Ducks Post First-Round Sweep – University of Oregon Athletics

EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon volleyball team remained perfect at home this season and matched the second-longest winning streak in program history Friday, when the Ducks opened the 2022 NCAA Tournament with a first-round sweep of Loyola Marymount before 3,474 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.

Oregon advanced to face Arkansas in the second round on Saturday night, also at home. The Ducks will bring an unblemished 13-0 record in Matthew Knight Arena this season into that match, after Friday’s 25-17, 25-22, 25-15 sweep.

The Ducks have now won 14 straight matches, one short of the school record set in 1980 and matching win streaks from 2012 and 2010. The UO women won a first-round match for the first time since 2018, and put behind them a first-round tournament loss to Kansas in three sets last fall.

“We went in there confident, ready to go, just really focusing on our side of the net,” UO senior Brooke Nuneviller said. “Looking at everyone’s eyes, it was just the exact same (as the regular season), which is just so encouraging for us.”

Nuneviller had 13 kills with 11 digs for her 20th double-double of the season, while hitting .393. Freshman Mimi Colyer also had 13 kills, including six in the decisive third set. Colby Neal added six kills with five blocks for her most productive match since early in Pac-12 play, and both Karson Bacon and Gloria Mutiri added five kills each.

“Brooke had a nice matchup and she was scoring for us early on, and then we got the matchup with Mimi in the third and she carried more of a load there,” UO coach Matt Ulmer said. “They both had a great offensive match. But I think again, what makes us tough is that you can’t just lean on one. You have to really respect everybody.”

How It Happened: After falling behind 3-1 in the opening set, the Ducks ripped off six straight points to force a timeout by the Lions. Colyer had two kills out of the back row during that 6-0 run, and Nuneviller had a kill and a block for a point. A kill by Karson Bacon and another by Neal got the lead out to 17-9, and back-to-back kills from Neal and Nuneviller made it 19-10. Three kills in a row by Mutiri, Colyer and Bacon put Oregon up 23-14, and Nuneviller ultimately finished out the set with a kill out of the back row.

“Our group is real tough; it’s a really tough group,” Ulmer said. “(Nuneviller) shows you, and they all follow that lead. I’m just proud of them for how much it means to them, how much it means to them to be good, and represent the university the…