Ducks Sweep Colorado, Ulmer Wins 100th
EUGENE, Ore. — The No. 20 Oregon volleyball team swept its way past Colorado (25-23, 25-17, 25-22) Sunday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena, a result that doubled as the 100th-career victory for head coach Matt Ulmer. With the win, the Ducks remain undefeated at home this season (7-0) and improve to 13-5 overall with a 7-3 mark in Pac-12 play.
In his sixth season as head coach, Ulmer carries a 100-62 career record and a .617 winning percentage. Sunday's win was his 55th at Matthew Knight Arena.
Mimi Colyer and Brooke Nuneviller led the team with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Colyer finished the afternoon with a .306 hitting percentage, her sixth outing of the season with double-digit kills coupled with a .300 or higher efficiency.
Aided by eight service aces—tied for a season high—and nine total team blocks, Oregon held the Buffs to a .149 hitting percentage, their second-lowest figure of the season. Colyer, Elise Ferreira and Georgia Murphy each had two aces with Nuneviller and Daley McClellan adding one apiece. Kiari Robey led all players with five blocks against Colorado, her eighth match of the year with at least five.
How It Happened: Colorado led early and took a 16-13 advantage on a kill by Maya Tabron but Oregon put together a five-point run, capping the surge with a kill by Nuneviller for an 18-16 lead. The opening frame was tied four more times from that point—as late as 23-all—but Robey put down her first kill of the day for set point and then finished things off with a solo block to end the ensuing rally.
The Ducks carried the momentum into the second, winning five of the first seven points and eventually doubling up Colorado at 14-7 after a kill by Robey. The kill forced CU head coach Jesse Mahoney to use his second timeout of the frame. The visitors got as close as three—UO leading 17-14—but Oregon was in control of play and took a 2-0 match lead with a kill by Colyer.
The third set featured 11 ties and six lead changes. The Ducks led 10-7 after an ace by Ferreira, her 20th of the season, but Colorado pulled back even at 12-all with another kill by Tabron. With the score tied 16-all, Oregon went on a 5-1 run to take a 21-17 lead. The home team got to match point—24-20—on Nuneviller's last kill of the day.
The Buffs saved two match points but on the team's third chance to close it out, Colyer registered one final kill to secure the match. The freshman standout had eight of her 13 kills in the third set, and the offense produced a .344 hitting percentage in the close-out set.
Notable: With her final kill, Nuneviller reached 1,500 career points. The senior standout also tallied a service aces and a block assist—good for 13.5 points—in Sunday's win. Colyer had her eighth double-double of the year (13 kills, 11 digs) and Elise Ferreira tallied her second with 31 assists and 12 digs.
Up Next: The Ducks are back on the road next weekend with matches at Arizona and Arizona State to mark the beginning of the second half of league play. Oregon's next home match is Friday, Nov. 4, when the team hosts Washington.
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