Oregon volleyball defeated the Arizona Wildcats on Friday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena, 3-0. With the win, Oregon extends its early season winning streak to four games.
The two sides traded blow for blow early in the first set with neither team establishing any momentum. The Wildcats’ middle blockers Zyonna Fellows and China Rai Crouch led the way, stifling Oregon’s attacks with ease.
The score was knotted at 11 until Oregon stormed ahead with four-straight spikes from Gloria Mutiri, Karson Bacon, Brooke Nuneviller and Taylor Borup. The stellar play energized the bench and gave all the momentum to Oregon as Arizona called their first timeout. 15-11 Ducks.
“Our team is getting better and better at bringing each other up,” Nuneviller said. “I think we are playing so well as a team right now that we are making each other better.”
The Wildcats played well after the break, cutting the deficit to two. The run proved to be too little, too late however as Morgan Lewis’ vicious kill through the heart of the Wildcat defense proved to be the final blow. Oregon took the set 25-19.
Arizona started out the second set hot, with Fellows leading the way. The junior had multiple blocks and spikes to energize the Arizona bench until Lewis struck again. With back-to-back spikes, Lewis forced an Arizona timeout, and gave Oregon their first lead of the set.
Out of the timeout, Nunevillers showed her versatility. The junior had a kill, then forced a mistake from the Wildcats when her next spike yielded a lack of communication from Arizona. Wildcats head coach David Rubio took his second timeout in two minutes as his team trailed 10-7.
Oregon’s defense showed up later in the second set, highlighted by an impressive Bacon block off of a rocket hit from the Arizona attack. 19-13 Ducks.
Nunevillers provided the death blow in the second set with a perfectly placed kill along the sideline. The junior led the way with 14 kills in the game, as Oregon took the set 25-17.
Looking to avoid getting swept, Arizona came out hot in the third set with a 9-5 lead. Just as there was any hope however, Nunevillers stepped up again with an ace and spike on back-to-back plays. The score was tied at 11.
Oregon took the momentum created by Nunevillers and ran with it. The Ducks reeled off seven straight points late in the third set, with an ace from Borup proving to be the knockout punch to make the game 22-14. Oregon took the set 25-15, completing the sweep.
“Our offense was sharper because we were able to actually have enough players to play six on six this week,” head coach Matt Ulmer said. “Having people back at their positions has been very helpful and things are starting to click.”
With the win, Oregon moves to 5-2 on the season, while the Wildcats fall to 2-5. The Ducks will look to make it five straight wins on Sunday when they take on the Wildcats again at 11am in Eugene.
