Weekend Road Trip to the Mountains
EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 14 Oregon volleyball team travels to the mountain schools this weekend for its penultimate road trip of the regular season, beginning Thursday at Colorado. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. (PT) and will be streamed as a Pac-12 Insider broadcast. The Ducks will then head to Salt Lake City to face Utah on Sunday afternoon.
Oregon, currently on a seven-match winning streak, enters Thursday's match at 17-5 overall with an 11-3 record in Pac-12 play.
How to Follow
Thursday at Colorado, 6 p.m. – Watch | Live Stats
Sunday at Utah, 12 p.m. – Watch | Live Stats
Last Time Out
Freshman Mimi Colyer tied her career high with 25 kills in the Ducks' 3-1 win over Washington State (Nov. 6) in Eugene. With the result, Oregon pushed its winning streak to seven in a row and remained perfect (9-0) on its home floor this season. The victory snapped a three-match losing streak against WSU.
Rankings Roundup
Oregon is up to spots to No. 14 in the latest AVCA Top 25 with an identical two-spot jump to No. 12 in the NCAA RPI. Colorado is receiving votes in this week's AVCA poll and both opponents this weekend are among the top 45 in the RPI with Utah at 34 and Colorado at 42.
Stat Pack
The Ducks enter the weekend tied for the league lead with a .293 hitting percentage, good for eighth in the nation. On the other side of the net, Oregon will be playing the league's top blocking team in Colorado (2.82 b/s) and digging team in Utah (14.65 d/s). The Buffaloes also rank fifth in the NCAA in blocks per set.
Series Info vs Colorado
Oregon has won five in a row against Colorado including the sweep (Oct. 23) earlier this season in Eugene. The Ducks hold a slight 6-4 advantage in the last 10 meetings with Colorado. Since 2011 when the Buffs joined the league, Oregon owns a 16-5 lead in the head-to-head series.
Series Info vs Utah
The Ducks won the first meeting this season, beating Utah in four sets on Oct. 21 in Eugene. In the last 10, Oregon is 6-4 vs the Utes but will be looking for its first win in Salt Lake City since 2017. The Ducks have won 11 of the 18 all-time meetings since Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011.
Anchoring the Defense
For the third time in her career, Georgia Murphy was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 4.86 digs per set against the Washington teams. Murphy helped Oregon hold UW to a season-low .152 hitting percentage and then had 19 digs in a four-set win over Washington State. With the nod, Murphy became the first player in program history with three DPoW selections.
…And Another One
Mimi Colyer tied the Pac-12 record with her sixth selection as Freshman of the Week (Nov. 7). She averaged 6.07 points per set in two wins over the Washington teams. In a four-set win over WSU, Colyer tied a career high with 25 kills while hitting .364 in the match. She equals the Pac-12 Freshman record first established by past USC standout Ebony Nwanebu (2013).
A Loud Response
After dropping the first set to Washington State, the Ducks hit .552 (16-0-29) in the second on their way to a four-set victory. Oregon finished the match hitting .307, their 13th showing of the season hitting .300 or higher. Hannah Pukis dished out a season-high 58 assists against the Cougars.
Have a Nice Da(ley)
In the Ducks' four-set win over WSU (Nov. 6), Daley McClellan picked up a career-high 14 digs. Her previous best of nine was set earlier this season in a home win against Arizona State. McClellan has six matches this season with five or more digs.
Three of a Kind
For the 10th time this season, the Ducks had three players at 10 kills or more in their Nov. 4 three-set win over Washington. Mimi Colyer had a match-high 14 kills while Gloria Mutiri and Brooke Nuneviller tallied 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Of those 10 times, six have featured the Colyer-Mutiri-Nuneviller trio. Oregon is 7-3 in the 10 matches.
The Future is Now
Oregon kicked off the national signing period with the addition of Cristin Cline (Stanfield, N.C.), Noemie Glover (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) and Becca Kelley (Rockwall, Texas). Kelley was named to the 2022 AVCA High School All-America First Team and all three signees earned spots on the 2022 Junior Volleyball Association (JVA) All-National Team.
Up Next
The Ducks are back home next weekend to host UCLA and USC at Matthew Knight Arena. Both matches will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks. Click HERE for the complete schedule.
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