Friday, August 25
Gainesville, FL
2:00 PM
University of Oregon
vs
Nebraska
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Notes: No. 18 Ducks to Open Season Against Top-5 Foes
08/22/17 | Women's Volleyball
No. 18 Oregon volleyball is set to kick off its 2017 season and the Matt Ulmer era this Friday (2 p.m. PT, ESPN) against No. 5 Nebraska and Saturday (4:30 p.m. PT, Longhorn Network) against No. 1 Texas at the VERT Challenge in Gainesville, Fla.
EUGENE, Ore. - The 18th-ranked Oregon volleyball team will have no time to ease into the 2017 season, as the Ducks open the year and the new era of Duck volleyball under head coach Matt Ulmer with matches against a pair of top-five teams this weekend at the VERT Challenge in Gainesville, Fla.
Oregon will play its season opener on Friday at Exactech Arena against No. 5 Nebraska at 2 p.m. PT before facing top-ranked Texas, last year's NCAA runner-up, on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The entirety of the VERT Challenge will carried on the ESPN family of networks. The Ducks' season opener against the Cornhuskers on Friday will be broadcast live on ESPN3, while Oregon's match against the top-ranked Longhorns on Saturday will air on the Longhorn Network. Tiffany Greene, Nell Fortner and Holly Rowe will be on site to call all of the action. A link to live stats will be available on GoDucks.com, and updates will be provided throughout each match on Twitter via @OregonVB.
ULMER TAKES OVER OREGON VOLLEYBALL
After serving the last three years as an assistant for the Ducks, including a year as associate head coach in 2016, Matt Ulmer enters his first year as Oregon's head coach. The seventh head coach in program history, Ulmer has been instrumental in the construction of the Ducks' current roster, including the recruitment of the No. 2-ranked class in the nation in 2016. With familiar faces all around him and a program that has reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the last six seasons, Ulmer appears poised for success in his first year at the helm of UO volleyball.
FLOCK OF DUCKS RETURN FROM 2016
Oregon fans will not need long to learn the 2017 roster, as 13 players return from last season's second-round NCAA Tournament team, including 12 letter-winners. Oregon brings back 10 players who appeared in at least 50 sets last season, and return tremendous depth at nearly every position. The Ducks, who led the Pac-12 last serason with 14.35 kills per set and a .275 team hitting percentage, also bring back six players who averaged better than 1.00 kill per set and four who averaged more than 2.00 kills per set, as well as setters Maggie Scott and August Raskie to run the 6-2 offense.
DUCKS SEEK VERT CHALLENGE BREAKTHROUGH
Now in its third year competing with Florida, Nebraska and Texas in the VERT Challenge, Oregon enters 2017 looking for its first win in the elite non-conference tournament. The Ducks took then-No. 4 Nebraska to five sets in 2015 before suffering a tough loss, and last year played then-No. 10 Florida tough in a back-and-forth four-set loss.
ABOUT NO. 5 NEBRASKA
Coming off its second straight NCAA Final Four appearance, Nebraska enters 2017 ranked in the top five in the nation for the third year in a row. The Cornhuskers will look a little different in 2017, with six freshmen dotting the roster. Nebraska returns senior setter Kelly Hunter and all-American senior Briana Holman in the middle, as well as a Final Four MVP in junior six-rotation player Mikaela Foecke.
ABOUT NO. 1 TEXAS
The Longhorns enter 2017 as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation after finishing as the national runner-up to Stanford last season. The Longhorns return first-team all-American Ebony Nwanebu on the outside, along with 2016 Freshman of the Year Micaya White. Six more upperclassmen dot the roster for the Longhorns, who earned 1,547 points in the preseason coaches poll to take the top spot.
DUCKS PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN PAC-12
Following a 21-10 season in which the Ducks went 13-7 in Pac-12 play to place fourth in the conference, Matt Ulmer's squad has been picked to to finish third in the Pac-12 this season. In a vote of the conference's coaches, the Ducks received 93 points to slot in behind Washington (118) and defending national champion Stanford (113).
THREE NAMED PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12
A trio of Ducks were named to the preseason all-Pac-12 squad, taking up three of the 14 slots. Senior right-side Taylor Agost, junior outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide and sophomore middle blocker Ronika Stone all earned the preseason honor from in a vote of the Pac-12 coaches. Vander Weide has been an all-Pac-12 selection in each of her first two seasons, while Agost and Stone eached earned all-Pac-12 honorable mention honors last year.
