STANFORD, Calif. – A day removed from its first loss of the season, the No. 6 Oregon volleyball team responded with a four-set win Saturday over No. 15 Ohio State (28-26, 25-27, 25-20, 25-19). With the result, the Ducks pick up their second win over a ranked opponent and improve to 7-1 this season.
Grad transfer Gabby Gonzales led Oregon with a season-high 19 kills while hitting .410 coupled with 11 digs to complete her second double-double in as many days. Kara McGhee turned in a standout outing of her own, posting 11 kills and a season-high eight blocks. The San Antonio, Texas, native hit .579 and did not commit an error in 19 swings.
Hannah Pukis filled the stat sheet with 52 assists, 10 digs, five kills, five blocks and an ace. Running the show, Pukis set the Ducks to a .327 hitting percentage against Ohio State. Oregon has now hit .300 or higher in six of eight matches this season.
In another double-double effort, Mimi Colyer had 15 kills and 12 digs. Morgan Lewis added 11 kills, hit .364 along the way and was part of five blocks. Behind the block, Georgia Murphy and Daley McClellan both recorded season highs with 18 and 11 digs, respectively.
How It Happened
The Ducks held an early 12-9 lead but the first set featured 16 ties and eight lead changes. Ohio State used a late three-point surge to go ahead 24-22 but UO answered with a Gonzales kill followed by an attack error by the Buckeyes’ Emily Londot to tie the score. Pukis and Karson Bacon teamed up for a block to give Oregon its first of three set points.
Ohio State (3-4) saved two set points to extend play but the Ducks secured the opening frame on their third chance with the help of an OSU attack error. The 28-26 score line was Oregon’s longest set of the season.
Londot finished the night with a match-high 22 kills but the Ducks held her to a .141 efficiency.
On the heels of a quick start in the second, the Ducks seemed in control of play with a 20-13 lead. However, Ohio State rattled off seven points in a row to tie things up. Oregon had three set points before the Buckeyes went on to take another extended set, 27-25, and pull even on the scoreboard.
Shaking off the set loss, the Ducks turned a slim 7-6 lead to a 14-7 advantage in the third, capping the surge with consecutive kills by Pukis and Gonzales. Once again, Ohio State answered and the teams were tied at 20-all for a third-consecutive set. Oregon accepted the challenge and put together a 5-0 sprint to end the set.
The Ducks got a kill from four different players—Gonzales, McGhee, Pukis and Lewis—during the run.
Another fast start had Oregon leading the Buckeyes, 10-3, in the fourth set. The Ducks scored half of those 10 points on OSU errors. The team stretched the lead to nine at 16-7 on a block by Gonzales and McGhee. Ohio State pulled to within four after a Colyer attack error but Oregon still led 19-15, and ran off the next three points to force a timeout.
Pukis and Colby Neal teamed up for a block to give UO a handful of match points at 24-17. Ohio State saved the first two but Gonzales registered the final kill of the night to secure the 3-1 victory.
Oregon hit .417 (13-3-24) in the close-out frame while holding Ohio State to a .067 (10-8-30) mark.
Notable
With her second block, Bacon moved into sole possession of eighth on the program’s all-time list, and now has 379 blocks in her UO career. Collectively, Oregon tied a season-high with 13.0 total blocks to match their figure from the season opener against then-No. 13 San Diego.
Up Next
The Ducks head east for the final weekend of non-conference play, opening the road trip Thursday at ninth-ranked Pittsburgh. Oregon will also take on James Madison, a team receiving votes in the most recent AVCA poll, during the Panther Challenge. Before heading home, the Ducks will make a stop in Milwaukee to face No. 24 Marquette (Sept. 17).
