Oregon was dominating. Creative volleys were turned into scoring plays and an Oregon lead was growing in the first set as the Friday night crowd at Matthew Knight Arena was on its feet.

Yet, the energy paused when USC spoiled Oregon’s set point and evened the score at 24.

A string of back-to-back points killed whatever momentum Oregon had to begin the set faded, as the Ducks dropped their first of three sets against the Trojans.

Unable to make necessary rallies, the No. 16 Ducks (15-8, Pac-12 8-5) fell to the No. 15 USC Trojans in a three-set sweep (30-28, 25-23 and 25-17) Friday night.

The USC victory not only moved the Trojans (17-7, 9-4) ahead of the Ducks in the race for second place in the Pac-12, but also marked the third straight season the Trojans have defeated the Ducks in Eugene.

“I thought [U]SC served fantastic,” Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer said. “They were working us and we just were not responding. We weren’t handling that pressure well. … Right now, teams are finding success when they are able to stay aggressive on us and we have to learn how to respond.”

The Ducks led by as much as six in the first set, until the Trojans interrupted Oregon’s momentum. A 5-1 run by USC propelled the Trojans. After the Ducks’ first reached set-point USC scored twice to respond with its own set point at 25-24. The two teams traded points until the Trojans clinched the set win at 30-28.

To start the second set the teams exchanged points, with neither allowing the other to lead by more than three at a time. Oregon called a timeout once a tie was met at 21 and then another after USC scored twice in a row to lead 23-21. USC didn’t back down, winning the set 25-23 for a 2-0 lead at intermission.

“All of a sudden we’re trying to do other things as opposed to just doing what we do better,” Ulmer said. “Instead for some reason, we still don’t trust our game and our teammates well enough.”

USC quickly put up pressure to start the third set, forcing Oregon to take its first timeout at 5-2. The short break wasn’t enough for Oregon, as the Trojans only picked up the energy. The Ducks could not find the rally momentum, falling behind as much as nine thanks to an 8-3 run from USC. The Trojans completed the sweep over the Ducks with a third set win of 25-17.

The three-set match sweep was an opposite scene from Oregon’s three-set win against the Trojans earlier this month in Los Angeles.

“I’m not sure why, but I think we back off at home more than we do on the road,” Ulmer said comparing the two matches. “We’re better fighters on the road, which is very frustrating. I’m happy we do that on the road, but I’d like for everyone to see what we do on the road, here.”

Senior outside hitter Lindsey Vander-Weide led the Ducks with 13 kills, followed by 11 from Ronika Stone. Freshman libero Brooke Nuneviller led with 14 digs and senior setter August Raskie ended the match with 36 assists.

Oregon will next play the No. 22 UCLA Bruins on Sunday at 11 a.m. at Matthew Knight Arena.

Follow Maggie Vanoni on Twitter: @maggie_vanoni

The post No. 16 Oregon volleyball drops three-set sweep to No. 15 Trojans appeared first on Emerald Media.