Oregon volleyball (16-2, 6-1 Pac-12) defeated the Arizona Wildcats (6-12, 1-6 Pac-12) in a sweep (26-24, 25-8, 25-15) to earn their second straight victory.
Arizona got off to a quick start in the first set. They jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the game. Oregon was forced to play from behind for much of the first set, with the Wildcats taking their largest lead 15-10. However, Oregon scored nine of the next 13 points to tie the game up at 19, adding two points after to take a 21-19 lead late in the set. A kill from Mimi Colyer and two kills by Gabby Gonzales helped the Ducks push past a late run from Arizona to win 26-24 in the first set.
“Something we’ve been doing poorly is coming out hot,” head coach Matt Ulmer said about the Ducks’ slow starts in matches this season. “Whatever that is, we’re still trying to figure it out, then we can come out and just get in our game faster. If we could do that then we wouldn’t have to have that big comeback.”
The slow starts have been a trend for Oregon so far this season. However, the Ducks were able to push through the start and take control of the match in the next two sets.
“We’re still working on that, trying to come out a lot faster,” Georgia Murphy, the team’s libero, said. “Winning that first set though, I think that just shows our hard work and when we do things right and we stay disciplined and we do those things like we have every single game, it’s really tough to beat us.
Oregon jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the second set with five kills in the first six points, including two from Karson Bacon. The Ducks used an 8-1 run to take a commanding 16-4 lead. The Wildcats were never able to recover with Oregon following that up almost immediately with another 8-1 run to end the set 25-8.
The third set started out much like the first, with the Wildcats taking an 8-5 lead following a run where they scored five of six points. However, the Ducks immediately followed that run with a 8-0 run of their own to take the lead 13-8. Oregon never looked back after, consistently holding a roughly five point lead throughout the set. The Ducks pulled away a bit at the end of the set to win the final set 25-15 on a block from Colby Neal and Hannah Pukis.
“I always hope for more opportunities,” Murphy said about the amount of attacks against her in this game. “It’s always really nice to get some action and help the team in that way.” Murphy led Oregon with 17 digs for the game.
