Sept. 23, 1999

Box Score

EUGENE, Ore. - Washington State claimed a 15-4, 15-12, 15-10 sweep of Oregon in a Pacific-10 Conference match Thursday before 325 fans at McArthur Court.

WSU moves to 7-3 overall, 2-1 in conference play while Oregon drops to 6-5 overall, winless in three conference matches and losing five straight after winning their first six matches of the season. This was the 17th consecutive win by WSU over Oregon.

The Cougs were led by the 13 kills and 16 digs of freshman LaToya Harris, while Missy Blackshire nailed 12 kills and served five aces. Sole senior Joy Sperry had 11 kills and 12 digs. Melissa Wright, a freshman setter from Muncie, Indiana, who is ranked 16th nationally in assists, contributed 46 assists in the Cougar win.

Oregon was led by Monique Tobbagi with 13 kills and 11 digs. Oregon hit a mere .127 while WSU had a .281 team hitting percentage.

WSU came on strong in the first game, taking a commanding 10-0 lead before giving up four consecutive points. A strong finish by the Cougars ended the game 15-4 in about 12 minutes.

The Cougars struggled to come from behind at 12-7 in the second game, scoring eight unanswered points to win the game 15-12. Two of those points came on Oregon's consecutive out of rotation errors and Blackshire served back-to-back aces to put WSU up 13-12. Sperry pushed a kill over the right side of the net for 14 and Blackshire finished the game with another ace.

Oregon, looking to change their offensive potency, subbed in freshman Sydney Chute for sophomore Julie Gerlach at setter for the third game, and it sparked the Ducks to a 9-6 lead. WSU's consistent defensive performances by Harris and Korntey Jamtaas in the back row, and offensive efforts of Blackshire and Sperry in the front row allowed the Cougs to tie it up and then go ahead 13-9. An ace by Banducci gave Oregon its 10th point but Trina Kighlinger subbed into the middle for WSU and the Cougs finished the game 15-10 and the match 3-0.

The Cougars play at Oregon State, Friday, Sept. 24.

Washington State (7-3, 2-1 Pac-10) d. Oregon (6-5, 0-3 Pac-10) 3-0

Game scores: 15-4, 15-12, 15-10

STATISTICS: KILLS: L. Harris (WSU) 13, Tobbagi (UO) 13. ASSISTS: Wright (WSU) 46, Chute 29 (UO) 57. DIGS: L. Harris (WSU) 16, Tobbagi (UO) 11. BLOCKS: Johnson (WSU) 4, Nisle (UO) 3. SERVICE ACES: Blackshire (WSU) 5, Banducci (UO) 3. Attendance: 325.