First Serve: Ducks vs Nebraska in Sweet 16

First Serve
Oregon, the No. 3 seed in the Louisville Regional, carries its 15-match winning streak into Thursday’s regional semifinal against (2) Nebraska. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. (ET) at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. The match will air live on ESPNU and also be available on the ESPN app. Top-seeded Louisville and Baylor will play in the other regional semifinal.

Series Info vs Nebraska

Thursday will be the ninth meeting between Oregon and Nebraska, and fourth in the NCAA Tournament; the Cornhuskers lead the all-time series, 6-2. The two teams last meet in 2018. Oregon is 1-2 against Nebraska under head coach Matt Ulmer including his first-ever win, a 3-1 victory in Gainesville, Fla., to kick off the 2017 season.

Last Time Out

Oregon beat Arkansas in four sets (Dec. 3) to secure a spot in the regional semifinal and complete a 14-0 home season. The Ducks rebounded from hitting .000 (11-11-35) in a first-set loss to defeat Arkansas in front of more than 3,000 fans inside Matthew Knight Arena; UO rallied to hit .270 in the match. In her final home match, Brooke Nuneviller led all players with 19 kills and the Ducks registered 15.0 total team blocks.

Stat Pack

Oregon leads the Pac-12 and ranks fourth in the NCAA with its .298 hitting percentage. The team has hit .300 or higher in 18 of 30 matches this season including eight at .400 or better. Conversely, Nebraska’s strength lies in its defense that leads the NCAA with a .123 opponent hitting percentage.

It’s a Streak

The Ducks are one of six teams entering the second weekend riding a winning streak of 10 or more matches. With its win vs Arkansas, Oregon tied the program record with a 15th victory in a row; the 1980 squad also had a 15-match winning streak. The Ducks’ current streak is the fourth-longest in the country behind San Diego (26) and Stanford and Wisconsin (20).

More Awards, More Ducks

Oregon added five all-region selections to the team’s postseason awards collection. Mimi Colyer was voted AVCA Pacific North Freshman of the Year, becoming the second UO player to earn the honor after Brooke Nuneviller was previously selected as the region’s top freshman in 2018. The duo joined Hannah Pukis on the AVCA…