In a devastating turn of events reminiscent of its match against Nebraska, Oregon volleyball lost its home opener against Colorado on Friday, 3-2 after winning the opening two sets 25-20, 25-22, 25-27, 25-23 and 15-12.
For head coach Jim Moore, the loss came down to a lack of height and power behind the balls and low self-esteem from his team in the final sets.
“It’s real disappointing,” Moore said. “We’re just really struggling with confidence.”
From the way the Ducks played in the two opening sets and their 71 total kills, one would never have guessed nerves were an issue. But in the final two sets, the Ducks struggled to hit through Colorado’s front line. The Buffalo put up 18 team blocks through the night while Oregon only managed seven.
The loss dropped the Ducks’ record to 7-5 overall and has left them scrambling to find a fix for tomorrow’s match against Utah.
“We just get really, really anxious and we’ve got to learn to control our emotions,” Moore said.
Despite the ultimate outcome, the Ducks came out strong. Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Lindsey Vander Weide put up seven kills in the first set alone. Looking back on the set, sophomore setter Maggie Scott described the team as nervous, but it managed to pull off the win thanks to a strong offense in the set.
“We did a really good job of calming down in the first set, getting ready,” Scott said.
The Ducks claimed the second set after they pushed past a six point deficit near the middle of the set, and scored three points unanswered while both teams were in the 20s. By the end of set two, Scott totaled 20 assists for the Ducks, complemented by ten kills from Vander Weide and five kills each by Kacey Nady and Martenne Bettendorf.
Set three is when things started to fall apart for Oregon. Throughout the match Colorado never trailed by more than five points, and its 5-2 scoring run towards mid-set didn’t make things any easier on the Ducks. Colorado went on to win the set 27-25.
Scott described the team’s play in the final sets as “lackadaisical.” They got too comfortable, and that’s when things became difficult for the Ducks.
Oregon played much more back-and-forth in the final sets, allowing Colorado to lead the match, unlike they had in the opening sets of play. The comfortability ultimately lead to Oregon’s demise despite double digit kills from four of the Ducks.
“We have the physical capabilities to play with anyone,” Scott said. “Right now, we’re being held back in just mentally getting over that hump.”
Oregon’s chance to get over that hump may come a little sooner than it would like. The Ducks have little time to prepare for their match against Utah tomorrow at Matt Knight Arena at 5 p.m, but Coach Moore is now on the hunt for a “W.”
“We’ve gotta start getting some wins,” Moore said. “To lose this one at home like that is tough. ”
Follow Madison Layton on Twitter @MadisonLayton01