NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament Blog: Oregon, Washington State advances to Second Round

Eight Pac-12 women's volleyball squads will begin competition this week in the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. First up representing the Conference of Champions were Oregon and Washington State. Both the Ducks and Cougars advanced to the NCAA Second Round by match scores of 3-1, and now all Pac-12 teams will be in competition Saturday, Dec. 2.

The Cougars (22-11 overall, 11-9 Pac-12) finished fifth in the league and received an at-large bid to the tournament to take on Big Ten Conference runners up Marquette (23-9) in a First Round contest in the Wisconsin Regional. The Cougars claimed their first First Round win since 2002, downing Marquette 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20). WSU under Pac-12 Coach of the Year Jen Greeny, opened the match with a scorching .591 hitting percentage against Marquette, winning the first set by a score of 25-21.  Kyra Holt led all players with her season-high 22 kills on a .370 hit percentage. The Cougs, coming into the match ranking third in the nation with 3.30 blocks per set had eight on the night. WSU will advance to the second round to take on the tonight's winner of 3-seed Wisconsin vs. Howard.

The #19th-ranked Oregon Ducks flew past Miami (Ohio), 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 22-25, 25-19). Oregon dominated its second set, using a 15-6 run to win the second frame, 25-17. August Raskie and Lindsay Vander Weide posted double-doubles, with Raskie tallying her 9th double-double of the season on 26 assists and 10 kills. Offensively, Vander Weide and teammate Ronika Stone combined for 34 kills and only one error, leading the Ducks to the win. Next up the 21-9 Ducks will face the winner of 12-seed Michigan (22-10) vs American (27-7).

Dancing is a form of communication. @OregonVB is screaming confidence. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/1ankzZA0AK

— GoDucks (@GoDucks) December 2, 2016