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Sweep city as the Cougs dominate No. 13 Oregon

by wsucougars.com
Oct 17, 2021

EUGENE, Ore. – Looking to make a statement to close out its four-match roadtrip the No. 25 ranked Washington State Cougars (12-6, 6-2) did just that with a 3-0 sweep of No. 13 Oregon (14-4, 5-3) Sunday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena. The sweep completed a perfect roadtrip for the Cougs who went 12-0  in sets against both the Arizona and Oregon Schools.

Set scores from the match were: 25-20, 25-23, and 25-15 in favor of the Cougars.

Setting the tone early it was all junior Magda Jehlarova to begin the match as the standout middle ame up with a block, two kills, and an ace in her first rotation on the floor for the Cougs. With Jehlarova rotated out the Cougs looked to their star outside Pia Timmer who started to find her rhythm midway through the set with three-straight kills for the Cougs as WSU opened up a small lead at the media timeout. She would tack on two more a few points later as the Cougs led 20-17 forcing the Oregon timeout, the last gasp effort by the Ducks to slow down the Cougs. However the delay would be to no avail as WSU pulled away after the brief respite to capture the opening set. As she did to open the set it was Jehlarova that closed things out as she came up with a kill and a block alongside of Katy Ryan to put an exclamation point on the win.
 
Despite a fast start by the Ducks in the second set that saw Oregon run off four-straight points to take a 7-4 lead the Cougs would take back control of the momentum behind their vaunted block as Hannah Pukis asserted herself at the net. The fourth-year setter would combine alongside of Jehlarova on three-consecutive points, pairing up for a pair of blocks and finding a kill in the middle to retake the lead at 10-8 as part of 5-0 run. From there the two teams would battle back and forth with the Ducks keeping the edge until late when the Cougs rallied behind Jehlarova once again as she came up with a pair of kills and her sixth block of the day to pull WSU even at 20-20. An ace by Timmer would flip the lead and from there the Cougs would not look back finishing the win off with a kill from their middle, this time from Kalyah Williams.
 
The momentum would carry over for the Cougs in the third as WSU ran out to a 10-6 lead never letting the Ducks off the mat despite a mini run by Oregon. The set would get close midway through as the Ducks closed the gap to just one at 12-11 but a perfectly timed challenge by head coach Jen Greeny halted the momentum swing and turned it in the Cougs' favor. With the challenge won the Cougs would run off seven-consecutive points to put the Ducks away for good and take the run-away win, finishing off their four-straight road sweep of the weekend.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Middle blocker Magda Jehlarova dominated the net finishing the day with 10 kills and nine blocks including two solo efforts. The junior had her hands on all but one of the Cougs' 10 blocks on the day at Eugene.
INTO THE TWITTER-VERSE

 

MATCH NOTES

  • The Cougs picked up their fourth road win in Pac-12 play in as many matches. It was WSU's sixth true road win of the year.
    • The win was the Cougs' fourth-consecutive sweep on the road all coming in the last two weeks. The Cougs have won 12-consecutive sets.
    • The sweep was the Cougs' second in Pac-12 play over a top-25 team.
    • The win was the Cougs' third top-25 victory of the season.
  • WSU swept Oregon in Eugene for the first time since 2003. The win marked the Cougs' fifth win in the last seven matches against the Ducks and the second-straight at Matthew Knight Arena, the last coming in 2019.
  • The Cougs were perfect on the weekend against the Oregon School sweeping both the Beavers and the Ducks on the road. The double sweep was the first for the Cougs in Oregon since 2002.
  • The defense held the Ducks to just .091 hitting, the fifth Pac-12 opponent the Cougs have held under .200 hitting and first to under .100.
    • The .091 was a season low for the Ducks and nearly .100 points worse than their previous low of .171 against Utah.
    • The Ducks were the fourth opponent on the year the Cougs had held under .100 hitting on the year and first time in Pac-12 play.
    • The defensive performance was the best for the Cougs since holding Oregon State to .081 hitting Nov. 7, 2019.
  • WSU's 10 blocks was the fourth double-digit block performance of the season for the Cougs and third in Pac-12 play.
  • Hannah Pukis recorded her second-straight double-double, eighth of the year and fourth in Pac-12 play with 32 assists and 11 digs. She added three kills and two blocks while the Cougs outhit the Ducks .243-to-.091.
  • Washington State returns home for the first time in three weeks to face Stanford, Oct. 22 at Bohler Gym. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.

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