Everyone expected good things from the Oregon volleyball team, but no one saw this coming. 

Except for the team.

Oregon has always had a strong volleyball program. It made consistent appearances in the NCAA tournament, and even finished second in 2012. Since 2006, there have only been two seasons where the team didn’t qualify for the tournament. 
The Pac-12 is one of the hardest conferences to play volleyball in. Schools competing in the conference have won 17 out of 41 all-time NCAA championships –– four more than the next conference. A Pac-12 team has been one of the final four teams in all but five years of the NCAA tournament, in addition to at least one Pac-12 team playing in 27 of the 41 NCAA title matches: the most in any Power Five program. 

When I was assigned to cover the team this season, I was excited. It was my first beat and I was fully responsible for it. I started watching YouTube videos of past interviews, reading old articles and stocking the team’s social media accounts to get a feel for them — what their goals were, the expectations, the vibe of the team. I found that they set the bar high for themselves and there was no doubt that they were going to reach it.

Now, every team has high optimism — as they should. But this just felt different. Head coach Matt Ulmer brought Tayyiba Haneef-Park onto the coaching staff. During her playing career, she went 36-0 and won a national championship with Long Beach State in 1998 and competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Ulmer also added Hannah Pukis, a transfer from Washington State who has won many Pac-12 and AVCA honors. Mimi Colyer, the No. 43 ranked recruit in the nation, and Ayva Cebollero, a two-time Utah all-state standout, signed with the team. Brooke Nuneviller, Karson Bacon, Georgia Miller and Gloria Mutiri all returned this season after winning All-American selections. 

I’m a firm believer that action speaks louder than words. Throughout the entire season, Oregon’s actions have matched everything that they said they were going to do at the beginning of the season. They pulled off reverse-sweeps, upsets, ended the season with a 13-0 winning streak and stayed undefeated at home for the first time in school history. This is a new time in Oregon volleyball history and it’s just getting started.

The game that I believed was the turning point for the Ducks was the first matchup early in the season against Stanford. At the time, the Cardinal were ranked No. 5 in the country and the Ducks sat in the No. 21 spot. At the time of the game, students were arriving back to Eugene to prepare for the new school year. When I walked into the arena looking for my seat in the media section, about six rows up from the student section, I looked down and noticed it was full. Students were flooding the court, looking for any sort of space they could stand in. I started going to Ducks games in eighth grade, and I have never seen the student section that full 30 minutes before the first serve. 

As the clock was winding down to start the game, all of the seats in Matthew Knight Arena were filling up. Small chatter was going on as the announcer was reading Stanford’s starting lineup, but as soon as the lights went off and the speakers started playing Jimmy Cooks by Drake and 21 Savage, it all stopped. Heads were tilted up to look at the giant screen showing highlight reels from previous games. When the video turned off and switched to Oregon’s lineup, fans rose to their feet and stayed there the majority of the game. 

In the first set, after starting strong, the Ducks conceded their lead and had to mount a comeback. After a kill by Colyer and two big blocks from Mutiri, Stanford called a timeout. Oregon had done what it needed to do. 
When the Ducks switched sides, Stanford was ready to bounce back. A line call that originally awarded the Ducks a point was reversed, and the Cardinal built from that. 

A timeout called by Oregon led to the Ducks closing in on Stanford’s lead. Everyone was on their feet, finding different ways to calm their nerves as they stared down at the court. Colyer had back-to-back service aces, and people got more antsy. As I was trying to take notes on the game, I had a hard time writing because I couldn’t get myself to look away. A kill by Nuneviller put the game away with a final score of 27-25. The bench was jumping up and down, swinging their towels whilst the players on the court were screaming and running towards each other to form a huddle. Ulmer smacked his clipboard out of excitement, turned to his right and pointed up.

In the third set, the Ducks took their first lead early on. After three aggressive serves from Elise Ferreria, Stanford called a timeout. The break didn’t slow the Ducks down because they took a seven-point lead, the biggest of the day, and forced the Cardinal to call their second timeout. 
Once the huddles broke apart, Stanford challenged an out-of-bounds call but it didn’t go in its favor. The Cardinal managed to close the gap a few points, but after Pukis dove into the stands for a ball, risking her entire body for the game, the Ducks proved that they are hard to beat. After consecutive kills, the Ducks took game three 25-16 to sweep the Cardinal. 

