The UO women extended their program-record winning streak in conference play to 11 matches Sunday, and remained a perfect 11-0 this season at home with a five-set win over Southern California. The No. 12 Ducks needed to battle for their second reverse sweep in four matches to do it, but ultimately came away with a 21-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-12 victory before 1,993 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks (21-5, 15-3 Pac-12) got a career-high 29 kills from freshman Mimi Colyer, who led a diverse attack that resulted in a career-high-tying 62 assists from setter Hannah Pukis. Skylar Fields had 27 kills to lead USC, which hit .359 for the match but couldn’t keep up with Oregon’s .429 hitting on the afternoon.
“USC played fantastic — they were great, and I thought they elevated our level of play,” UO coach Matt Ulmer said. “We had to, and that’s what you’re hoping for in this time of year, is that we can step up to that level and exceed it. And I thought we did.”
Colyer hit .463 and exceeded her previous career high in kills by four. Brooke Nuneviller added 19 kills with seven digs, Karson Bacon had nine kills with five blocks, Gloria Mutiri added seven kills and Colby Neal provided four kills and four blocks.
“I don’t think I have a bad choice,” Pukis said after tying the career high of 62 assists she set as a freshman at WSU in 2019. “Every time it’s a settable ball, I can go anywhere and have complete confidence in whoever’s going to hit it. I think that’s important.
“We talk a lot about gelling as a team. And so that cohesiveness is what makes us so good, what makes us able to come back like that.”
How It Happened: Neither team led by more than a point in the first half of the opening set, with Nuneviller tooling a kill off a block at a bad angle for an 8-8 tie, then making it 9-8 on the next point. But after she pounded a ball down to the floor for another UO lead at 10-9, Fields had two kills during a 7-0 USC run to take control. The second set was similar — Nuneviller had three straight points for the Ducks in a back-and-forth match to keep them within 18-17 late, before USC broke a 20-20 tie with four straight points. The Ducks fought off set point three times but ultimately dropped the set to fall behind 2-0 in the match.
“We’re generally a pretty decent defensive team,” Ulmer said. “And I…
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