The Ducks looked shaky at times, but behind the excellence of Mimi Colyer, who finished with 19 kills, and impressive defense, Oregon pulled out a four-set victory (19-25, 25-21, 25-11, 25-15) over TCU.
“I thought they gave us everything in the first set, we were really on our heels, but I loved our response and I was really proud of our fight and the adjustments we made. I couldn’t be prouder of this group,” head coach Matt Ulmer said.
No. 14 Oregon women’s volleyball entered the NCAA tournament winning three of its last four regular season matches and followed that up with a sweep over High Point University to begin the Ducks’ postseason run.
Oregon’s contest against the No. 20 Texas Christian University Horned Frogs in Friday night’s second round would not come as easily, however.
Each team started out flaunting high-tempo offenses, which was the catalyst for the quick scoring early in the match. TCU pounced on early Oregon miscues and took its first lead. The Horned Frogs played smart, consistent volleyball in the opening set to take a firm grip on the early portion of the match.
The Horned Frogs didn’t allow the Ducks to get within three points at all once they built a lead larger than that. After it looked like Oregon could start surging back, TCU once again maintained its consistent play, and rattled off a 4-0 run to bring the Frogs within two points of clinching the set.
The Ducks responded, but it wasn’t enough. TCU took the first set 25-19 and forced Oregon to start playing from behind early.
The second set started just as fast as the first, and, unfortunately for the Ducks, followed a similar script. TCU took its first substantial lead at 10-7, which caused Oregon’s composed manner to begin the set to vanish.
The Horned Frogs made sure to convert on sideout opportunities, and led the game 60% to the Ducks’ 45% in the opening set. Those numbers eventually flipped completely by the end of the match, as Oregon ended the match leading that battle 55% to TCU’s 42%.
“We passed so poorly in that first set, we couldn’t find any rhythm, and credit to their serving, I thought they served really tough,” Ulmer said. “They were help-blocking in the middle, so we just really needed to score some points there, so the passing game needed to get going so [Cristin Cline] can run the offense…everyone else got going from there and gave us confidence.”
TCU’s offense performed especially well when it was able to feed Melanie Parra, whose incredible power and length often left Oregon clueless defensively. Parra finished the contest with 18 kills, just one behind match-leading Colyer, and collected three service aces.
“Their outsides were fantastic. I thought Parra, we knew how good she was going to be, is even better than you think. That was a really nice battle,” Ulmer said.
The Ducks stayed in the second set much better than they did in the first, and Oregon took a 17-15 lead that swayed momentum in its favor.
TCU eventually tied it at 21, which spelled trouble for the Ducks, who desperately needed to win the second set. That urgency showed, and the Ducks went on an excellent 4-0 run to win the set 25-21 and make this contest much more manageable than what would have been a 2-0 deficit entering the third set.
TCU remained close to begin the set, but an 8-0 scoring run from the Ducks solidified a 13-4 lead and conserved the momentum they gained by winning the previous set. That lead blossomed to double-digits by the midpoint of the set, and the Ducks were cruising.
Oregon sailed smoothly to the end of the frame and took it 25-11, which put the Ducks ahead in sets for the first time in the match.
“Look at our serving,” Ulmer said. “That is statistically one of the better passing teams in the country, and we set 12 aces. We really took them out with our serving, and that was from a lot of people.”
The Ducks continued their run of outstanding play by winning the first four points of the fourth set and seven of the first eight. TCU stormed back with a small run of its own, but the momentum swing in favor of Oregon was just too drastic to overcome, especially with the hometown crowd.
Oregon cruised to another easy set win and finished off the match 25-15. The Ducks made it look incredibly easy in the last two sets, grabbed crucial momentum for the next rounds and, most importantly, secured their spot in next weekend’s Sweet Sixteen.
“It’s really fun to see what we can do. I felt like tonight was a big test,” senior middle Onye Ofoegbu said. “Every game from this point on is a big test for us, it was awesome to see what we could do as a team.”
Oregon won’t know exactly where it’s traveling or who it is playing next round until Saturday night, but if Friday’s win is any indication, these Ducks are ready to make a deep run.