As fans were leaving, I took the elevator down to the media room for the post-game post conference. When I’m opening the door, out of the corner of my eye, I see the team walking through the tunnel with smiles on their faces. They look proud and relieved that all of the work and effort it took to win the game. Everything that they said was starting to come to fruition. 

When the reporters were sitting at the tables, waiting for the interview to start, Ulmer walked into the room, sat down at the table on the stage and slapped the table with a smile. He adjusted the microphone and said, “What a win guys.” Throughout the entire interview, he talked about how he’s proud of the team and the pieces are starting to finally come together. You can tell the difference when a coach says he’s proud of his team and when they actually believe it, and Ulmer said that statement with full confidence, like it was undeniably true.
After he left, Nuneviller took his spot. She looked tired, but she was in a great mood. It’s like the feeling you get after you complete a good workout. She talked about how amazing her teammates are, and how she genuinely feels like this is the team that can win a Pac-12 title. “I think we proved to the nation who we are, and what type of volleyball we play, and it’s hard to beat,” she said.

As a few weeks go by, the Ducks finish their homestand without losing a set, sweeping both Arizona State and Arizona. Murphy showed her elite athleticism as there wasn’t a spot on the floor that wasn’t covered by her. Colyer and Nuneviller had their typical fast and powerful hits that no team could keep up with, each averaging about four kills per set. 

The team hopped on the road and headed towards the beautiful state of Washington. First to Pullman, where in the last 10 matchups between the Cougars and the Ducks, five matchups went to five sets. After the early October game, that number went to six out of the last 11. 

After fighting hard to be up 2-1 against the Cougars, Washington State walked away with the last two sets to hand the Ducks their first conference loss. Next stop: Seattle to face the then-ranked No. 16 Huskies.

The first set started out rough. Washington came out aggressive offensively while Oregon struggled to time its hits properly and recover passes to keep the rally going. A lot of hits went into the net or soaring past the out-of-bounds lines. The majority of the Ducks’ points came from Huskies errors.

One thing that Oregon knew it could rely on was Ferreria’s serves. In interviews before the season, Ulmer talked about her serves and her dedication to mastering them. He told reporters that she’s in the gym early before practice every day just hitting the ball to the opposite side, getting them down so she can be one of the best in the country. She does a really good job of keeping opponents on their toes, and even though the Ducks struggled to find their rhythm, she remained consistent.

They started to find a groove later on. Colyer had a lot of strong hits to the back corners, placing them where she knew Washington wouldn’t be. Oregon challenged a touch call on a block that resulted in their favor, but the Huskies did the same thing right after. The Ducks had a hard time catching a break, and Washington took set one. 

In the next set, the Ducks started out better, battling back and forth with the Huskies. Nuneviller started to find her timing on her hits, and it seemed like she was jumping higher which threw off the Huskies. 
Oregon took its first lead of the game at 10-9. As things started to look up for the Ducks, they lost a challenge call and the Huskies took another lead. At that point, things started to fall apart more than before. Communication was off, players were bumping into each other and they struggled to control their passes again. 

It seemed like Washington knew when to get hot at the right time, taking full advantage of Oregon. 

In the third set, which seemed like it would mark the end of the match, the Ducks came out with more energy. As the back-and-forth battle went on, the lead kept alternating, but always stayed within one. Kiari Robey had four blocks during the set, acting as a wall that the Huskies could never get through. Oregon narrowly took set three to continue the game. 
Oregon finally started to look like the team that had beaten Stanford. It all started to click for them, and Washington couldn’t keep up. The Huskies continued to call timeouts, trying everything that they could to slow them down, but it didn’t work. It looked like all of their momentum was gone. A few of the girls on Washington’s bench genuinely tried to get the energy back up. They tried swinging their towels around, pumping their arms up to the crowd, and doing TikTok dances from the sidelines. A few smiles were given to them for their efforts, but it wasn’t enough as Oregon took set four to tie the game at 2-2. 

I played volleyball in elementary, middle and a couple years in high school. I’ve watched and played in many volleyball games. I’ve won tournaments, lost championship games, and had those moments where the entire game comes down to the match point. I forgot what all of that felt like until I watched this final set. 
I’m not quite sure what happened, but the Huskies brought that spark back that they had in the beginning of the game. Washington immediately took a 5-0 lead after five straight aces. While the Huskies looked like how they did in the first match, so did the Ducks. Passes ricocheted off of their arms. Timing was off, and it was just overall messy. 

