Once the Ducks get rolling, there’s no stopping them.

For day two of the Rainbow Wahine Classic, No. 9 Oregon has defeated Northwestern in three straight sets (25-14, 25-17, 25-18) and has yet to lose a set this season. 

The Ducks came out ready when the whistle was blown to start the game. A pair of 5-0 runs to start the set led to an 11-4 lead, causing Northwestern to call its second timeout of the game. Once both teams returned to the court, Oregon never dropped its lead below four points for the remainder of the set. 

Shortly after, Morgan Lewis’ back-to-back kills doubled the score to 18-9 and was followed by an ace from Daley McClellan to push Oregon’s lead to double digits at 22-12. Northwestern struggled against the Ducks’ defense as they were held to a -.059 scoring efficiency while Oregon picked up 17 digs. 

The set ended with Gabby Gonzales’ consecutive kills for a 1-0 lead. Gonzales finished the night with a team-leading eight kills that was paired with a .333 hitting percentage. The transfer from Ohio State finished last season with an average of 3.29 kills per set, a career-high that landed her an All-Big Ten Second Team pick. 

During the second set, the teams went back and forth with points before Oregon went on a scoring run that created a 15-11 lead. Karson Bacon had two blocks and a kill during the Ducks’ seven-point run. After an ace from Mimi Colyer, Oregon quickly went ahead 18-12 as it was the team’s third ace of the set. 

The Wildcats were able to cut the deficit to five but weren’t able to advance any farther. After the Northwestern momentum shift, Oregon pushed its lead to nine, the biggest of the set, at 23-14. As the game got closer to match point, Northwestern scored the next three points to keep the set alive, but consecutive kills from Gonzales and Lewis gave Oregon a 2-0 lead. 

The final set of the night started similarly to the second one with both teams trading points before the Ducks started to collect points consecutively. After kills from McGhee and Colyer, the Wildcats were forced to call a timeout with Oregon having a 12-7 advantage. 

Northwestern got as close as they did all night when they got within three at 13-10, but the Ducks were able to re-establish themselves and collect the next six points for a comfortable lead. A Hannah Pukis kill got Oregon to match point, and after Northwestern defended off two straight match points, a block from Bacon and Lewis ended the game for the Ducks’ sixth straight set win.

While the defense held Northwestern to an overall .099 hitting percentage, Pukis delivered an all-around performance with 34 assists, nine digs, five kills, and three blocks. 

Oregon will finish the Rainbow Wahine Classic against host Hawai’i with the first serve scheduled at 8 p.m. PT. This will be the first streamed game of the season as the game will be available to watch on ESPN+ or on the ESPN app.