per set.
Oregon trailed for much of the second set but fought and scratched its way back to an 18-17 advantage, its first lead since scoring the first point of the set. UCLA self-destructed, conceding consecutive aces to Scott and a handful of ball-handling errors. The Ducks came from behind again thanks to seven kills from Bettendorf and backed the Bruins against the wall with a 25-22 set win.
The Ducks made a statement with two blocks from Warner and Taylor Agost to open the third set, although they once again fell behind early. But Kacey Nady helped Oregon’s cause with three kills and an ace and Oregon overcame another deficit of 10-7 to pull ahead 17-14.
UCLA mustered its way to a 21-all tie but Oregon had its heart set on heading home early. The Bruins pinned the Ducks with three set points but Oregon fended off each with a crucial kill and took a 27-26 lead. Then the Bruins responded to four ensuing Oregon match points with almost automatic kills from Lowe to keep UCLA’s night alive. But ultimately it was Shebby who delivered the coup de grâce as Oregon emerged victorious by a final score of 33-31.
The 3-0 win Oregon’s first sweep since the first weekend of conference play against Oregon State and Colorado. Bettendorf and Shebby amassed 12 kills each and both hit above .300 in the match. The Ducks scored 19 points solely off blocks and serves.
Naya Crittenden did not see time on the court this evening—Jim Moore instead chose right-hander Taylor Agost to match up with Lowe. Agost contained Lowe to 11 kills in the first two sets until Lowe exploded for 11 more in the third set.
Nady and Warner continued their excellence this season, leading Oregon with .583 and .571 respective hitting percentages and combining for 12 kills. Warner came into the match ranked fourth in the Pac-12 with a hitting percentage of .379 while Nady was ranked eighth hitting .352.
The win all but guarantees the Ducks a birth in the NCAA tournament in December and helps them in securing home-court advantage.
“This helps a lot,” Moore said. “I think we have a very high percentage right now; one more win should allow us to host.”
Oregon will honor seniors Brenner, Warner, Shellsy Ashen and Natalie Bookout Gonzalez on Sunday at 11 a.m. in Matthew Knight Arena for its senior day match against No. 25 USC.
Follow Kenny Jacoby on Twitter @kennyjacoby