FRESNO, Calif. – Belmont volleyball (3-9) fell to No. 20 Oregon and CSU Bakersfield Saturday at the Fresno State Classic.
"Our ball control struggled today both in defense and serve receive," said head coach Deane Webb. "We served well and Allison attacked well. Otherwise it was a tough day."
No.20 Oregon 3, Belmont 0
Oregon had an early lead but a run capped by a kill from Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) put Belmont ahead, 6-5. The Bruins continued to maintain a small lead early. The Ducks, however, put together a 13-1 run to take a 21-10 lead. Oregon took the opening set, 25-12.
A 7-2 run in the second set put Oregon on top, 12-7, but Belmont battled back. A pair of attack errors sparked a Bruin run closing the Ducks' lead to four, 24-20. It wasn't enough to hold off Oregon as they took at 2-0 advantage at the break, winning set two, 25-20.
After the break, both teams exchanged points with the Ducks maintaining a small lead before an ace from Ashley Ferguson (Fresno, Calif.) tied the set at 7. Oregon scored six straight points before Allison McCoy (Huntington Beach, Calif.) silenced their run, but another long and late run gave Oregon the 25-15 win.
Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.) led the team with eight kills. Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) dished out 19 assists.
CSU Bakersfield 3, Belmont 0
The opening set remained close with both teams battling back and forth as the set was tied 14 times. CSU Bakersfield was able to close the set, 25-20, scoring four unanswered points.
With the second set tied at 11, Belmont scored three straight points to take a 14-11 lead over the 'Runners. CSU Bakersfield responded with their own 4-0 run to regain the lead. The Bruins continued to silence their runs, but the 'Runners took a 2-0 lead at the break winning set two, 26-24.
Belmont jumped on the board first in the third set with an ace from Miranda. Again, the set remained close with both teams battling.
CSU Bakersfield took a 19-14 lead over the Bruins, but a pair of kills from Vestal brought them within three, 19-16. The 'Runners continued to extend their lead and Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Tx.) and McCoy closed the gap, but it wasn't enough as CSU Bakersfield won the third set, 25-21.
Vestal paced Belmont with 11 kills. McCoy, who was named to the All-Touranment team recorded seven kills in the match.
Belmont returns to action at home on Tuesday, September 17 against Evansville at 6:00pm.
