Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington’s loss to Oregon

#5 Oregon 3, #2 Washington 1 (26-24, 20-25, 25-22, 25-17)

Next: #7 Stanford @ #2 Washington | October 19, 2012 | 6PM [EARLY START]

[10/15/12: CORRECTIONS made to spelling of Amanda Gil's name]

EUGENE--It was a weekend of firsts for the 2012 Washington Huskies.

First rain. First large crowd in a hostile arena.

Washington coach Jim McLaughlin looks on in Oregon's Matt Court
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

And, of course, first loss of the season.

The Huskies were the last Division 1 team to feel the sting of defeat this season. But it was a match they coulda—maybe even shoulda—won.

Washington served at match point in the first set, but Oregon ran off the final four points in a row. The Huskies won the second set going away. And UW had a commanding 20-15 lead in the third set, before Alaina Bergsma led Oregon on a 10-2 closing run.

Yeah, the Huskies shoulda won.

Here’s some of what we learned.

PAC-12 OFFICIATING IS USUALLY PRETTY GOOD.

In the first set, the scoreboard read 8-7, in favor of Oregon. Oregon’s official score sheet, however, had it 9-6, in favor of Washington. The score on our own sheet read 10-7, Washington.

Turns out, the referees figured it was Washington 9, Oregon 7.

Oregon coach Jim Moore
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Frankly, up referee John Kinyon and down referee Barbara Silvey had a bad night. Silvey in particular seemed to be at the center of many confusing calls, from ambiguous blocking touches to antenna disputes to rotation errors. When calls were reversed or replays awarded (how often does THAT happen in the Pac-12?), Kinyon was sometimes less than definitive, leaving confusion in the minds of players, coaches, fans … and scorekeepers.

We rarely see Kinyon or Silvey in Seattle, but they may have experience with Oregon head coach Jim Moore. No other Pac-12 coach calls as much attention to himself during matches than Moore does. He has a well-earned reputation for griping long, loud and often about calls that most conference coaches simply let slide. He behaves more like someone coaching college basketball than volleyball.

 Against the Huskies, Kinyon and Silvey allowed Moore to plead his case, and then plead some more, and then plead again. Sometimes it worked. Mostly, it just threw off the rhythm of the match. Add to that the Ducks’ annoying habit of having a mop crew come out on the court time and again to wipe up (real or imagined) wet spots on their side of the net, and you have a volleyball experience that is unique to Oregon’s Matt Court.

Like any veteran coach, Washington’s Jim McLaughlin declined to comment about the officiating after the match. But from where we sat, Moore’s antics might have worked. Later in that first set, the Huskies were cruising to a 23-18 lead when Silvey—who’d been getting nonstop feedback from Moore—called a net violation on Washington’s Kelcey Dunaway.

Fair enough. But on the next play, after a Huskies’ kill appeared to make it 23-19. Silvey belatedly signaled a second-consecutive net violation, this time on setter Katy Beals. It seemed, at best, a phantom call, and it energized the Ducks, who suddenly trailed by only two. With the loud crowd behind them, Oregon went on the win the set.

The refs were less noticeable after the first set, but when two elite teams play each other, the chances that a ref can influence the outcome looms larger.

AMANDA GIL IS ONE TOUGH COOKIE

Amanda Gil moments after jamming her finger
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Washington ranks second in blocks per set in Division 1, and senior Amanda Gil is a big reason why. For a few anxious moments, however, it seemed the Huskies might have lost her.

With Washington trailing 8-10 in the second set, Gil’s left hand thrust into an Bergsma attack. Gil howled in pain, grabbing her fingers as her teammates looked on with concern.

In the din, McLaughlin and his staff didn't appear to notice, and play continued. With tears on her cheeks, Gil rose against another Oregon attack … and stuffed it for a block. With service rotation, Gil went to the bench, clutching her hand, then ran to the tunnel with the trainer in tow.

That’s it, we thought. Broken finger, maybe. At a minimum, done for the night.

But three rotations later, with the Huskies now trailing 14-17, Gil re-entered the game, two fingers taped together. Again it was Bergsma, who got a back row kill and rotated to the front. On the next play, it was Bergsma once more, but this time Gil and Kaleigh Nelson roofed the attack. Three points later, it was Gil and Kylin Muñoz for the block, tying the score at 18, and forcing Oregon to use its second time-out. Two points later, Gil and Muñoz. Two points after that, Gil and Muñoz yet again.

The middle blocker with the jammed finger finished the set and stayed in the rest of the match, earning 14 block assists and connecting on 6 kills against 2 errors. More important, she showed her teammates what she’s made of.

GABBI PARKER ROSE TO THE CHALLENGE

Gabbi Parker (11) celebrates with Jenna Orlandini (left)
and Amanda Gil (1)
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Not long after Gil injured her finger, McLaughlin replaced Cassie Strickland with Gabbi Parker.

This has been a strange season for Parker. She’s big and strong, but she’s also emotional, and she’s lost her starting OH2 position to the 5-8 freshman, Strickland.

Strickland has huge hops for a player her size, and can hit for power, even if she picks up her share of being blocked. Like Parker, she has a booming jump serve, which can be effective when she’s on, and frustrating when she’s not.

But Strickland’s real asset is her defense. Recruited, we all figured, as a libero, Strickland fills the void left by the departure of Summer Ross: a player with the eyework and determination to keep balls from dropping, whether she’s rotated to the front row or the back. More than anything, that’s kept Strickland on the court, and Parker on the bench.

Cassie Strickland
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

With Washington trailing 11-15 in the second set, a long rally appeared to end when the Ducks bounced an attack high off the Huskies blockers’ hands, sending the ball impossibly beyond Washington’s end line. But Strickland instantly bolted. She not only reached the ball—a shock in itself—but she punched it both high enough, and with perfect arc, back to the center of the Huskies’ side. It may have been the most acrobatic save we've witnessed in years.

The Ducks, however, went on to win the point, and UW trailed by five. Washington needed a spark, and Oregon was vulnerable now that setter Lauren Plum was on the front line. So McLaughlin opted to give Parker a shot.

At 12-16, Parker stuffed Oregon’s big middle Ariana Williams. At 15-18, she got another huge block. On the very next point, Parker creamed an attack off the block, forcing an Oregon time-out. She ended the match with 6 kills and just 1 error, plus 5 block assists. A large contingent of family and friends—Parker is from Eugene—roared their approval.

For now, McLaughlin will most certainly keep Strickland in the OH2 back row rotations, and allow Parker to compete for the front row. If nothing else, it gives opposing coaches yet another Washington wrinkle to worry about.

NOTES:

• Parker was not the only Husky with a big fan following. Kaleigh Nelson is from Salem, and had plenty of rooters in both gyms.
• Bergsma’s third-set dominance will surely create some Huskies’ homework: how to stop a truly gifted right-side attacker. Bergsma was by far the best at that position of any of Washington’s opponents so far this season, and exposed a real weakness in one or two rotations.