Lady Ducks Remain Perfect After Nipping San Diego State

The Ducks, who played their final home non-conference match of 2006, play at the University of Portland on Tuesday.

Photos: goducks.com

EUGENE - The University of Oregon volleyball team withstood its toughest challenge of the season Saturday night before securing a five-set win over San Diego State at McArthur Court.

The Ducks (7-0) remained unbeaten by nipping the Aztecs (4-5), 30-24, 25-30, 30-22, 20-30 and 15-6.

“We came out really focused and rallied together as a team,” freshman middle blocker Sonja Newcombe said of the Ducks’ fifth-game performance. “We got into a good rhythm.”

Newcombe had six of her 20 kills in the deciding frame, accounting for six of the 15 points needed for victory.

The Ducks appeared to come out right where they left off on Friday night, when they swept Fresno State in three games. But Oregon lost some cohesion from Game 2 through Game 4 and San Diego State capitalized.

The Aztecs, led by Kelley Wahlin’s 10 blocks, stuffed the Ducks at the net 17 times while Oregon managed only six total team blocks over five games.

“In the Pac-10 you have to come out every night and you can’t pick and choose who to play well against,” second-year head coach Jim Moore said. “You have to play well every night.”

On this night, the Ducks played well enough, out-hitting SDSU, .232 to .161, and winning the kill count, 79-54.

Oregon had three players with 20 or more kills and 20-plus points. Senior hitter Erin Little had 24.0 points and a career-high 23 kills while hitting .380.

Sophomore hitter Mira Djuric led all players with 27.0 points on 21 kills, five service aces and two block assists.

The Aztecs were paced by Melanie Greene, who had 17.0 points on 17 kills and also recorded 17 digs.

Both sides played strong defense throughout with UO tallying 78 digs and San Diego State 70. SDSU libero Aime Cordeiro had 19 digs, and her Duck counterpart, sophomore Katie Swoboda had a match-high 25.

“Between the fourth and fifth game we wanted to focus on one point at a time and playing together as a team,” said Swoboda.

The Ducks, who played their final home non-conference match of 2006, play at the University of Portland on Tuesday.

QUACK TRACKS: Oregon has started the season 7-0 against Division I opponents for the first time since 1991 (9-0) ... With three blocks, SR MB Kristen Bitter passed the 300-block mark for her career and now has 302, good for eighth-place in school history ... FR S Nevena Djordjevic had an UO season-high 57 assists ... Oregon was playing its second straight match without FR MB Neticia Enesi ... SR OH Erin Little and SO OH Mira Djuric were both named All-Tournament for the weekend series against Fresno State and SDSU, who also played Oregon State in a split-site four-team competition.

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