Winning Streak Hits Five With Sweep at ASU
TEMPE, Ariz. — Behind a .357 hitting percentage and another strong effort from the service line, the No. 18 Oregon volleyball team notched a straight-set win Sunday over Arizona State (25-21, 26-24, 25-20) in Tempe. Senior All-American Brooke Nuneviller led all players with 20 kills, committing just one error on 37 swings for a .514 hitting percentage.
With the result, the Ducks win their fifth-consecutive match and improve to 15-5 overall with a 9-3 mark in the Pac-12. Oregon now has eight sweeps this season, five of which have come in conference play.
Mimi Colyer joined Nuneviller in double figures with 13 kills and a .310 efficiency of her own. In running the show, Hannah Pukis notched her second double-double of the weekend with 42 assists and 12 digs. Defensively, libero Georgia Murphy picked up a match-high 17 digs in the sweep, and added four assists.
Less than two days removed from a season-high nine aces at Arizona, the Ducks' serving produced eight aces in Sunday's match. Colyer and Murphy had two service winners apiece while Nuneviller, Pukis, Elise Agi and Daley McClelland each tallied one ace.
How It Happened: The teams split the first eight points of the match but the Ducks went on a run to go ahead 10-5 with a kill by Nuneviller to force ASU to use an early timeout. The home team got to within one—Oregon leading 14-13—but never regained the lead. With the Ducks leading by two points late in the opener, Nuneviller found the floor to give the team a handful of set points.
On the ensuing would-be rally, Murphy delivered an ace between two Sun Devils to give Oregon the 1-0 match lead. The Ducks hit .351 and Nuneviller put down nine of her 20 kills in the first.
The second set featured 17 ties and nine lead changes, and neither team had a lead of more than three points. With the score tied at 19-all, Oregon got back-to-back kills from Gloria Mutiri for a 21-19 edge.
Arizona State (11-13, 5-7) responded by winning five of the next seven points and had a set point at 24-23 but the Ducks extended play with a kill from Karson Bacon.
Colyer served up her second ace of the frame to put Oregon back ahead, and Nuneviller knocked a kill off the ASU block on the next play to secure the two-set advantage.
The Ducks kept the momentum going into the third, jumping out to a 7-3 lead including a successful challenge by head coach Matt Ulmer. Looking to close out the match, Oregon built its cushion to seven at 13-7 after a kill by Colyer. However, the Sun Devils clawed their way back to within one—UO leading 14-13—after Marta Levinska tallied an ace.
Oregon answered with three in a row to regain control of play, and maintained a lead of at least two for the rest of the match. From 22-20, the Ducks rattled off the final three points of the day with Nuneviller putting away the final two kills to clinch the road sweep.
Nuneviller and Colyer just missed double-doubles with nine and eight digs, respectively, to go along with their offensive production.
Notable: Before Sunday's match, the NCAA Division I Volleyball Committee revealed its second top-10 of the season with Oregon checking in at No. 10 overall. This year's Selection Show will air Sunday, Nov. 27, at 4:30 p.m. (PT) on ESPNU.
Up Next: The Ducks return to their home floor next Friday, Nov. 4, to host Washington. First serve is set for 6 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena. Click HERE for the Ducks' full schedule.
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