Despite winning the first set, the Cougs’ three-game win streak against the Oregon Ducks was snapped Sunday. 

WSU Volleyball (17-8, 9-5 Pac-12) fall to the No. 16 Oregon Ducks (17-5, 11-3) to split the season series. The final score was a 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-23) win for the Ducks on their home court. 

Coming into the match, WSU was a clean 14-0 this season in matches where they won the first set. Despite this fact and how strong the team came out of the gate, they lost three straight sets to fall to a strong Oregon team. 

There were two noticeable differences between the win earlier in the season and the loss on Sunday that Oregon was in front of their home crowd and the return of Hannah Pukis for the team. 

Despite the fans wanting to see Pukis have her revenge game in Pullman, she was unavailable for the match and got her game against her former school at home in Oregon. 

The Cougs played strong despite the challenges and even had a higher hitting percentage as they hit .313 to the Ducks’ .307 and had more blocks, 7-4.

Four Cougs had double-digit kills, as Magda Jehlarova had 11 on .435 hitting, Katy Ryan had 11 on .231 hitting, Laura Jansen had 17 on .286 hitting and finally, Pia Timmer had a team-leading 19 on .292 hitting. 

Not only was the hitting good for the team, but two of the hitters notched double-doubles. Timmer and Jansen both racked up 12 digs and one block each, coming up with clutch plays when it mattered. 

Argentina Ung had an impressive 52 assists, two aces, four kills and six digs, playing up to her opposition at the setting position.

In the first set, the Cougs took an early lead and never looked back and looked to hold momentum going forward. However, in the second set, they fell behind 23-15 before mounting a small comeback to make it close. 

The third and fourth sets were ultra-competitive and WSU even went on a 9-2 run in the fourth set but came up short, losing both sets 25-23. Being on the road in a harsh environment against a fully-healthy Oregon team is no easy task. Still, the Cougs showed fight and were a couple of bounces away from taking another win against a conference rival.

Despite the loss, WSU held its own against the toughest competition in the Pac-12. Anything can happen going forward as the Cougs finish up the regular season and prepare for the NCAA tournament. 

Coming up for the Cougs is the final road matches of the regular season. First up is Arizona State at 6 p.m. on Friday in Desert Financial Arena. Afterward, they play Arizona at 10 a.m. on Sunday in McKale Center.