Oregon State
Arizona
Volleyball Loses Five-Game Thriller at No. 14 Arizona
September 16, 1999 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 16, 1999
TUCSON, Ariz. - Arizona head coach Dave Rubio picked up his 250th career victory Thursday, but the Oregon State volleyball team made sure it didn't come easily.
The No. 14 Wildcats defeated the Beavers, but it took five games to do it. Game scores were 6-15, 1-15, 15-11, 15-5, 17-15.
OSU started off strong, hitting .413 with 22 kills through the first two games, but UA came back with a tough offense for the rest of the match.
"Arizona played better (after the break). No team is going to go down 0-3 in this conference," OSU coach Nancy Somera said. "They gained the momentum, and that's the game of volleyball."
Sarah Bjeldanes had a match high 18 kills, six of which came in the first game as OSU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and built up a 12-6 advantage. After a sideout, a UA error made it 13-6, and Krista Kinsman put the game away with a kill and a solo block on the final two plays of the game.
OSU (5-3, 0-1) dominated in game two after the Beavers broke away from an early 1-1 tie. OSU hit .667 (8-0-12) for the game and also capitalized on several UA errors. The Wildcats hit -.130 in the second game, posting seven kills but also committing 10 errors. Nikki Neuburger also contributed in the victory, serving two aces for OSU.
Arizona (7-2, 1-0) improved its offense in the third game, hitting .310 with 25 kills. But the Beavers fought hard and kept the game close. Neither team scored more than three points on any given rotation, and there were 54 sideouts in the game.
But the Beaver offense dropped in the fourth game, when OSU managed just six kills with six errors in 26 tries. Arizona, on the other hand, had its best game of the match and hit .407. UA took a 12-2 lead, but OSU stayed in the game with three straight points of another Neuburger ace, a block from Kinsmand and Angie Shirley and a kill from Gina Schmidt. The Wildcats the regained the serve and closed the books with three straight points of their own.
OSU rallied back from an 11-14 deficit in game five, but came back to tie at 15-15. But back-to-back kills from the Wildcats ended OSU's hopes of its first win in Arizona since 1993.
"We fought hard and were down 11-14 in rally scoring and came back. They showed a lot of courage to come back like that," Somera said. "No doubt the loss hurts, but if that was the No. 14 team in the country, then hey, I couldn't be more pleased. Still, I wish it were a win - that would have been the icing on the cake."
Shirley had 14 kills, and Schmidt added 12 for the Beavers. Neuburger had a career-high 13 digs, while Schmidt posted her first double-double of the year with 11 digs. Kinsman also finished with double-figure digs, with 10. UA's Lisa Rutledge led the Wildcats with 16 kills, and Raelene Elam with 14 digs and four aces.
OSU next plays at Arizona State at 7:30 p.m., Friday, September 17.
Match Results
Oregon State 15 15 11 5 15
No. 14 Arizona 6 1 15 15 17
