No. 11 Ducks Fall in Four at No. 19 Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The No. 11 Oregon volleyball team had its six-match winning streak snapped in a four-set loss Sunday afternoon at 19th-ranked Utah. Taylor Borup posted a team-high 11 kills while libero Georgia Murphy led all players with 18 kills. With the setback, Oregon is now 12-2 overall and 3-1 in Pac-12 play.
 
Brooke Nuneviller recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 10 kills and 11 digs. The team also had three players—Karson Bacon, Morgan Lewis and Gloria Mutiri—with nine kills each. Bacon, the conference leader in efficiency, hit .500 (9-1-16) and Mutiri added a match-high four blocks against the Utes.
 
In her first weekend of Pac-12 action, Murphy averaged 5.63 digs per set; she had 27 digs at Colorado in the Ducks' first match of the weekend. The Woodlands, Texas, native had been out of the Oregon lineup since Sept. 17. Murphy also tallied five assists in Sunday's match.
 
Up Next: The Ducks are back home for their next four matches beginning Friday against Cal. The Pac-12 matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. (PT) at the Matthew Knight Arena.
 
The home team led 14-11 in the opening set but the Ducks won five of the next six points and a kill from Bacon gave UO a 16-15 lead. With the score tied at 19-all, Utah (10-3, 3-1) put together a four-point run in a decisive move, and went on to secure the first frame.
 
In the second, Oregon used a 7-1 surge midway through the set to turn a one-point deficit to an 18-13 advantage. Borup had two service aces during the push. With a block by Mutiri, the Ducks extended the lead to eight at 23-15 and forced Utah to call a timeout. On the team's second set point, Oregon tied the match used an error by Utah to tie the match.
 
The Ducks seemed to carry momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead with Nuneviller at the service line. However, Utah rattled off eight of the next nine points to take an 8-5 lead. Oregon got no closer than two points the remainder of the set.
 
After an early back-and-forth start to the fourth frame, the Utes, once again, used a quick run of points to push their lead from 6-5 to 10-5. The Ducks pulled to within three on two occasions down the stretch including a late push that ended with a Borup kill—UU led 21-18—that forced the home team to call a timeout. Out of the huddle, the Utes won four of the next five points to secure the victory.
 
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