Ducks Sweep ASU For Fifth Straight

EUGENE, Ore. — Make it wins in five straight matches for the Oregon volleyball team, including eight straight set victories as the Ducks followed up their emotional three-set win over Stanford with a sweep of Arizona State on Friday in Matthew Knight Arena.

The Ducks (9-2, 3-0 Pac-12) were in control throughout Thursday's match, winning 25-17, 25-15, 25-12. Oregon outhit ASU .416 to .124 and had three players with double figures in kills, led by Gloria Mutiri with 14.

"It was just a credit to our team's rhythm," Mutiri said. "I felt like we were in a really good rhythm today. Everyone was just doing their job really well. And it's always nice to see a lot of sets form Hannah (Pukis), so I was excited about that. But it was just following the game plan to a T, knowing what their defense was up to and keep exploiting that."

How It Happened: Mutiri had Oregon's first two kills of the night, helping the Ducks jump out to a 4-2 lead in the opening set. Oregon broke a 6-6 tie with a kill from freshman Mimi Colyer, a block by Mutiri with Kiari Robey and a kill by Brooke Nuneviller. After ASU closed within 12-11, a block by Mutiri with Colby Neal sparked a four-point UO run that included kills by Colyer, Nuneviller and Neal. Kills by Mutiri and Pukis closed out the set for the Ducks.

Colyer spiked down an overpass and then had a solo block as Oregon took a 3-1 lead in the second set. Back-to-back aces by the freshman made it 7-4, before the Sun Devils rallied into a 9-9 tie. The Ducks responded with a 5-0 run that included three kills by Mutiri, and she later had another to set up set point before teaming with Robey on a set-clinching block.

"Gloria made so many good choices tonight," UO coach Matt Ulmer said. "I mean, really, all of them were really good choices, and she had a lot of variety to her swings — the most I've seen probably in her career. It just really felt like she had control of the ball."

Oregon capitalized on some ASU errors to take an early lead in the third, before Neal finished off a long rally between the two teams with a kill for a 7-4 lead. Two Mutiri kills sandwiched around an ace by Pukis made it 14-6, and Colyer got the lead to 10 with a kill for a 19-9 lead. Nuneviller had consecutive UO points to set up match point, and a kill by Colyer out of the back row finished it off.

Notable: Mutiri's 14 kills came on 20 total attacks with no errors, for a hitting average of .700 — the best of her career. … Nuneviller finished with 10 kills and 12 digs for her ninth double-double in 11 matches this season. … Colyer had 12 kills with 14 digs, her fourth double-double. … Colyer added three aces to establish a new career high.

Quotable:

UO coach Matt Ulmer on what worked well against ASU
"We're generally a good serve receive team, but when we play them we have a tougher time. And I thought everybody kept us in control pretty well, and so Hannah had a lot of options and just made so many good reads, and just put the hitters right in the sweet spot so often. You know, when they would try to favor towards somebody in a different rotation, she would sniff that out and she would make the right choice. And so it was fun to see everybody involved."

Senior opposite Gloria Mutiri on becoming a more versatile hitter
"That's something I've really been working on; working on a tip-and-roll and stuff, moving the ball around. Especially in transition that hasn't been a real strong area. And so it feels really good to get better at the things that you're working on in the gym, in practices, and have games where you really see it show up."

Up Next: The Ducks close out their three-match homestand Sunday when they host Arizona at noon.