DUCKS 18TH IN AVCA PRESEASON COACHES POLL
After ending the 2016 season at No. 21 in the final AVCA poll, the Ducks rose three spots to open 2017 at No. 18 in the country. Oregon opens the season with the fourth-highest national ranking among Pac-12 teams, with defending national champion Stanford leading the way at No. 2. Washington is right behind the Cardinal at No. 3, and UCLA landed inside the top 15 at No. 13. Utah (23) and Arizona (24) round out the Pac-12 teams in the top 25. With No. 5 Nebraska and No. 1 Texas at the top of the schedule, the Ducks' 2017 slate is loaded with elite competition.
ALL-AMERICAN VANDER WEIDE RETURNS
Junior outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide will once again be a focal point for the Ducks this season, coming off a tremendous 2016 campaign in which she was an AVCA third-team all-American and all-Pac-12 selection. Vander Weide led the Ducks in 2016 with 3.85 points per set, 3.24 kills per set and 37 service aces, and she was second with 2.71 digs per set while serving as a six-rotation player. Vander Weide will be counted on even more in the back row this season with the departure of libero Amanda Benson.
DUCKS TASKED WITH REPLACING BENSON
The Ducks' defense will be without one of the most accomplished players in Oregon volleyball history this season, as Oregon enters its first season in four years without libero Amanda Benson. Benson, second all-time at Oregon in both digs and digs per set, was able to cover nearly three-quarters of the backcourt for the Ducks, who will go with a replacement-by-committee stratagy this season to make up for the loss of Benson. Senior Alex Hojnar will open the season as the libero, and Brooke Van Sickle could see time there as well in addtion to on the outside. Freshman Kyra Hanawahine and senior Marine Hall-Poirier provide depth, and Lindsey Vander Weide will once again be asked to provide consistent passing and defense as a six-rotation player.
STELLAR SOPHOMORES
The sophomore class of Willow Johnson, Jolie Rasmussen, Ronika Stone and Brooke Van Sickle will play a big role for the Ducks this season after entering in 2016 as the No. 2 class in the nation. Stone was stellar as a sophomore last season in the middle, hitting .374 to place second in UO single-season history. Rasmussen showed flashes of brilliance when healthy with 2.56 kills per set and 1.07 digs per set, and Johnson is a dynamic lefty on the right side. Van Sickle is the most verstatile player the Ducks have, with the ability to play both on the outside and in the back row.
UP NEXT
Following the VERT Challenge, the Ducks will return home to host a pair of home tournaments at Matthew Knight Arena, beginning with the Oregon Classic (Aug. 31-Sept. 2).
MORE INTERVIEWS
Oregon will play its season opener on Friday at Exactech Arena against No. 5 Nebraska at 2 p.m. PT before facing top-ranked Texas, last year's NCAA runner-up, on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The entirety of the VERT Challenge will carried on the ESPN family of networks. The Ducks' season opener against the Cornhuskers on Friday will be broadcast live on ESPN3, while Oregon's match against the top-ranked Longhorns on Saturday will air on the Longhorn Network. Tiffany Greene, Nell Fortner and Holly Rowe will be on site to call all of the action. A link to live stats will be available on GoDucks.com, and updates will be provided throughout each match on Twitter via @OregonVB.
ULMER TAKES OVER OREGON VOLLEYBALL
After serving the last three years as an assistant for the Ducks, including a year as associate head coach in 2016, Matt Ulmer enters his first year as Oregon's head coach. The seventh head coach in program history, Ulmer has been instrumental in the construction of the Ducks' current roster, including the recruitment of the No. 2-ranked class in the nation in 2016. With familiar faces all around him and a program that has reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the last six seasons, Ulmer appears poised for success in his first year at the helm of UO volleyball.
FLOCK OF DUCKS RETURN FROM 2016
Oregon fans will not need long to learn the 2017 roster, as 13 players return from last season's second-round NCAA Tournament team, including 12 letter-winners. Oregon brings back 10 players who appeared in at least 50 sets last season, and return tremendous depth at nearly every position. The Ducks, who led the Pac-12 last serason with 14.35 kills per set and a .275 team hitting percentage, also bring back six players who averaged better than 1.00 kill per set and four who averaged more than 2.00 kills per set, as well as setters Maggie Scott and August Raskie to run the 6-2 offense.
