Matthew Knight Area was infiltrated by a sea of red and white. To be contenders in the Big Ten, you have to contend with No. 2 Nebraska (23-1, 13-0 Big Ten) — and its traveling fanbase.
On Thursday night, No. 12 Oregon (17-5, 9-4 Big Ten) looked like the rookie in the Huskers’ straight-set victory.
“The first set, we were kind of timid. We weren’t being super disciplined in any aspect of the game,” Mimi Colyer said. “I think the second set, we realized and we figured it out, and we were playing much better.”
Allick Rebekah got the first say for Nebraska with a kill down the middle. Oregon appeared shaky right off the bat, hitting attempts out of bounds that it usually makes.
The Ducks immediately responded to a 4-0 Huskers run with a 3-0 run of their own. They tied it at 6-6 but it didn’t take long for Nebraska to snatch the advantage right back.
Oregon stars Colyer and Michelle Ohwobete struggled in Set 1, as both players had errors and .000 percent hitting in the first. On the opposite side of the floor, Taylor Landfair dominated and recorded five first-set kills on .625 percent hitting.
The Ducks fell apart in the back half of the set, with Nebraska taking it 25-12.
It was Oregon’s first matchup against a top-2 team in Eugene since 2018. The Ducks entered the match on a roll at home, winning nine in a row and losing only its first match against the current No. 1 team, the University of Pittsburgh.
Set 2 started out better for the Ducks. They took their first lead of the match at 7-6 and kept it much closer than in the first. The Huskers still went up 2-0 following a 26-24 set.
The story was nearly identical to when Oregon played Pitt in the season’s first game. Set 1 in that match also ended 25-12 in favor of the Panthers. Then, the Ducks showed fight and potential by coming within two points of the Huskers in Sets 2 and 3.
But this wasn’t game one of the season and Oregon wasn’t looking for a moral victory.
“I hope teachers, just keep teaching and you never know when they’re going to get it,” Ulmer said. “If you have goals in December, like we’re gonna have to tackle this, right? This is what a Sweet 16, Elite Eight is gonna feel like. We’ve had a few matches, Penn State, Wisconsin. This one that felt that way, Saturday will feel the same way with the crowd, the environment, handling all those things, and it’s something that you have to tackle if you want to have success. And if you don’t, you won’t.”
Colyer put up a decent performance. She tallied 13 kills, many of them garnering big reactions from the Ducks’ fanbase. The problem was that Colyer finished with 52 attacks — none of her teammates had more than 19.
“52 is crazy,” head coach Matt Ulmer said. “We were just kind of bailed out to Mimi. But there was opportunities to send other people and have our offense more diverse, so we really need to do that against these guys.”
Nebraska won a critical challenge to make the score 24-23, determining Set 2, but Oregon’s confidence didn’t waver. The Ducks began the third with the advantage but it didn’t last. The final was 25-18 in Set 3.
Huskers’ sophomore Harper Murray stole the show with 14 kills on 29 attacks and 10 digs. Landfair also recorded 13 kills, while Bergen Reilly had 33 assists for Nebraska. The Huskers continue their conference record and extend their winning streak to 20 matches.
The matchup brought an attendance record of 8,566 for Oregon volleyball. It surpassed the previous record of 7,334 set against Oregon State in 2023. The season-high before the match was 3,847 against Illinois.
“The crowds when we’re on the road there, they look like that and I was hoping that we’re going to try to raise our competitive level to compete in the conference,” Ulmer said. “I hope that our fans noticed how many red shirts were there, how early they were there. They got the seats because they showed up early, that’s something they’re used to doing. That’s not something we’re used to doing here we show up, you know 10 minutes to game time, and we have a nice time.”
The Ducks’ next test will be on the road. It doesn’t get any easier, as they’ll have to rebound with a top-15 win. Oregon faces No. 14 Minnesota on Saturday at 1 p.m.
