Ducks Sweep Away Cal
EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon closed out its home schedule for the season with another dominant three-set victory over California, winning 25-12, 25-19, 25-19, to improve to 13-3 in the conference-only season Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena.
"I thought we got a lot of really good contributions all the way around," said head coach Matt Ulmer. "Our defense did a nice job, we served really well and our blocking I thought was very formidable and that changed the tone in the first set. We're 13-3 going into the last weekend and hopefully we can just continue to get better every day."
How It Happened: Just like Friday's match, the Ducks got off to a bit of a slow start in all three sets, but turned it on late to win each by a wide margin. Oregon trailed 11-9 in set one, but responded with eight straight, keyed by Elise Ferreira at the service line to open up a big lead. After Cal picked up a side out to make it 17-12, the Ducks scored the final eight after that to win the set, 25-12, scoring 14 of the final 15 points.
In set two, Cal again kept it close until the midway point, tying it up at 12 before the Ducks went on another run to pull away. Taylor Borup led a 5-0 run with a kill and back-to-back aces to give Oregon a seven-point lead at 20-13. The Bears cut it to 22-19 with a 4-0 run of their own, but a Gloria Mutiri kill, followed by ace by Brooke Nuneviller and a solo block by Abby Hansen gave Oregon a 25-19 set two win.
The two teams were tied at seven in set three before the Ducks opened things up with a 6-0 run to go up 13-7. From there the two teams traded points the rest of the way as Oregon finished off the match with another 25-19 win. Nuneviller came alive in the final set, recording six kills and an ace to power the Oregon offense.
What It Means: Oregon heads into the final weekend of the regular season still in the hunt for a Pac-12 title. With Washington winning both of its matches this weekend and Washington State losing to Utah today, the Ducks will need to win both their matches against Arizona State next week while hoping the Huskies lose one of their final two matches against Cal.
Notable: Oregon's 13 Pac-12 wins are tied for the third-most conference wins in a season in school history with still two matches remaining … The Ducks have won 10 straight sets dating back to the fifth set of the March 19 Oregon State match after securing their third straight sweep … Nuneviller posted her 13th double-double of the season in 16 matches and is averaging 3.61 kills and 3.80 digs per set on the season … Mutiri finished with 11 kills on 21 attempts while hitting .429, marking the third time this year she has hit over .400 with 20-plus swings … In all 13 wins this year, Oregon has had more or been tied with its opponents in blocks … The Ducks held Cal to .050 hitting in the two matches.
Up Next: Oregon closes out the regular season on the road at Arizona State, Thursday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.).