By Charles Martindale Over a month ago, Oregon volleyball made the trip to Los Angeles for a set of matches against the Pac-12’s Southern California schools. The trip came at something of a low point in the season for Oregon, who had just lost back to back grueling matches to Washington State and Washington, only the second time in 2022 that they’d been defeated consecutively. The losing streak continued on October 14th, when the Ducks fell in four sets to USC, their third straight loss. Two days later when trailing UCLA, a set away from a fourth straight defeat, the team flipped the script, beating the Bruins in five sets to earn a happy flight home. Beating UCLA and ending the three match skid seemed important even at the time, with Oregon showing serious resilience on the road in order to split on the weekend. Still fighting the injury bug, Oregon used that momentum to kick off what has become the new defining stretch of their year. The Ducks have yet to lose since that USC match, and the team looks better than ever heading into rematches with the Southern California schools this weekend. Now ranked 12th in the country, Oregon has hit their stride at the exact right time, with just four matches remaining in the 2022 regular campaign. The Oregon volleyball team that pulled out a victory at UCLA back in October seems very different from the one that will host UCLA on Friday, not just in momentum, but in a certain spot on the roster. The stars remain, freshman revelation Mimi Colyer ranks in the Pac-12 top five in kills per set and in total kills with 393. Face of the program Brooke Nuneviller is putting the finishing touches on an excellent senior season, adding 380 kills of her own, trailing only Georgia Murphy in digs per set and leading the team in matches and sets while hitting a serviceable .281. The main difference in Oregon’s roster this time around is junior setter Hannah Pukis, who missed the first half of October due to injury. Pukis is third in the Pac-12 in assists per set, and the Ducks have yet to lose a match since Pukis’ return, only reaching the fifth set twice over the nine match tear. The trio of Nuneviller, Pukis, and Colyer allows for some of Oregon’s other players to excel as well. Senior Gloria Mutiri, who hit .481 in the momentum shifting first victory over UCLA, is having arguably the best season of her career at Oregon. Sophomore out of Georgia Kiari Robey joins Colyer as underclassmen having a big impact for a team with serious postseason hopes, with Robey hitting .409 through 19 matches this year. UCLA has had an up and down year in 2022, ranking seventh in the Pac-12 and posting a 14-11 overall record. The Bruins are led by defensive standout Francesca Alupei, who leads the entire conference in blocks per set, as well as by Matti McKissock, who ranks top five in the Pac-12 in assists per set. UCLA has a tough task ahead of them with Oregon again, who have dominated in Pac-12 play of late. USC has their eyes set on the Ducks for multiple reasons, trailing only Oregon and Stanford in the Pac-12 standings. USC’s season has been defined mainly by Mia Tuaniga and Skylar Fields. The duo lead the conference in kills, kills per set, assists, and assists per set, putting forward a stellar offensive front that coach Matt Ulmer and Oregon, who have already lost to the Trojans once, will need to account for. One final advantage the Ducks have is that they’ll be playing host this weekend. At Matthew Knight arena, the Ducks have been nothing short of unstoppable, putting up a 9-0 record on their own court this year, including their statement sweep of Stanford in September, the only Pac-12 defeat that No. 5 Stanford has seen this year. The weekend brings another tough test for the Ducks, who have made recent habit of knocking challengers back. Friday vs. UCLA: 7:00 PM Sunday vs. USC: 12:00 PM