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EUGENE, Ore. — As was the case with its all-conference accolades, the Oregon volleyball team sets a program record with five players named to the AVCA Pacific North All-Region Team. Mimi Colyer and Hannah Pukis, repeat UO selections from a season ago, are joined by Gabby Gonzales, Morgan Lewis and Kara McGhee. Senior libero Georgia Murphy was an Honorable Mention pick.
As all-region selections, all six Ducks will now be considered for AVCA All-America honors which will be announced Wednesday, Dec. 13.
Oregon, a No. 2 seed in the 2023 NCAA Division I Championship, is into the regional semifinals for the ninth time in program history, and fourth time under head coach Matt Ulmer (2018, ’20, ’22, ’23). The Ducks face Purdue Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (PT) on ESPNU. The region also features Penn State and host Wisconsin.
Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, the Ducks had a program high of three All-Region Team picks in a single season. They had done so five times (2008, ’12, ’18, ’20-21, ’22) including last year when Colyer and Pukis joined Brooke Nuneviller as all-region performers.
Colyer enters the week fifth in the Pac-12 in both total kills (437) and kills per set (3.67). She put down 11 kills while hitting .435 in the Ducks’ opening-round win over Southeastern Louisiana, and followed with 13 digs, seven kills, two blocks and an ace against Hawai’i.
In directing the Oregon offense, Pukis is ninth in the country with 10.89 assists per set. The Ducks hit .316 in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, including a .385 figure against Southeastern La., good for second on the program’s all-time tournament performance list. It was also the 16th time for Pukis to set the team to a .300 or higher efficiency this season.
Gonzales goes into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament among the top 20 in the Pac-12 in both kills per set (2.82) and digs per set (2.45). She is third on the team in total kills, digs and service aces. Gonzales turned in an eight-kill, seven-dig showing in Oregon’s second-round win over Hawai’i.
Lewis, a first-time all-region pick, is 10th in the Pac-12 with a career-high .342 hitting percentage. The senior opposite put down 14 kills on 21 errorless swings, good for a .667 efficiency against Hawai’i. It was her 15th double-digit performance…
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