Sports

When the No. 8 Oregon Ducks (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) took the field Friday night against the unranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-3, 4-2), it was the first time in nearly a year the Ducks had played under their home lights.

Oregon got a late boost to its offense, as star tight end Kenyon Sadiq made his triumphant return to the gridiron. Sadiq immediately had an impact on the game, making an incredible diving catch to set up the first touchdown of the game.

After an unsuccessful rush from quarterback Dante Moore, the ball was handed off to running back Jordon Davison, who put the Ducks ahead 7-0 after the extra point was tacked on.

Oregon’s defense didn’t disappoint either, holding its opponent to negative yards on its first drive of the game.

The second drive of the game made it 14-0 in the Ducks’ favor, as Davison weaved through a swarm of Golden Gophers for his second six points of the quarter, marking his sixth multi-touchdown game of his collegiate career.…

Under the bright Friday night lights, with a brisk chill settling over the field, fans piled into The Farm, buzzing with anticipation for a matchup that promised fireworks from the opening whistle, as No. 5 Thurston hosted No. 13 Churchill with hopes of stamping its ticket into the state semifinals. 

After a gritty 34-17 victory over No. 12-ranked Bend, the Colts looked to flip the script this week as they welcomed Churchill for the second round of the 5A OSAA state tournament. For the Lancers, following a huge upset win last week, where they took down No. 4 Lebanon. The Lancers hope to keep their state hopes alive with another upset win on the road against the Colts. 

After already meeting this season, with Thurston coming out on top, the Colts looked to repeat the process once again by relying on this effective offense. The Lancers sought to avenge their earlier season loss by looking to their flashy rushing attack.

Thurston came into the game with a…

EUGENE, Ore. – Senior players are essential for every team. There is a need for leadership and unwavering support on the court, and senior players perfectly exude that. 

No. 12 Oregon (14-10, 5-9 BigTen) faced No. 8 Michigan State (18-6, 8-6 BigTen) in Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday after a long stretch of away games, where seniors on both sides were acknowledged and celebrated for Senior Day. 

Senior Ducks Cora Taylor, Sophia Meyers and Maya De Los Reyes were highlighted for Sunday's game. Des Los Reyes has been with the team since the 2022 season, where she started out as a serving specialist before progressing into the team’s defensive specialist. She is the only returning player after the complete disbandment of Oregon’s team, which included Coach Matt Ulmer and outside hitter Mimi Colyer parting ways with the school. 

Taylor, the Ducks’ setter, played for Butler before playing for Oregon. With the Bulldogs, she amassed 3,036 assists during her…

EUGENE, Ore. – Senior night fell on the Oregon Ducks Volleyball team (14-10, 5-9 Big Ten) on Sunday as the Michigan State Spartans (18-6, 8-6 Big Ten) made the trek out west to take on the Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena.

In the decisive fifth set, Oregon was down 15-14 and needed a rally to stay alive. After the serve and return, freshman opposite Alanah Clemente belted a spike, but was rejected, and the ball was sent back to the Ducks. Oregon tried to set up again, but a miscommunication made the ball almost fall to the floor, and Clemente had to quickly poke it up, but it went into the face of sophomore middle blocker Iva Sucurovic and to the ground. The Spartans took the match, and the Ducks were left disappointed with the game, losing folly.

“There are simply too many hitting errors from us,” Oregon head coach Trent Kerston said. “As far as volleyball execution goes, we didn’t hit the ball on the court…

EUGENE, Ore. — The Bushnell Beacons won their home opener against the Linfield Wildcats 89-70. It was a physical and competitive game with both teams going on runs. Bushnell was able to prolong its offense while shutting down the Linfield motion offense, leading to a dominant win to start the home season.

Bushnell (1-1) came in looking to rebound from its first loss of the season, facing the Linfield Wildcats, who made their season debut with their brand new coach and Bushnell graduate, Elijah Gurash. Both teams looked to make a statement early in the year.

Bushnell won the tip and quickly got a bucket from Kaleb Burnett, then Linfield responded with a bucket of its own. The Wildcats proceeded to make the next four 3-pointers while the Beacons got their buckets in the paint. There was aggressive defense on both sides, with blocking fouls called on both teams. 

