In a battle of defense, WSU volleyball proved that they play good on the road, taking down the team one spot ahead of them in the rankings on their home court. With 65 errors between the two teams, the Cougs superior serving and timely runs won them the match over the Oregon Ducks.
No. 7 WSU (14-1, 4-0 Pac-12) took down No. 6 Oregon (13-2, 3-1) in a huge match in terms of Conference implications. The final line was a 3-1 (25-14, 20-25, 29-27, 25-23) Coug win. WSU won its 13th straight match, tied for their longest under head coach Jen Greeny. The win also snapped the Ducks own winning streak of seven straight.
Now 4-1 against top 25 teams and 3-1 against top 10 teams, it is tough to find a team elsewhere with a resume close to as strong as the Cougs in 2023.
“At the end, I honestly thought we were going five. It was getting rugged out there, it was like pulling teeth,” Burdette Greeny, associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, said.
The team finished with eight aces to the Ducks’ three, with the final point of the game coming from a Pia Timmer ace, moving her into a tie for fourth all-time in program history with 128 in her career. Karly Basham and Julia Norville led the team with two aces a piece, but the love was spread around the service line for WSU.
Hitting just .164%, it was a rough night offensively, but the defense kept the Ducks below that line. Oregon hit just .110% and committed 38 attack errors, 11 more than the Cougs in the match.
WSU had 11 more digs than the Ducks, having 61 on the match to go along with their 13 blocks as a team. Norville and Basham had double-digit digs, with 18 and 15, respectively. Two other Cougs nearly reached double-digits, as Timmer and Iman Isanovic finished with nine each.
Argentina Ung had 39 assists on the match with four kills, six digs and three blocks. Three Cougs finished with double-digit kills, with Isanovic leading the way with 14 (.171% hitting), Timmer putting up 13 (.108%) and Magda Jehlárová having 12 (.250%).
Former Coug and current Oregon setter Hannah Pukis tried to will her team to a victory over her former school with 42 assists, five kills and 15 digs, but her efforts were far from enough to get the victory on her new home court.
In the final set, Oregon had a lead at 23-19 and the match looked firmly locked in on going a fifth set, which it had gone in six of the last 12 matchups. But, a quick 6-0 run not only made it close, it won the set for the Cougs and secured their third top 10 win of the season.
“This team has that in them and I love that,” Burdette said. “I’m really proud of the girls for not giving in. That is what we’re going to really be talking about — not giving in like we did at the end.”
After yet another big win to continue their winning streak, WSU is set for a 7 p.m. Friday night match with California in Bohler Gym. Then, another big test at home as Stanford comes to town at noon Sunday in Bohler Gym.