WSU Volleyball Rallies To Defeat Oregon In Four
November 6, 1998
EUGENE, Ore. -- Three Cougars recorded career highs in kills and four
reached double-digit kills as Washington State defeated Oregon 13-15, 15-5,
15-10, 15-11, in a Pac-10 volleyball match Friday night at Mac Court.
Washington State (7-6 in the Pac-10, 10-9 overall) won for the first time
in nine tries this season after losing the first game. It was also WSU's
16th consecutive victory over the Ducks (6-7, 2-12), a streak dating back
to the 1990 season.
Senior Wendy Rouse led the way for the Cougars with a career-high 25 kills
(.429), while sophomore Colleen Smith (16 kills) and Missy Blackshire (13
kills) joined Rouse in setting career-highs. Junior Joy Sperry was the
fourth Cougar in double-figure kills with 13. Throw in a career-high 71
assists for senior Samantha Spink and three service aces for senior Kim
Kleven and WSU jumped Arizona State (7-7) for fifth place in the Pac-10 race.
As a team, WSU hit a season-high .376 with 80 kills and 24 errors in 149
attacks.
The game four victory did not come easy despite the fact WSU held a
four-point edge for nearly the entire game. The Cougs led and were serving
13-9, but Oregon climbed back into the match on the strong serving of Tanja
Nikolic. But after a sideout, Blackshire served out the match with an ace
for the 14th point and Rouse capped her career night with her 25th kill for
match point.
The Cougars rallied from a 6-0 deficit in game three to win 15-10. Smith
led the comeback with five kills and a pair of blocks. WSU tied the game
at nine before Oregon took a 10-9 lead on an ace by Amy Banducci. But WSU
reeled off six straight points to close out the match. Alicia Erickson's
sixth block of the night brought home the game point.
After dropping game one, the Cougars stormed back to take the second game
15-5 thanks to six kills from Rouse. WSU never trailed during the game,
taking 7-1 and 10-3 leads before closing the set with a 5-0 run punctuated
by Kleven's game-winning ace.
In game one, the Cougs forged an early 7-5 lead thanks to three service
aces - two by Kleven and one from Rouse. But the Ducks went on a 9-2 run
to take a 14-9 advantage. WSU fought off three game-points to close the
score to 14-13 but Banducci closed out the game for Oregon with an ace.
Washington State heads north to take on the Oregon State Beavers Sunday
afternoon in Corvallis.
Washington State (7-6, 10-9) 13-15, 15-5, 15-10, 15-11
Kills - Rouse (WSU) 25, Tobaggi (UO) 23. Assists - Spink (WSU) 71, Gerlach
(UO) 49. Aces - Kleven (WSU) 3, Ernst (UO) 3, Nikolic (UO) 3. Digs -
Sperry (WSU) 10, Ernst (UO) 7, Banducci (UO) 7. Blocks - Erickson (WSU) 7,
Nikolic (UO) 7. Attendance: 902.
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