After a made layup for Bushnell by Burnett made it 17-14, Linfield missed a 3-pointer. Bushnell, on…

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — Playoff football returned to Thurston for the first time since 2022, and the atmosphere made it clear how much it meant. The stands were packed, the student section loud, and a crisp 48-degree night gave it the perfect fall football feel. 

Two weeks after closing out the conference slate with a dominant win at North Eugene, the 8–1 Colts, seeded fifth, hosted the 4–5 Bend Lava Bears, seeded 13th, in the opening round.

Bend came in with a run-heavy offense that had struggled through the air, managing only six passing touchdowns all season. Thurston entered with momentum after clinching the Midwestern League title and showcasing one of the area’s most balanced attacks.

In the final regular season game against North Eugene, Thurston’s biggest issues had been self-inflicted. Fumbles, penalties, and a handful of mental mistakes kept the Colts from delivering a truly clean performance. Head coach Justin Starck said after that game that those…

EUGENE, Ore. – Bushnell volleyball came back home from four wins on the road to face Oregon Tech at home. The Beacons swept the Owls in three sets out of five. In those three sets, Bushnell’s offense was on fire, kill after kill and ace after ace. One stood out from the bunch that created a phrase heard all throughout the Morse Center tonight, “Pow goes Semau.”

Junior Amayah Semau set the tone for the Beacons, starting the game off with the very first kill and point of the game. The outside hitter kept the momentum going, adding another kill in this set. The first set gave Semau the opportunity to showcase her emerging leadership on the floor and her offensive power, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

In the second set, Semau was able to showcase a different set of skills. In addition to the two kills she put up in this set, Semau also added two back-to-back aces, showing that she is more than just a hitter. This kept the momentum up for the team to have another…

EUGENE, Ore. — The Bushnell Beacons dominated Friday, sweeping the match 3-0 versus the rival Oregon Institute of Technology Owls. The Beacons took the first two sets with ease, 25-11 and 25-14, but they had to fight tooth and nail for the third set. 

Senior Hailey Heider led Bushnell, who led the team in total attempts, as well as freshman Amyah Samau, who led the team with 12 total kills.

The 20th-ranked Bushnell Beacons (18-10) went into the game looking to clinch a playoff bye with a win over the OIT (6-12). This is the highest-ranked Bushnell has been in school history. Riding a four-game winning streak into the game, Bushnell's looked to keep the ball rolling. 

“We focus on our side of the net. We focus on what we need to do to be successful and what that looks, feels…

EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon Ducks were ready to face the UCLA Bruins for the second time this season, and once again, they came out on top. After sweeping UCLA on Oct. 27 in Los Angeles, Oregon defended its home court at Matthew Knight Arena with power, energy and precision, fueled by standout hitter Valentina Vaulet, who brought relentless force on both the outside and right side.

The night began with energy and pride as “Social Insecurity,” part of the Cascade Chorus, performed the national anthem for Oregon’s annual Women in Flight game, a celebration of women’s athletics. 

From the opening serve, the Ducks set the tone. They stormed through the first set 25-9, led by a dominant block from Sophia Meyers and assists from Cora Taylor. Vaulet ignited the crowd with a line kill that sent the ball screaming past UCLA’s defense. Iva Sucurovic delivered a crushing middle hit before Alanah Clemente closed the set with a pinpoint ace.

The second set brought tighter…

EUGENE, Ore. - Cleaning up the errors is something that Oregon women’s indoor volleyball (14-9, 5-8 Big Ten) head coach Trent Kersten has been asking for all season. In the Ducks’ second matchup against the UCLA Bruins (13-10, 7-6 Big Ten) this season, the story was the same, despite squeaking out with a four-set victory (25-9, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22).

“Our team stepped up defensively,” Kersten said. “And offensively, our team was super balanced.”

Kersten had to completely rebuild the team in the offseason, with only one player, Maya De Los Reyes, returning to the team after last season. For his first season at the helm in Eugene, he brought on eight true freshmen, with four athletes coming from overseas.

With so many new faces on the team, the chemistry on the court was a question mark entering the season. However, the squad has pulled off major victories so far this season against ranked opponents.

Entering the night, the Ducks were ranked 42nd in the nation…