By Ryan Oppenheimer
EUGENE, Ore. — After closing out a 26-5 regular season with a sweep of Oregon State in Corvallis, Oregon women's volleyball will take its home floor at least once more as it gets set for a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup against the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Ducks were named a No. 2 seed on last Sunday's tournament bracket selection show and earned the luxury of hosting a regional for the second consecutive year. They have the second-highest seed of any Pac-12 team; only the No. 1 seed Stanford Cardinal are higher. Oregon enters the tourney on a five-match winning streak, with its most recent loss coming at the hands of the Cardinal on November 9.
It seems like everyone on the Ducks' unit is hitting their stride at the right time. They are playing complete volleyball, ranking top-16 nationally in kills per set, assists per set, blocks per set and hitting percentage. Mimi Colyer's second season was every bit as spectacular as her first, and it ended with a season-high 21-kill performance against Oregon State. Colyer has an elite supporting cast, with Gabby Gonzales, Morgan Lewis, Kara McGhee and Hannah Pukis rounding out a school-record five players named to the All-Pac-12 team.
The red-hot Southland Conference champion Lady Lions boast a 28-4 record and come in as winners of 22 straight. Senior outside hitter Kailin Newsome was named the MVP of the Southland Conference tournament and is the top offensive threat, leading the team in points with 510. On the opposite side of the net, SLC Newcomer of the Year Rachel Hartmann tallied 429.5 points while hitting an efficient .345.
The other two teams flying into Eugene are the No. 7-seeded Iowa State Cyclones (20-9) and the unseeded Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (23-8), who will square off at 4 p.m. The winners of each first-round matchup will meet in the second round Friday at 7 p.m.
The Ducks will look to improve upon an already stellar 2022 postseason run which saw them narrowly fall in five sets to Louisville in the regional final. Coach Matt Ulmer, who will appear in his sixth tournament with Oregon, knows how to get his team ready for big moments. There is a confident aura surrounding this program, and now that it has shown it can reach the Elite 8, it's setting its sights on a championship.
Prediction: Oregon defeats Southeastern 3-0, Iowa State defeats Hawaii 3-1, Oregon defeats Iowa State 3-1