Written Story by Jakob Salao
Oregon Volleyball defeated the UCLA Bruins on Friday 3-2 at home in Matthew Knight Arena. This extends the Ducks' winning streak to 10 straight wins; a streak that started back in early October where Oregon first beat UCLA this season. This is also the first time Oregon has swept UCLA in the season since 2018. Although on paper this may sound like Oregon got the win easily, the real match was not won that easily.
The first set was a tumultuous back-and-forth set where neither team was able to jump out to a sizable lead. As soon as Oregon would find a lead, UCLA would go on a scoring run to get it right back. It wasn’t until Oregon scored their 19th point, and forced a UCLA timeout, that the team was able to secure their lead. As they lead 19-17, the crowd in MKA began to explode with chants and claps in support of the Ducks. The Ducks responded to this energy with a 9-1 scoring run in order to secure a victory in the first set 25-18. The momentum was undoubtedly with the Ducks as Freshman Mimi Colyer sent a shot emphatically to the floor to end the set, and no Bruin was able to receive it.
UCLA started to show out in the second set. Unlike the first, UCLA was able to start off strong and jumped out to a 6-11 lead. However, after the Ducks call a timeout, a Brooke Nuneviller solo block against Elan McCall would kickstart an Oregon scoring run as they tried to claw their way back in to the set. The Bruins wouldn’t relent the pressure as they continued to pile on the points, and Oregon would be forced to call their second timeout once UCLA reached an 11-18 lead. Though the Bruins reached match point 17-24, the Ducks never gave up hope as a kill from Colyer and Kiari Robey would put Oregon at 20-24. Gloria Mutiri and Brooke Nuneviller added on two kills of their own to bring Oregon to 22-24. Then, Hannah Pukis came through with a service ace and a long rally afterward ends with a Gloria Mutiri shot to the hardwood to tie the set 24-24. MKA was electric once the Ducks tied the set; nearly every fan was on their feet raining chants of support onto the court. Despite the momentum, UCLA was able to hold on to their lead and finishes the set off 25-27 after another Dodson kill to the back line.
Oregon in the third set started off strongly, but UCLA continued to fight back just as hard. Once the Ducks were down 6-9, they called their first timeout, but the Bruins continued to roll on ahead. Head Coach Matt Ulmer is forced to call his 2nd timeout as UCLA continues adding on to their lead making it 7-15. However, the Ducks would continue to stay competitive against the Bruins: key kills coming from Nuneviller, Colyer, and Mutiri would try to cut into the Bruins’ lead. However, UCLA would finish off strong as they rolled to a 16-25 victory in set 3. UCLA ended on a 6-1 scoring run capped off with a McCall kill to end the set.
The fourth set was lead by the likes of Mutiri, Nuneviller, and Colyer. These three reached double digit kills for the Ducks in this set, and that allowed Oregon to jump out to 11-8 to start the set. However, much like the other sets, the Bruins would not take this laying down, but a Nuneviller block heading in to a media timeout put Oregon up 15-12. After the Ducks reach set point, UCLA would score 4 straight to force an Oregon timeout as the gap closed to 24-22. However, the Ducks would hold strong as they closed out the fourth set 25-22 courtesy of a Georgia Murphy diving dig, allowing Pukis to set up Kiari Robey to slam it into the hardwood.
In between sets, “Shout” ringed out across MKA. If there was anything that shifted the momentum into the favor of Oregon, it would be this song. A Nuneviller kill followed by a Colyer-Robey combo block gives Oregon a 3-2 lead to start the set. The Ducks rolled ahead as Nuneviller tallied her 18th kill to switch sides as Oregon led 8-7. The rest of the set was in the hands of Oregon as the would score 3 straight to force a UCLA timeout to a 11-8 lead. Mutiri would slam down a missile into the hardwood to give the ducks set point and the Ducks capped off the match with a kill from Colyer. 15-10 was the score for the final set as the Ducks extend their winning streak to 10.
Oregon will stay in Eugene as they are set to face USC on Sunday, Nov. 20 in MKA.