Oregon Sweeps 20th-Ranked Ohio State

The trio of junior Gorana Maricic, sophomore Sonja Newcombe and freshman Heather Meyers led Oregon as each player recorded double-digit kills.

Oregon improved to 11-1 on the year with its three-game sweep of No. 20 Ohio State. Photo courtesy: goducks.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio - After suffering its first loss of the season yesterday, the Oregon volleyball team responded by defeating its first top-25 team of the year, 20th-ranked Ohio State in a three-game sweep (30-17, 30-18, 30-27) at the Big Ten/ Pac-10 Challenge on Saturday evening.

The Ducks improve to 11-1 and register their 11th three-game sweep of the season.

The win over the Buckeyes was Oregon’s first victory over a ranked opponent since knocking off No. 8 California on Oct. 19, 2006 in Berkeley.

“We were more disciplined, more prepared and the results were obviously different,” head coach Jim Moore said. “We needed to be awakened and I think we were yesterday.”

The trio of junior Gorana Maricic, sophomore Sonja Newcombe and freshman Heather Meyers led Oregon as each player recorded double-digit kills.

Maricic had a match-high 17 points on a match-high 15 kills and two block assists, hitting .367.

“You are not going to go undefeated all season, and yesterday we didn’t play hard enough to execute,” Moore said. “It was a lesson our team had to learn, and I think today’s performance says a lot about players and how they responded.”

Newcombe and Meyers added 12 kills apiece, while sophomore setter Nevena Djordjevic added 30 assists.

Junior libero Katie Swoboda led Oregon with 15 digs, while Newcombe contributed 12.

Swoboda was named the top libero at the tournament, while Meyers was named the top server. It is the third time this season both have received all-tourney honors.

As a team Oregon hit .377 during the match, while holding Ohio State to a .143 attacking percentage.

It was the 10th time this year Oregon held an opponent under a .200 hitting percentage all year.”

Oregon now returns home to McArthur Court for the start of Pac-10 season against No. 8 Washington on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7:00 p.m.

The Ducks will host Washington State on Saturday, Sept. 22, also set for a 7:00 p.m. start.

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