#16 Oregon Snaps Delaware Volleyball’s 17-Match Home Win Streak with 3-0 Straight Set Win
August 30, 2011
File Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell
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NEWARK, Del. -- Playing its second ranked team in as many games, the University of Delaware volleyball fought tough yet again, but No. 16 ranked Oregon was too much, taking the match 3-0 in straight sets at Viera Court Tuesday night.
Set scores for the match were 25-20, 25-16, and 25-22.
“Oregon is a much more physical team than we are,” head coach Bonnie Kenny said after the match. “They play a lot higher above the net. We didn’t really have an answer for (Alaina) Bergsma. I think she’s an All-American, a big-time go-to player."
The reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week, Bergsma finished with a match-high 15 kills on 42 swings. She came one dig short of a double-double, collecting nine in three sets.
Delaware senior setter Renee Tomko (above right) was the only player to tally a double-double on the night, dishing out 22 assists while finishing with 11 digs.
Alissa Alker (below right) and Katie Hank had a team-high eight kills for the Blue Hens (1-2). Alker also came away with seven digs on the night. Kim Stewart finished with seven kills, a team high .250 hitting percentage and four digs. Freshman libero Cara Rosehill tallied a team high 12 digs.
“I was a little disappointed in our ball control,” continued Kenny. “I think we can pass the ball a little better than we did tonight so we can run our offense. We needed to have more than one option and we made Renee run around a little too much. It’s a good team. We cant make a lot of mistakes against a team like this and unfortunately at this time of year we aren’t as seasoned but we will learn and we will grow from it.”
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Delaware’s best opportunity to get back into the match was late in the third set. For the second straight match, the Blue Hens held a late lead in a game against a ranked opponent, but couldn’t find a to close out the scoring.
Tonight, the Blue Hens held a two-point lead at 21-19 before the Ducks 6-2 run to take over the set, and end the match.
Tied at 19-19 in the third frame, Stewart gave Delaware the lead at 20-19 with a kill, and an attack error by Bergsma forced Oregon (2-1) to call a timeout. Out of the break, Oregon put its game together and finished off the home squad.
The loss snapped the Blue Hens’ 17-match home win streak, their longest in program history. The Ducks have made a living on snapping home win streaks during their East Coast swing, coming into Newark after breaking Penn State’s NCAA record setting 94-match streak in Rec Hall.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Blue Hens, as they host two more ranked teams this weekend while hosting the 35th Annual Delaware Invitational. They will square off against #14 Northern Iowa and #25 Florida State.
“I’m not sure there is a lot of people playing four top-25 teams in a week like we are,” Kenny mentioned of the tough non-conference schedule she put together. “But it’s ok. I think this team thinks we can get better by playing this competition. One of the biggest things I was worried about was them losing their confidence and I don’t think they will do that. Our next match is UC Irvine and that’s the biggest match of the season for us right now.”
Delaware opens the Invitational on Friday night against UC Irvine at 7 p.m. in the Carpenter Sports Building.
AGATE:
#16 Oregon def. Delaware, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-22)
Delaware (kills-assists-digs): Hank (8-0-4); Tomko (0-22-11); Stewart (7-0-4); Alker (8-1-7); Lawrence (4-0-1); Evans (1-0-2); Rosehill (0-3-12); Reigel (0-1-5).
Oregon: Bergsma (15-0-9); Kawasaki (0-0-8); Plum (2-39-6); Williams (10-0-0); Fischer (4-2-11); Krstojevic (8-0-3); B-Gonzalez (0-0-0); Brenner (5-1-0); Buckendahl (0-0-2); Jacob (0-2-16); Paffen (1-0-0); Gross (1-0-0).
Total Team Blocks: Delaware 3; Oregon 7
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