The Ducks (8-2, 2-0 Pac-12) dug deep to rally from behind in the second set, and fed off that momentum to complete their first-ever home sweep of the Cardinal (25-19, 27-25, 25-17). Oregon has three straight wins over Stanford for the first time in the series, having now taken eight straight sets off one of collegiate volleyball’s all-time great programs.
“So proud of our group,” UO coach Matt Ulmer said. “We played a really complete game. We played so tough, against a really good team. The environment was awesome. Just really proud of the way our group stepped up and played Oregon volleyball.”
The Ducks outhit the Cardinal, .327 to .250, and had seven blocks to Stanford’s four. Oregon had more aces and fewer errors from the service line, and the Ducks were able to sideout at 70.5 percent for the match, denying the Cardinal many sustained scoring runs.
“This was a big one for us,” UO senior Brooke Nuneviller said. “We swept them on our home court in front of a massive crowd, and that’s going to be a tournament-type situation. We’re gonna have huge crowds; we’re gonna play huge matches like that. And everyone just is preparing differently than they have in the past, both mentally and physically.”
How It Happened: The Ducks continue to leverage their depth to great effect, with different leaders taking the spotlight at different times, and different role players stepped up on different days. In the first set Sunday it was Gloria Mutiri helping the Ducks get early separation. With Oregon leading 9-8 following a back-and-fourth start, Mutiri contributed to the Ducks’ next four points, on two kills and two block assists. A kill from Nuneviller got the lead to 14-9, and freshman Mimi Colyer had kills for three of Oregon’s final six points in the set.
“The fact that we came out strong the first set, that was great for us,” Nuneviller said. “And I’m just most impressed by that second set, when we were down.”
One of the rare sustained runs for Stanford on Sunday came early in the second set, when the Cardinal scored six straight points to open up a 10-4 lead. But Colyer had consecutive kills to get the Ducks within 12-9, and then Colby Neal contributed to blocks on the next two points as Oregon clawed back within 12-11. With Stanford up 22-18, Colyer kept Oregon alive with a kill, Neal contributed to another block and Daley…
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