No. 11 Oregon volleyball (15-3, 7-2 Big Ten) returned home for its first-ever matchup against Maryland (10-10, 1-8 Big Ten) following a two-game road trip split with Iowa and No. 9 Wisconsin. Despite early offensive struggles, the Ducks were able to take care of business sweeping the Terrapins in straight sets, 25-21, 26-24 and 25-17.

Maryland silenced the Oregon home crowd early in the first set. The Terrapins led 6-2 and forced Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer to burn a timeout. However, a typical Duck hot streak following a timeout was nowhere to be found at least not yet.

Samantha Schnitta had three of the first six kills for Maryland which helped them come out with more intensity than Oregon. The Terrapins hit .700% while holding the Ducks to a .111 hitting percentage. Maryland led 15-10 at this point and was playing with confidence.

“We gave them a lot of hope early on, you don't want anybody to feel comfortable in your own gym,” said Ulmer. “I think we executed very poorly in the beginning.”

Despite the underwhelming start Oregon found its rhythm and did not let its foot off the gas. The Ducks went on a 15-6 run to win the first set 25-21. Maya De Los Reyes and Michelle Ohwobete were stellar from the line of service in the Ducks’ scoring run while Mimi Colyer took command of the offense. Colyer tallied seven kills in 10 total attacks in the first set. 

Onye Ofoegbu, after hitting -.167% in the first set, started the second with a bang. A powerful swing landed in the back right corner, helping the Ducks build early momentum and take an 11-7 lead.

From there the Terrapins and Ducks essentially traded points with one another. 

That was until Maryland went on a 5-0 scoring run to put itself on top 23-21 in the second set. The Terrapins had a great net defense and the Ducks — who at one point were hitting over .350 in the set — saw that number fall to .275%. 

They say volleyball is a game of runs, and that proved true once again. Oregon went on a 5-1 run to close out the second set 26-24. Ofoegbu, who initially sparked the set, finished it off with another powerful, non-returnable swing.

Maryland with its backs against the wall in the third set did exactly what it needed to do to get out to an early 4-1 lead. But Oregon would do what it had done all night — come back from a deficit. With the help of a couple of finesse kills and fantastic blocks, the Ducks would explode and go on a 9-0 scoring run to take a 10-4 lead.

Maryland did a nice job on multiple occasions knocking Oregon out of system but the Ducks’ defense found ways to recoup and keep the Terrapins held down. Maryland found no success in the third set offensively in large part due to Noemi Glover. Glover had three blocks halfway through the third set and Oregon led 14-8.

“I thought [Glover] was great. Her block has been really fantastic,” said Ulmer. “There’s so many things she’s doing really, well. Her future is bright.”

The deficit was too large for Maryland to dig itself out of and Oregon coasted to the finish line, winning the third set 25-17 and completing the set sweep. 

The Ducks made just one error in the third set whereas in the first two, it had committed eight. The switch allowed for Oregon to take off with the third set. 

“Obviously not our cleanest game. We definitely had to fight for that one,” said Mackenzie Morris. “We were fighting ourselves, making errors and not doing our job… I think this team did a really good job fighting in the end.” 

Colyer has been on a dominant run through the Big Ten, bouncing back strong after a tough match against Penn State. She finished the night with 20 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. This marks her fifth consecutive match with 15 or more kills and her second of the season with over 20 kills.

“I was just trying to do my job,” said Colyer. 

Oregon has now won seven consecutive home matches at Matthew Knight Arena and moved into a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten standings. 

The Ducks will remain in Eugene for a few more days before their Sunday matchup against Rutgers. This will be the fifth meeting between the Scarlet Knights and Ducks, but the first in Matthew Knight Arena, with the previous two meetings taking place at McArthur Court.