No. 13 Ducks on the Road for Two in Texas

EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 13 Oregon volleyball team continues its non-conference schedule this weekend with a pair of matches in Houston, Texas. First serve against Rice is scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m. (PT) inside Tudor Fieldhouse. Oregon will also play SMU during its two-match stay in the Lone Star State.
 
Thursday's match is just the third all-time meeting between Oregon and Rice, and first since 1996. The Ducks and SMU have never played one another.
 
Weekend Schedule
Thursday, September 2 at Rice – 4 p.m. (PT) – Watch | Live Stats
 
Friday, September 3 vs SMU – 12 p.m. (PT) – Live Stats
 
Oregon enters Thursday's match with a 3-0 record, capping last weekend's season-opening tournament with a straight-set victory over San Jose State. The Ducks registered a .296 hitting percentage during the Oregon Invitational while holding their opponents to a combined .070 offensive efficiency.
 
Collectively, the Ducks served up 18 aces during the three-match home opener and averaged 3.39 blocks per set. Libero Georgia Murphy leads the defensive efforts behind the block with 4.56 digs per set.
 
Offensively, Brooke Nuneviller and Abby Hansen are pacing the team through three matches at 3.00 and 2.22 kills per set, respectively. Hansen recorded a .720 hitting percentage last weekend, committing just two attack errors on 25 swings. Hansen and Gloria Mutiri are each averaging 1.44 blocks per set through the first weekend of the 2021 season.
 
Rice (0-2) is receiving votes in the latest AVCA national poll after losses to South Carolina and ninth-ranked Pittsburgh in five. Nicole Lennon, the reigning C-USA Player of the Year and All-America Third Team performer, leads the Owls at 3.89 kills per set. As a team, Rice is averaging 15.44 digs per set.
 
SMU (2-1) opened its season with wins over Pacific and Stephen F. Austin before dropping its weekend finale to North Carolina. Through the first weekend of the year, Hannah Jacobs averages a team-high 4.30 kills per set coupled with a .358 hitting percentage. Five Mustangs average more than two digs per set, led by libero Makayla Miller at 3.80 digs per set.
 
Up Next: The Ducks are back home Sept. 10-11 to host the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge and a  loaded field featuring No. 10 Minnesota, No. 17 Penn State and No. 20 Stanford.
 
For more news and information about the Ducks, follow @OregonVB on Instagram and Twitter, and @OregonVolleyball on Facebook.