On the night the No. 11 Ducks held a blood drive at Matthew Knight Arena, they continued to establish themselves as a rising blue blood of collegiate volleyball.
Indiana (7-5, 0-2 Big Ten) was gifted an opportunity to play a tired Oregon team as the Ducks (10-1, 2-0 Big Ten) were short-rested, playing just one day after their win over Purdue. The Hoosiers were fresh off a loss to Washington the night before, but weren’t able to rebound in Eugene as Oregon proved it needed no rest, taking care of the Hoosiers in four sets.
Unsurprisingly, Mimi Colyer led the way as the Ducks snagged their 10th win of the season, racking up 44 attacks, 17 kills and 20.5 total points.
The first set was neck-and-neck from start to finish. The set featured four lead changes and eight ties. Knotted at 24, the set went into extra points, but a kill from Coyler and an attack error from Indiana (one of the Hoosiers’ 11 errors of the night) sealed a 26-24 first set win.
The second set was Indiana’s to lose, and it did. The Hoosiers jumped out to a 5-0 lead that quickly became a 6-6 tie after a furious rally from Oregon. It would be the Ducks’ first major rally of the set, as they also erased a 19-23 deficit later in the frame. Even at 25, the set would again require extra effort from both squads, but the Ducks again rose to the challenge, recording back-to-back kills to take a 2-0 lead.
Cristine Cline had a successful night setting her teammates up for success. The freshman from North Carolina had 41 of the team’s 49 assists on a night where she earned a .500 hitting percentage and a .625 kill percentage.
Indiana jumped out to an early lead in the third set, but Oregon answered again and was able to tie the set at 16. The Hoosiers went on another run, and was finally able to win a hard-fought third set, 25-21.
Despite being ahead 2-1, Oregon didn’t appear to be in full control, battling and trading blows with a sneaky-good Indiana program. 10 errors certainly didn’t do the Ducks any favors, as they had at least four in each set on Saturday.
The Ducks had to fight from behind again in the fourth set. Trailing 14-7 at one point, Oregon was scrambling for rallies all night long. Matt Ulmer’s squad always found answers, however, as it rolled back to claim a 25-21 fourth set win.
Each set was competitive, but the Ducks’ talent gave them an edge that Indiana couldn’t match. Oregon remains unbeaten in conference play while the Hoosiers will have to continue their hunt for their first Big Ten win. The Ducks are back in action on Thursday against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
