Postseasons are all about who can grind it out the most. 

While rankings matter, every team is in the tournament for a reason. They all deserve to fight for a chance at a National Championship and the first set of the second round of the NCAA tournament between No. 2 Oregon and Hawaii showed all of that. 

After being down seven at 18-11 against the Rainbow Warriors, the Ducks came back and cut the deficit to two in the closing points. After receiving the serve from Hawaii, Gabby Gonzales had a short, off-centered pass to Hannah Pukis, who recovered the ball to set it up for a back-row kill from Mimi Colyer. 

Within the span of a few seconds, Pukis found herself back at the net with just enough time to back set it to Morgan Lewis. 

After that play and a few points later, Oregon won the set. The same mentality that it took to pull themselves out of the hole in the first set was shown in the final two, where it was clear who the winner was. 

“I think we got everything we expected from Hawaii,” head coach Matt Ulmer said. “I’m proud of our group for coming back big.”

Hawaii came out with a three point lead right from the start, and Oregon used the Rainbow Warriors’ errors to keep the score close. Out of the first 12 combined points of the match, both teams had nine errors, using each other’s mistakes to stay competitive.

Eventually, the Ducks’ errors outweighed Hawaii’s and the Rainbow Warriors had a six-point lead with four consecutive points before a timeout was called.

Once they returned from the floor, the Rainbow Warriors continued to dominate. Every kill seemed to be recovered by Hawaii’s libero Tayli Ikenaga, and extended rallies would wear out Oregon, as the Ducks had balls drop in the middle of their defense.  
Oregon cut the deficit to five at 15-10, but its hitting percentage stayed at -.045 — the complete opposite from the first round massive win against Southern Louisiana a day prior. 

A challenge call that fell in the Ducks’ favor, a Mimi Colyer ace and an attack error by Hawaii, led to the Rainbow Warriors calling a timeout as Oregon continued to inch closer and closer to a tied game. 

It eventually came at 22-all. Oregon took the lead at 24-23, the first of the set, and came back and won it. 

“I think it shows how much we don’t give up,” Lewis said. “No matter how much we are down, we know we are still on it.”

This time, it was the Ducks’ turn to take a big lead in the beginning of the second set.

A 5-0 run pushed Oregon ahead 9-3, but after a timeout was called by the officials, Hawaii went on its own scoring run to make it a close game. 

Throughout the first two sets, Ulmer was successful on all of his challenges — showing how crucial each point is in an environment like this. Having a coach who trusts their players can lead to great things, like the team connection that was shown after his third challenge that turned into seven consecutive points for a nine-point lead at the halfway point of the set. 

Nine eventually turned into a 13-point lead. A set where there was no question who was in control, gave Oregon a 2-0 lead. 

The Ducks continued to score four more straight points on Hawaii’s defense heading into the final set of the match before the Rainbow Warriors could fit one in. 

Hawaii eventually came back in the match when it brought the score within one, but a service error and a net violation from the Rainbow Warriors gave Oregon a three point lead before the media timeout. 

That one-point difference at 12-11 would be the closest that Hawaii would get the rest of the set. The Ducks would continue to win the set by eight points and dance on to the Sweet 16. 

“Hopefully they take it all, so that way we can say we lost to winners,” Hawaii’s head coach, Robyn Ah Mow, said.
Oregon will head to Wisconsin to face a future Big Ten conference opponent, Purdue, in the Sweet 16 for the second straight appearance and the ninth time in program history.