Top-15 Meeting Between Ducks, Huskies

EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 13 Oregon volleyball team continues its home stand Thursday night against the 10th-ranked Washington Huskies. First serve is at 7 p.m. (PT) at Matthew Knight Arena. The Ducks enter the top-15 matchup with a 14-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in Pac-12 play. Oregon has won seven of its eight home matches this season.
 
How to Follow
Friday, Oct. 14 vs Washington | 7 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Watch Online | Live Stats
 
Last Time Out
Facing a 2-1 deficit, the Ducks rallied past then-No. 17 Stanford for a five-set win (25-21, 23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11) at Matthew Knight Arena (Oct. 10). The victory was the program's first over the Cardinal since the 2011 season. Brooke Nuneviller led all players with 22 kills while Taylor Borup tallied a career-high 19 kills including the final kill of the match. Defensively, libero Georgia Murphy picked up 26 digs and Karson Bacon had a team-high seven blocks.  
 
Closing Time
After hitting .132 through the first three sets against Stanford (Oct. 10), the Ducks tallied a .338 hitting percentage and committed just five attack errors over the final two sets of the five-set victory. Oregon improves to 3-1 in five setters this season.
 
In the Rankings
On the heels of their 2-0 home weekend—wins over Cal and No. 17 Stanford—the Ducks moved up a spot to No. 13 in the Oct. 11 release of the AVCA national poll. Oregon has been ranked inside the top 15 all season. In the NCAA RPI, also released Monday, the Ducks check in at No. 22 and carries a 4-2 record against the RPI top 30. This weekend's opponents Washington and Washington State are No. 23 and 37, respectively, in this week's RPI.
 
And the Winner Is…
For a second time during the 2021 campaign, Brooke Nuneviller was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 11) following the Ducks' wins over Cal and Stanford. The Chandler, Ariz., native tallied her eighth double-double of the season with 22 kills and 19 digs in the team's five-set win over Stanford. Nuneviller accounted for eight kills in the final two sets including three in the decisive fifth. She opened the weekend with 11 digs, eight kills and a season-high four blocks in a straight-set victory over Cal. The win was the ninth Pac-12 weekly honor—four offensive, one defensive, four freshman—of her career.
 
Leaders of the Pac(k)
Oregon enters the weekend leading the Pac-12 in opponent hitting percentage (.142), blocks per set (2.79 b/s) and digs per set (16.27 d/s). The Ducks have held 14 of 16 opponents under a .200 hitting percentage this season. In Sunday's win over Stanford, the UO defense limited the Cardinal to a .170 efficiency, more than 100 points below their season mark (.290 entering the match). Individually, the Ducks' defensive efforts are paced by Abby Hansen—second in the Pac-12 with 1.39 b/s—and Georgia Murphy—third in the Pac-12 with 4.66 d/s. Oregon is the only team with two players ranked in the top 10 for digs per set in the league; Brooke Nuneviller is 10th at 3.36 digs per set.
 
Milestone Watch
Brooke Nuneviller enters Thursday's match 18 digs shy of becoming the fourth player in program history to reach 1,500 career digs. She currently has 1,482 digs in her career which ranks fourth on the all-time UO list. Nuneviller trails Haley Jacob (2009-12) at 1,577 career digs for third place in program history.
 
Others to Watch…
Kylie Robinson: 1,474 career assists – 26 shy of 1,500
Gloria Mutiri: 885 career kills (K-State + Oregon) – 115 shy of 1,000
Georgia Murphy: 872 career digs – 128 shy of 1,000; would become 15th UO player
 
Series History | Oregon vs Washington
Four of the past seven meetings between Oregon and Washington have gone to five sets. The teams split two matches in Eugene last season including the Ducks' reverse sweep, five-set triumph (March 7) behind a 35-kill performance from Brooke Nuneviller. In that match, Nuneviller had 35 kills with just one attack error on 65 attempts. Washington holds a 70-25 advantage in the all-time series.
 
Welcome Back, Georgia
In her first match since Sept. 17 at American, libero Georgia Murphy collected a season-high 27 digs in the Ducks' four-set win at No. 24 Colorado (Oct. 1). That total is tied for the most by a Pac-12 player in four sets this season. Murphy helped hold the Buffs to a season-ow .126 hitting percentage and added six assists. She capped with the weekend with 18 digs and five assists against No. 19 Utah. During the weekend, Murphy averaged 5.63 digs per set.
 
Becca Steps Right In
With Georgia Murphy out of the lineup, Becca Morse donned the libero jersey during the opening week of Pac-12 play and responded with 20 digs in the Ducks' straight-set win over Oregon State (Sept. 22). In two matches, she averaged 4.88 digs per set. The Tempe, Ariz., native picked up 19 digs in Oregon's five-set win at Arizona State.
 
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.
 
Balanced Attack
Oregon has four players averaging at least 2.00 kills per set, paced by Brooke Nuneviller who leads the team with 3.49 kills per set. She's followed by Taylor Borup (2.56 k/s), Gloria Mutiri (2.32) and Morgan Lewis (2.13). Middle blocker Karson Bacon, hitting .425 this season, is just behind that group with 1.98 kills per set this season. As a team, Oregon is hitting .263 this season which ranks fourth in the Pac-12.
 
Elite Company
Brooke Nuneviller is one of just three 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 seven weeks of the season, Nuneviller is averaging 3.49 kills per set and 3.36 digs per set.
 
Nice and Efficient
Middle blocker Karson Bacon ranks second in the Pac-12 and 10th in the NCAA with a .425 hitting percentage. She has seven outing with at least six kills coupled with a .500 or higher efficiency (list below).
 
8/27 vs Portland State – 7 kills / .583 pct
9/3 vs SMU (N) – 8 kills / .636 pct
9/16 at Howard – 6 kills / .600 pct
9/17 vs Harvard – 8 kills / .615 pct
9/22 vs Oregon State – 9 kills / .818 pct
9/26 at Arizona State – 13 kills (career high) / .765 pct
10/3 at #19 Utah – 9 kills / .500 pct
 
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