Ulmer Adds Defensive Boost with Morris

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer has announced the addition of Mackenzie Morris to the Ducks’ 2024 roster. Morris, a 2023 All-Big 12 Second Team selection, tallied more than 1,700 career digs during her standout career at Kansas State.
 
This past season, Morris led the Big 12 with 468 digs and a career-high 4.82 digs per set, a number that also led all Power 5 liberos and ranked 32^nd in the NCAA overall. Morris earned a spot on the AVCA All-Midwest Region Team on the heels of her play and was twice named the Big 12 Player of the Week. She finished her career in Manhattan in five weekly awards from the conference office.
 
The Dallas, Texas, native amassed 1,733 digs in four years as the K-State libero and leaves the program ranked third on its all-time list. Morris also brings 103 career service aces to Eugene.
 
Morris recorded 20 or more digs nine times in 2023, pushing her career total to 28 including three with 30 or more digs. She picked up a career-high 36 digs in a five-set win at Texas Tech in November 2022, and followed with two more 30-dig performances this past season. In a late-season effort that brought on a Player of the Week honor, she had 20 digs and seven assists to help the Wildcats sweep then-No. 3 Texas.
 
Morris had a career-high 107 assists in 2023 including eight matches with at least five assists. It marked her first time to surpass 100 assists in a single season.
 
Just as impressive off from the court, Morris was the 2022 Big 12 Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year becoming just the second student-athlete in K-State history to earn the prestigious award. She was also a two-time selection to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team and made an appearance on the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Tem for the 2020-21 season.
 
Oregon finished the 2023 campaign with a 29-6 record—a program high for wins under Ulmer—and its second-consecutive trip to the Elite Eight. The Ducks spent the entire season inside the AVCA top 10 and checked in a No. 7 in the final poll.
 
Morris is the latest addition to the UO roster, along with transfer Michelle Ohwobete (Oakland, Calif.) and soon-to-be freshmen middles Anaya Thrower (Vacaville, Calif.) and Mia Tvrdy (La Vista, Neb.).
 
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