NCAA VB: #5 Stanford Drops to #15 Oregon in Five

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The match up between the #15 Oregon Ducks and #5 Stanford Cardinal brought a battle to Maples Pavilion with Oregon pulling the upset on Stanford in five sets (23-25, 25-20, 25-14, 22-25, 15-9). To add to the battle, both teams also managed to receive a yellow card: Oregon’s setter, #4 Lauren Plum, received one in the second set and Stanford received one as a team in the third set. The kill leaders for both teams were incredibly strong hitters: Oregon’s Liz Brenner led the Ducks with 31 kills for the evening, hitting .651, Rachel Williams led the Cardinal with 21 kills for the evening, along with 18 digs.

The first set began with Stanford taking the lead, however it didn’t last for long as Oregon went on a four point run thanks to several kills from the middle, spreading the score 5-2. The Ducks maintained the lead forcing Stanford to call a timeout, down 10-14. The Cardinal returned from the timeout to win the next rally and go on two three point runs, allowing them to tie up the set at 18-18. Both teams wrestled for the lead before Stanford posted a four point run, rising to 23-20. Oregon wasn’t done fighting and put down three more kills before Stanford finished the set 25-23.

Oregon led the scoreboard early in the second set, however Stanford quickly tied the score up five times before the Ducks could break away on a 5-1 run to 14-10. Stanford managed to twice battle back to within one point of the Ducks, but Oregon maintained their lead. Another 5-1 run by Oregon put them at 24-19, before Stanford notched one more point on the board and Oregon’s setter finished the set with a dump for a 25-20 win.

Returning from the break, Oregon only seemed to have more energy, taking off with the lead in the third set and never relinquishing it. Stanford was never within less than three points of the Ducks, who at 10-7, went on a five point run, which included two aces, to 15-7. A couple three point runs later the Ducks took the third set 25-14, with Stanford handing them the last point of the set by hitting the ball out of bounds.

Stanford finally showed up in the fourth set, taking the lead early and spreading the scoreboard to 7-3. Oregon came within one point of the Cardinal, but Stanford responded with a 7-1 run to lead 16-9. The Ducks weren’t finished fighting, down 14-20, they went on a 7-0 run to tie up the set 20-20. Stanford got their groove back with a four point run to 24-20 before Oregon notched two more points. The Cardinal finished the set with a block, 25-22.

The fifth and final set of the evening began with an early Oregon lead to 6-2, followed by a four point run to 10-3. Stanford finally saw the scoreboard again with a 3-1 run to 6-11 before Oregon called a timeout to refocus. Oregon returned to win the next rally, however Stanford responded with a kill and block to put them at 8-12. A Stanford service error gave Oregon 13-8, who after allowing one more point to the Cardinal put the last two sets up to Liz Brenner who put the ball away for the win at 15-9.

Oregon faces #3 Cal this evening, who is looking to recover from their loss last night at the hands of the Oregon State Beavers. Stanford’s record drops to 20-6 overall, 14-6 in Pac-12 play; Oregon stands at 19-8 overall and 12-7 in the Pac-12.

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• Volleyball
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• Student-Athlete
• NCAA

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