Wednesday, Oct. 30 saw the Ducks drop a close five-set match in Seattle to the Pacific Northwest rival Washington Huskies. Three days later, No. 10 Oregon got back on track with a dominant three-set sweep over the UCLA Bruins, improving its season record to 17-4 and 9-3 in conference play.
The first set kicked off going back and forth with the Ducks holding a 9-6 point lead. It was here Oregon rattled off a seven point scoring run thanks to five Bruin attacking errors. Oregon didn't look back and coasted to a 25-12 blowout win in Set 1 because of UCLA’s attacking blunders, 13 total errors from the Bruins through the first set — a number that top teams in the nation would struggle to come back from.
The Bruins looked to be hitting hibernation in set one but Set 2 saw them get hungry. They gave the Ducks a bout in the second set after cleaning up their attacking errors.
Once UCLA got its offense rolling it became clear who it was trying to target in the passing game — middle blocker Anna Dodson and outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette. With the score knotted at 16, Oregon middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu read the Bruin’s set piece like a picture book. Anticipating the set to Dodson, Ofoegbu stuff blocked her attack and fired up the Oregon sideline.
Set 2 also saw the offensive explosion of Michelle Ohwobete. The transfer from Santa Barbara looked unstoppable, racking up nine of her season-high 15 kills in this set.
“I think coming off of Washington I was really trying to just go back to the basics,” Ohwobete said. “It sounds counterintuitive but I was thinking about everything else but hitting… The beauty of my position is that there's so many other skills you can pour into and wait for whatever you’re struggling with to come back and get that rhythm again.”
Thanks to Ohwobete’s Set 2 onslaught, the Ducks held on to win 25-21 and waltzed into the third set just one win away from closing out the night, and that they did. Oregon sent the Bruins packing with a 25-13 point win in Set 3, finishing off the sweep and keeping the Ducks in prime position for a postseason push.
There were a lot of good takeaways from this game for Duck volleyball fans so let's take a look. First off we have to highlight redshirt freshman setter Crisitin Cline and redshirt senior middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu.
Cline put up her second 40-assist performance in a three-set match this year. Her assists per set average of 10.35 keeps her in the top 50 for all Division I setters and has her at number five in the Big Ten.
“I watched Hannah [Pukis] be a great setter and she was five years older than me, so me growing from game to game is a big thing I’ve been working on with Matt [Ulmer],” Cline said. “All my hitters give me so much grace for obviously being so young.”
Ofoegbu was consistent with her opportunities all night long, cashing in 11 of her 13 attack attempts and finishing with a .769 hitting percentage.
“I thought tonight was Cristin’s best night setting Onye, we had a little breakthrough yesterday in practice with her setting Onye and it was easily the best they’ve had,” head coach Matt Ulmer said. “It’s really cool to see that relationship grow and it’s gonna be an important one for us moving forward.”
Another important aspect of the Ducks’ win was outside hitter Mimi Colyer. Oregon fans have become accustomed to Colyer’s game-carrying performances. Against the Bruins, she was able to take a back seat roll to the hot-handed Ohwobete. Colyer finished with eight kills and seven digs that made a huge impact both offensively and defensively, proving that even on a night where she wasn't the primary passing target she can still fill up the stat sheet and be a leader.
On the defensive side of the ball, libero Mackenzie Morris and defensive specialist Daley McClellan combined for 19 of the team’s 38 digs. In a closely fought second set, McClellan laid out for a ball on the sideline that would have been a Bruin point had she not made the save. The rally continued and the Ducks won the point in a pivotal set that controlled the destiny of momentum heading into Set 3.
There was a standout theme in the postgame interviews when asked about Ohwobete’s performance.
“Michelle [Ohwobete] had a nice matchup tonight and really exploited it. She was very aggressive which was something we talked about right after Washington,” Ulmer said. “We needed to come out attacking and I thought Michelle did that from the start.”
“I was thinking matchups as well,” Ohwobete added. “I was thinking scouting report and then during the game, as I got more comfortable, I was thinking matchups.”
Oregon’s decision to target Ohwobete’s matchup in the offensive scheme paid dividends for the Ducks on Saturday night. It gave Cline more room to work Colyer out of the back-row attack and allowed quick hitters from Ofoegbu and Noemie Glover to be more effective.
The Ducks will look to carry this momentum into their biggest matchup of the season this coming Thursday. No. 2 Nebraska comes to town for Oregon’s Women In Flight Game, one that will bring attention to women’s athletics at the University of Oregon.
A win over the Cornhuskers would certainly boost Oregon deeper into the top ten and set it up for an even better shot at home-court advantage come the NCAA tournament. The first serve is set for 7:00 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday, Nov. 7.