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Ducks Face Road Tests at Colorado, Utah

Sep 30, 2021

EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 11 Oregon volleyball team opens the month of October with a pair of ranked road matches beginning Friday against No. 24 Colorado. First serve between the Ducks and Buffs is set for 6 p.m. (PT) in Boulder, Colo. Through the first month of the 2021 campaign, Oregon carries an 11-1 records with a 2-0 mark in Pac-12 play.
 
The Ducks then face 19th-ranked Utah on Sunday in the weekend finale. Both matches will air on the Pac-12 Networks.
 
How to Follow
Friday, Oct. 1 at #24 Colorado | 6 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Watch Online | Live Stats
 
Sunday, Oct. 3 at #19 Utah | 11 a.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Watch Online | Live Stats
 
Last Time Out
The Ducks capped the first week of Pac-12 play with a five-set victory at Arizona State. In the decisive fifth frame, UO generated a .471 hitting percentage and ended the match on a 6-0 run. With the win, Oregon improved to 2-1 in five setters this season. Brooke Nuneviller had a match-high 22 kills—six in the fifth—while Karson Bacon and Gloria Mutiri each tallied 13 kills. Defensively, Becca Morse led all players with 19 digs while Bacon posted eight total blocks including three in the fifth set.
 
What's An Error?
During the opening week of Pac-12 play, middle blocker Karson Bacon posted a .786 hitting percentage with 22 kills on 28 swings with no attack errors. She put down a career-high 13 kills (13-0-17) in the win at Arizona State to go along with the nine kills (9-0-11) against Oregon State. For the week, the Fontana, Calif., native averaged 2.75 kills per set and 1.38 blocks per set. Bacon leads the Pac-12 and is second in the NCAA with a .471 hitting percentage through the first month of the season.
 
In the Rankings
Oregon jumped two spots in the latest AVCA top-25 poll, checking in at No. 11 after opening Pac-12 play with wins over Oregon State and Arizona State. With the move, the Ducks are the highest-ranked league team for the first time since the 2012 season. Oregon is one of six Pac-12 teams inside this week's top 25 with Washington (13), UCLA (15), Stanford (17), Utah (19) and Colorado (24). The league just missed having a seventh team with Washington State first among those receiving votes just outside the top 25.
 
Leaders of the Pac
Oregon leads the Pac-12 in hitting percentage (.284) and opponent hitting percentage (.133), good for 13th nationally in both categories entering the week. The team also ranks first in the conference at 15.79 digs per set. The Ducks' 2.85 blocks per set sit second in the Pac-12 and ninth in the NCAA. Individually, Karson Bacon and Abby Hansen stand atop the league with a .471 hitting percentage and 1.41 blocks per set, respectively.
 
Balanced Attack
The Ducks' offense features five players averaging more than two kills per set. The attack is paced by returning All-American Brooke Nuneviller at 3.57 kills per set, a figure that ranks ninth in the Pac-12. That group also features Taylor Borup (2.49 k/s), Gloria Mutiri (2.47), Morgan Lewis (2.05) and Karson Bacon (2.02). Over the past five matches entering the weekend, Mutiri is hitting .408 while averaging 2.95 kills per set.
 
Series History | Oregon vs Colorado
Oregon holds a 15-7 lead in the all-time series against Colorado, including a 13-5 mark since the Buffs joined the Pac-12 ahead of the 2011-12 season. The Ducks are 6-4 in matches played in Boulder. Last season, Oregon posted two wins over Colorado in Eugene.
 
Series History | Oregon vs Utah
Oregon has won 11 of the 16 matches in the series since Utah joined the Pac-12 ahead of the 2011-12 season. The Ducks have also taken four of the past five including a five-set victory in Eugene in 2019, the last time the two teams met. Oregon's last trip to Salt Lake City came in 2018, a four-set win for Utah.
 
Elite Company
Brooke Nuneviller is one of just two players in the country with a 30-20 (kills-digs) performance and the only one to do so in four sets. She had 31 kills—while hitting .338—and 21 digs in Oregon's four-set win at Rice (Sept. 2) in Houston. Through the first month of the 2021 campaign, Nuneviller is averaging 3.57 kills per set and 3.35 digs per set.
 
Give and Take
Oregon's match against Oregon State (Sept. 22) marked the fourth time this season that the Ducks hit .300 or better while holding the opponent under .100 in the same match (list below). The Ducks lead the Pac-12 in both hitting percentage (.284) and opponent hitting percentage (.133); both figures rank 13th in the NCAA entering the weekend. Oregon has held 11 of 12 opponents under a .200 hitting efficiency.
 
Aug. 27: Oregon: .310 | Portland State: -.053
Aug. 27: Oregon: .370 | Santa Clara: .083
Sept. 17: Oregon: .314 | American: -.060
Sept. 22: Oregon: .390 | Oregon State: .093
 
Up Next
Following the road trip, the Ducks returns to Matthew Knight Arena for four-consecutive home matches beginning next weekend against Cal (Oct. 8) and No. 17 Stanford (Oct. 10).
 
For more news and information about UO Volleyball, follow @OregonVB on Instagram and Twitter, and @OregonVolleyball on Facebook.