Nuneviller finally put the Ducks on the board after she had consecutive hits, making the score 9-2, but it didn’t mess with Washington’s rhythm. 

After the Ducks scored three straight points, Washington called a timeout. Once the whistle was blown, Nuneviller went to the line to serve. Between her serves and kills, Oregon went on a 5-1 run to bring the point differential to four. Washington called another timeout to ice the Ducks. But in true Oregon fashion, it didn’t work. Colby Neal saved two match points — one with a block with Ferreria, and one with a kill. Washington was one point away from walking away with the win, but couldn’t figure out how to get it. 

Outsider hitter Emoni Bush and the Huskies got the last point they were looking for. They blocked Colyer’s hit and sent it straight down. 

Once the game ended, the Ducks went to huddle in the middle of the court. Colyer and Ulmer were both looking up at the scoreboard, rewatching the final play of the match. The sadness and frustration was clearly on both of their faces, while the rest of the team had their heads down in the huddle. As I was watching the game on the TV, looking at their faces, I felt empathetic. Not only did this match bring out the excitement and intensity that I forgot all about while playing, it also brought the heartbreak when you’re so close to winning another big game. 

In the middle of the season, the team went on a roller coaster of setbacks. After losing to Washington, the team headed towards Los Angeles and lost in four sets to USC. After losing its fifth game this season, Oregon knew something had to change. If the Ducks wanted to win their first Pac-12 title, they couldn’t afford to lose anymore. 
There wasn’t one thing they could point to that changed, but something ignited them after their final loss. The team looked like they were having pure fun, and because of that, they won four straight games and only lost four sets during that time. The Ducks finished out the first half of conference play strong, and when it was time to face Washington again, they were ready. Oregon swept the Huskies and the sets weren’t close. 
After bouncing back against Washington, the Ducks were ready to start their revenge tour. Oregon only lost three conference games all season, and one of them was to USC. Despite the Trojans being unranked, they’re still ranked fourth in the Pac-12, one of the best volleyball conferences in the nation. 

Down 22-24 in the second set, Daley McClellan ran far behind the service line, preparing to serve. When she ran and threw the ball up, the Trojans were composed, ready to finish the match. As their outside hitter jumped to send the ball back over, outside hitter Mimi Colyer and middle blocker Karson Bacon built a wall and survived the second match point. Regardless of losing the second set, Oregon started to look composed.  

When the Ducks are in sync, they look like poetry in motion. Once they find their flow, they’re hard to beat. After losing the first two sets to USC, Oregon pulled off a reverse sweep, the second one in a week.

Colyer had a career-high 29 kills. Pukis tied her career high of 62 assists while extending the Ducks’ win streak to 11 and staying undefeated at home. 

“We talk a lot about gelling as a team,” Pukis said. “And so that cohesiveness is what makes us so good, what makes us able to come back like that.”

Building off the energy that came to the Ducks late in the second set, they came out intensive in the third. Early on, they went on a scoring run and had a three-point lead. USC stayed competitive, inching closer to taking the lead and even tying it a few times, but was only able to take a one-point lead once during the set. Oregon scored four straight points at the end to avoid being swept. 

When the teams switched sides, Oregon started out with three straight points. USC was able to score points here and there, but the Ducks couldn’t be stopped. They took a seven-point lead and held the Trojans to a .091 hitting percentage. Oregon won set four easily and forced a fifth. 
There were a lot of long rallies that forced players outside of court lines in the final set. The Ducks scored four straight before a media timeout was called. Afterwards, USC challenged a touch call and was able to tie the match at 10. After Ulmer called a timeout, Oregon held USC to two points  and won the game.

“We really try to go one point at a time,” Ulmer said. “You can see why we need to. We can go on huge runs against really good teams if we focus in. We are our best selves when we do that.”

While the regular season was ending, the Ducks extended their win streak to 13 after beating Oregon State in three straight sets. They broke a school record and never lost at home. Oregon handed Stanford its only loss of the season, swept Washington after a heartbreaking loss, and pulled off two reverse-sweeps in a week to keep their longest winning streak alive. 
Watching this team reminded me why I love this sport. This game is full of unexpectedness. The outcome of games can change in the matter of one rally, and you will never know when that will happen. Volleyball keeps you on your toes, and when you’re watching the Ducks, they make it really hard to look away from the court. It’s remarkable.