If one song could capture the theme of the volleyball game tonight, it would be Aaliyah’s Back and Forth. 

As the No. 6 Ducks welcomed the Huskies to the home floor — which they haven’t lost in over a year — I don’t think anyone expected the outcome of the first set, especially against an unranked opponent. 

The scoring stayed in a continuous cycle for the majority of the set. It wasn’t until Washington was up 21-19 that someone would go on a scoring run. With no lead changes throughout the set, there were five scoring ties. The Huskies were able to keep their lead, despite Oregon slowly inching towards them, until the very end and had a 1-0 lead over the sixth-best team in the country. 

Things quickly changed once the teams switched sides of the court. After a double block from the right side, Oregon took charge early and pushed itself to a 4-0 lead. 

Despite how the first set went, the Ducks kept a steady groove of the second one by not allowing the Huskies to take the lead at any point. As the set came to a close, a Hannah Pukis ace gave them a three-point lead, forcing Washington to call a timeout. 

But, in true Oregon fashion, the icing attempts never seem to truly have any impact. The Ducks closed out the second set with a 7-0 run to tie it at 1-1. 
They took that same momentum into the third set and by the halfway point, Washington was forced to call another timeout after Mimi Colyer put down her ninth kill of the night to push Oregon ahead by five. 

The Huskies continued to give the Ducks trouble by keeping it close and competitive, but Oregon was able to bounce back from the 0-1 start and take a 2-1 lead heading into the final set of the night. 

Now, the constant back-and-forth scoring really took place in the fourth. 11 ties and six lead changes kept everyone on the edge of their seats, waiting to see if the Ducks could pull this out. 

Heading into the media timeout, Karson Bacon’s fifth kill gave Oregon a one-point lead at the halfway mark. Once the teams returned, the Ducks created some separation with a 5-1 run as match point came closer. 
But, would Aaliyah have the theme song of the night if Washington didn’t put up a fight at the end? 

A three-point push by the Huskies cut Oregon’s lead down to one, forcing a timeout from the home team. But, a small, two-point run closed out the game and extended their win streak to six.

The Ducks will finish out their home stand against Washington State on Sunday at 12 p.m. The game will be available to watch on Pac-12 Network.