#24 Oregon won with ease in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon, sweeping the Kennesaw State Owls 28-26, 25-19, and 25-18 in Provo, Utah. The win marked Matt Ulmer’s first postseason victory as head coach of the program. The Ducks dogged KSU with furious defense throughout the match, holding them to a .141 hitting percentage and blocking the Owls 12 times. Sophomore middle blocker Ronika Stone totaled 9 blocks herself, and had a hand in every one of Oregon’s blocks through the first two sets. Offensively, Oregon hit .252 and was paced by senior Taylor Agost, who notched a team-high 11 kills on a .273 clip. Despite an overall swift victory, Ulmer’s squad had their backs against the wall early on, trailing 11-4 when the Ducks called timeout. After that point, UO outscored Kennesaw 74-52. The Ducks will be in action again on Saturday, as they take the winner of BYU-American on at 6PM pacific time at Smith Fieldhouse

MATCH STORY(by Matt Tyra)

POSTMATCH AUDIO

Matt Ulmer, Ronika Stone, and Taylor Agost