Women of Troy lose to Oregon, beat Oregon State

After a tough loss against the No. 10 Oregon Ducks on Friday, the No. 18 Women of Troy came back on Sunday and defeated the Oregon State Beavers in a four-set comeback victory (19-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-16). This win extended USC’s win streak against the Beavers to 11 matches.

Before the Women of Troy’s game on Sunday, head coach Mick Haley changed the lineup and had senior Emily Young setting in the front row instead of senior Hayley Crone setting from the back row.

Haley insisted that Young brings an extra dimension to the offense.

“She becomes a quick hitter and it puts the other team in a little bit more trouble,” Haley said.

In the first set on Sunday, the Women of Troy came out slow and struggled to find a rhythm. Their offense looked out of sync and their passing struggled mightily.

USC also couldn’t establish its middle hitters, junior Alicia Ogoms and senior Hannah Schraer, making the offense much too predictable. Overall, USC had a hitting percentage of .265 while Oregon State hit .344 during that first set.

The Women of Troy did not have a block in the first set, which allowed to the Beavers to have their way up front. The lone bright spot for the Women of Troy was the play of sophomore defensive specialist-libero Anne Marie Schmidt. Schmidt had four digs and was playing outstanding defense, making plays on several tough balls.

Schmidt talked about the energy she plays with on the court.

“When I get a chance to go in there, I just want to help contribute to the team the best I can,” Schmidt said. “I try to bring energy and help my team out the best I can.”

Losing the first set ended USC’s consecutive set winning streak against Oregon State at 29.

The second set went much more smoothly for the Women of Troy, as they won handily, 25-18. For everything they did wrong in the first set, they corrected in the second. Sophomore outside hitter Ebony Nwanebu finally found her sweet spot, hitting .500 with four kills on eight swings. The Women of Troy held the Beavers to a .268 while they themselves hit .421.

The Women of Troy continued their smooth sailing as they took the third set 25-17. Nwanebu continued to have a great match by getting six kills on just seven swings. In the third set, the team hit a whopping .577 and had 10 digs. USC also fixed its earlier problems blocking, putting up three team blocks.

Nwanebu addressed her impressive third set.

“I just played and hit the shots that I knew,” Nwanebu said. “Everyone was very helpful calling the shots before and I just listened to them.”

Up two sets to one, the Women of Troy put the pedal to the metal and did not allow the Beavers to get back into the match. In the fourth and final set, USC continued to take it to Oregon State, winning 25-16. Young had several quick kills when she was setting and found a rising star in sophomore outside hitter Elise Ruddins, who had 10 kills in the match.

The Women of Troy finished with three players with double-digit kills and two players with double-digit assists. Nwanebu led the team in kills with 20 while junior outside hitter Samantha Bricio added 17 kills and five service aces. Sophomore setter Alice Pizzasegola dished out 29 assists, which led the team.

This week, the Women of Troy will head up to Northern California to take on Cal and the top-ranked team in the nation, Stanford.