DUCKS SEEK VERT CHALLENGE BREAKTHROUGH
Now in its third year competing with Florida, Nebraska and Texas in the VERT Challenge, Oregon enters 2017 looking for its first win in the elite non-conference tournament. The Ducks took then-No. 4 Nebraska to five sets in 2015 before suffering a tough loss, and last year played then-No. 10 Florida tough in a back-and-forth four-set loss.
ABOUT NO. 5 NEBRASKA
Coming off its second straight NCAA Final Four appearance, Nebraska enters 2017 ranked in the top five in the nation for the third year in a row. The Cornhuskers will look a little different in 2017, with six freshmen dotting the roster. Nebraska returns senior setter Kelly Hunter and all-American senior Briana Holman in the middle, as well as a Final Four MVP in junior six-rotation player Mikaela Foecke.
ABOUT NO. 1 TEXAS
The Longhorns enter 2017 as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation after finishing as the national runner-up to Stanford last season. The Longhorns return first-team all-American Ebony Nwanebu on the outside, along with 2016 Freshman of the Year Micaya White. Six more upperclassmen dot the roster for the Longhorns, who earned 1,547 points in the preseason coaches poll to take the top spot.
DUCKS PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN PAC-12
Following a 21-10 season in which the Ducks went 13-7 in Pac-12 play to place fourth in the conference, Matt Ulmer's squad has been picked to to finish third in the Pac-12 this season. In a vote of the conference's coaches, the Ducks received 93 points to slot in behind Washington (118) and defending national champion Stanford (113).
THREE NAMED PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12
A trio of Ducks were named to the preseason all-Pac-12 squad, taking up three of the 14 slots. Senior right-side Taylor Agost, junior outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide and sophomore middle blocker Ronika Stone all earned the preseason honor from in a vote of the Pac-12 coaches. Vander Weide has been an all-Pac-12 selection in each of her first two seasons, while Agost and Stone eached earned all-Pac-12 honorable mention honors last year.
DUCKS 18TH IN AVCA PRESEASON COACHES POLL
After ending the 2016 season at No. 21 in the final AVCA poll, the Ducks rose three spots to open 2017 at No. 18 in the country. Oregon opens the season with the fourth-highest national ranking among Pac-12 teams, with defending national champion Stanford leading the way at No. 2. Washington is right behind the Cardinal at No. 3, and UCLA landed inside the top 15 at No. 13. Utah (23) and Arizona (24) round out the Pac-12 teams in the top 25. With No. 5 Nebraska and No. 1 Texas at the top of the schedule, the Ducks' 2017 slate is loaded with elite competition.
ALL-AMERICAN VANDER WEIDE RETURNS
Junior outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide will once again be a focal point for the Ducks this season, coming off a tremendous 2016 campaign in which she was an AVCA third-team all-American and all-Pac-12 selection. Vander Weide led the Ducks in 2016 with 3.85 points per set, 3.24 kills per set and 37 service aces, and she was second with 2.71 digs per set while serving as a six-rotation player. Vander Weide will be counted on even more in the back row this season with the departure of libero Amanda Benson.
DUCKS TASKED WITH REPLACING BENSON
The Ducks' defense will be without one of the most accomplished players in Oregon volleyball history this season, as Oregon enters its first season in four years without libero Amanda Benson. Benson, second all-time at Oregon in both digs and digs per set, was able to cover nearly three-quarters of the backcourt for the Ducks, who will go with a replacement-by-committee stratagy this season to make up for the loss of Benson. Senior Alex Hojnar will open the season as the libero, and Brooke Van Sickle could see time there as well in addtion to on the outside. Freshman Kyra Hanawahine and senior Marine Hall-Poirier provide depth, and Lindsey Vander Weide will once again be asked to provide consistent passing and defense as a six-rotation player.
STELLAR SOPHOMORES
The sophomore class of Willow Johnson, Jolie Rasmussen, Ronika Stone and Brooke Van Sickle will play a big role for the Ducks this season after entering in 2016 as the No. 2 class in the nation. Stone was stellar as a sophomore last season in the middle, hitting .374 to place second in UO single-season history. Rasmussen showed flashes of brilliance when healthy with 2.56 kills per set and 1.07 digs per set, and Johnson is a dynamic lefty on the right side. Van Sickle is the most verstatile player the Ducks have, with the ability to play both on the outside and in the back row.
UP NEXT
Following the VERT Challenge, the Ducks will return home to host a pair of home tournaments at Matthew Knight Arena, beginning with the Oregon Classic (Aug. 31-Sept. 2).
MORE INTERVIEWS
