After blowing a 2-0 set lead to No. 21 USC (20-9, 12-7 in Big Ten) in a five-set loss on Nov., 17, Oregon (21-7, 13-6 Big Ten) bounced back on its trip to the Michigan schools last weekend, sweeping both the Spartans (13-17, 6-13 in Big Ten) and Wolverines (17-13, 7-12 in Big Ten) on their home floors.
The Ducks followed that with another huge home matchup in their return to Eugene, Ore. — a date with the No. 9 Purdue Boilermakers (24-6, 15-4 in Big Ten) in the last regular season game at Matthew Knight Arena.
Oregon was 0-4 against top-10 opponents in the AVCA rankings coming into this match. Purdue was an opportunity for the Ducks to further solidify themselves as a top-16 team heading into the NCAA tournament.
Oregon opened the first set strong thanks to an active front line led by Mimi Colyer and Noemie Glover. Duck fans rose to their feet and gave the team some momentum after a long rally saw Oregon win the point thanks to a tough dig from MacKenzie Morris off of Purdue’s Eva Hudson —a top-15 kill hitter in the country.
Purdue responded while down 13-7 to make the first set close, but the Ducks finished things off behind 11 assists from Cristin Cline and a .312 hitting percentage to take the first set by a score of 25-19.
“I think it started with the serving,” Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer said. “I thought we served well enough that they had tough swings… and we were able to slow them down enough.”
Onye Ofoegbu started to take over at the top of the second set, putting down three kills and two blocks to help Oregon jump out to a 9-5 point lead. Duck attacking errors then gave Purdue some life and Set 2 started to look very similar to the first, with Purdue chasing a comeback capitalizing on Oregon’s mistakes.
Ofoegbu put down her fourth kill of the set and knotted the score at 20. At this point the game was evenly matched on all fronts. Both teams had at least 20 assists and 28 digs with Purdue hitting .143 to Oregon’s .188. The Ducks had four more blocks which stood out as a difference-maker in the second set.
Oregon hit set point up 24-22. A beautiful set from Cline to Colyer found the hardwood and the Ducks found themselves up two sets to nothing over the No. 9 team in the country.
The third set was pivotal for the Ducks who looked to shake the ghosts of two Sundays ago at USC. Things looked as evenly matched as they had all night with neither team rattling off more than a three-point run through the first half of the set — that was until Purdue put down eight in a row to take an 18-13 point lead.
Purdue would jump out to a 21-16 point lead before Oregon called its final timeout of the set. It was here all the momentum seemed to be in Purdue’s favor, but the Ducks didn't back down. Cline’s sets stayed pure and Oregon rattled off a 4-0 run that tied the third set at 22 leading to a Purdue timeout.
Glover smashed a kill with the set tied at 23 and gave Oregon the match point. Michelle Ohwobete then errored her serve into the net and the score was notched at 24. Both teams responded with two points apiece as the Matthew Knight crowd surged with electricity.
Ofoegbu brought the Ducks back to match point before her net violation gave Purdue a chance. Raven Colvin and Hudson put down back-to-back kills and Purdue won the third set 29-27. The comeback was still alive.
The Boilermakers came out fired up to start Set 4 while the Ducks were forced to put the tough ending of Set 3 behind them. Just like the first three sets, this one was extremely back-and-forth with neither team holding more than a two-point lead through the first half.
Up until this point the Ducks had done a great job keeping Purdue’s outside hitters quiet, mostly due to a spectacular performance in the dig column from Morris, but in the fourth set that train started to gain some steam. Chloe Chicoine, Hudson and Colvin found their footing and paved the way but Purdue’s service errors kept the score in check.
Towards the end of the fourth set, a pivotal call was upheld on an Oregon attack that was called out of bounds, to the dismay of Duck fans the score sat at 18-17 with Purdue on top, a big call given how close each set was.
The Ducks rallied and made the fourth set close but Colvin and Chicoine stayed dominant and finished it off to win the fourth set for the Boilermakers behind a 25-23 score, this match was headed to a fifth set.
When it came time for the teams to swap sides in the Set 5, Oregon led 8-7, with Ohwobete and Colyer leading the way. Purdue’s outside hitters kept them in contention and it was clear the final set was going to be decided by a few key moments.
Purdue reached match point up 14-13, a block attempt from Colby Neal went wide and Purdue won the match. It was an incredible comeback for the Boilermakers.
Oregon dropped to 0-5 against top-10 AVCA opponents and blew its second 2-0 set lead in two weeks. Wednesday’s game would have been a huge win for the Ducks but the NCAA selection show on Dec. 1 will tell whether or not this Oregon squad has the resume to keep a top-16 seed and host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
“We personally talked about saying what needs to be said,” Ohwobete put after the match. “Picking out the changes that need to be made as quickly as possible… what different factors does our team need to focus on, and everybody is taking accountability for the role that they play on the court.”
The Ducks face a quick turnaround and will play their final game of the regular season in Los Angeles, California against the UCLA Bruins (14-14, 8-11 in Big Ten) on Friday.