It was a back and forth battle on Senior Night in Oregon’s 3-1 win over Northwestern. The Ducks had their fair share of sloppy plays, but when the Wildcats were keeping it close, it was up to the seniors to step up as their playing time at Matthew Knight Arena nears the end.
“I thought the connection with Onye [Ofoegbu] and Cris [Cline] wasn’t great today,” Head Coach Matt Ulmer said, “but I like how Onye responded towards the end and she made some really tough plays at the end of the third set, you know, and then I feel like it carried over to the fourth, so I thought that showed good growth and leadership from her. Michelle [Ohwobete] I thought was fantastic! 20 kills. I think it’s definitely a season high for her, right? So she was very consistent. If you get 20 kills, you did something, so you know that’s a nice day, and I thought her and Cris had a nice connection. Obviously her and Mack [Morris] made so many plays. Colby’s (Neal) blocking was really solid. Obviously we miss Daley [McClellan] out there and hopefully we can get her back soon. I thought the seniors did a really nice job.”
Michelle Ohwobete is in her first season as a Duck after spending three seasons playing for the University of California, Santa Barbara. During that time, she won a series of awards including Big West Freshman of the Week, Big West Freshman of the Year, All-Big West First Team, Big West Offensive Player of the Week, and in her final season, Big West Player of the Year. At Oregon, her performance and leadership has inspired her teammates to play at a high level.
“I love love love Michelle,” Ofoegbu said. “I love how she works, I love her effort, I love how she plays, and honestly, she motivates me. Seeing her get a kill, I’m like, ‘I need to get a kill. Look at Michelle.’ When she gets a block, I’m like, ‘My turn. I need to get a block because look at Michelle.’ She’s honestly very inspirational and it’s fun to have a person that inspires you on your team.”
Ofoegbu is a red shirt senior playing in her second season in Eugene. Her first three seasons were spent at the University of California, Irvine. In her final season there, she was nominated for All-Big West First Team, AVCA All-American Honorable Mention, and Big West Player of the Week. In this game, she recorded 8 kills and 7 blocks.
Mackenzie Morris led the team on the deck with 19 digs, which is fairly consistent for her. Despite being smaller than most of her teammates, Morris has never been afraid to hit the floor and keep rallies alive. She is in her first season at Oregon after spending four years at Kansas State University. In those four years, her awards included Big 12 Volleyball Scholar Athlete of the Year, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, Academic All-Big 12 First Team, and as a freshman, All-Big 12 Rookie Team.
Colby Neal has played her entire college career with the Ducks. “I think we really wanted to win for each other a lot more, rather than ‘oh, we just want to win,’” Neal said. “So there was definitely that real emotional feeling of doing it for each other.” Neal recorded 4 kills, 5 digs, and 6 blocks in the game. On the season, she has a total of 94 kills, 32 digs, and 91 blocks.
The seniors have one more regular season game at Matthew Knight Arena, and the possibility of at least one more in the playoffs.
