The No. 17 Oregon Ducks hosted the Pac-12 leading UCLA Bruins Sunday afternoon.
The Ducks entered the match on a four game win streak and stayed hot, sweeping the Bruins 3-0, while never trailing in the second and third sets.
Oregon won the first set behind a strong defensive effort. UCLA built an early 13-8 lead, scoring quickly off of blocks and hits up the middle before Oregon Head Coach Matt Ulmer called time.
Out of the break Oregon star Brooke Nuneviller, who missed her first three kill attempts, came alive, scoring on her next two kills in route to a 7-1 Oregon run. To close out the set and avoid deuce, a Nuneviller kill that missed the mark scored as UCLA blocker Elan McCall errantly touched the net.
The Ducks jumped on the Bruins to start the second set, opening with a 5-1 run and never looked back. Nuneviller scored the last three Oregon points as the Ducks put the set away 25-17.
Both UCLA and Oregon utilized their star players heavily. For the Bruins, 2019 Pac-12 player of the year May Mac was the focal point offensively. On a team-high 37 kill attempts she tallied only eight kills on a game low .081 hitting percentage. The Oregon defense was able to dig 44 UCLA kill attempts.
“We planned on giving her tiny slivers where she has to hit,” Oregon sophomore middle blocker Karson Bacon said. “The block will take away as much as they can. It’s about taking away her power swings.”
In the final set, UCLA gave up another early lead from which they’d recover. Brooke Nuneviller finished with a game-high 11 digs which she paired with an additional game-high 15 kills on 40 attempts.
As UCLA committed to neutralizing the threat of Nuneviller, hitting lanes opened up for other Ducks who scored efficiently. Karson Bacon scored on 9/13 kills, Gloria Mutiri connected on 6/13 attempts, and Morgan Lewis and Kiari Robey each contributed five kills for the Ducks.
“If things are running well for us we have six legit options,” Oregon Head Coach Matt Ulmer said. “All of a sudden they start to cheat towards Brooke… We get some seams for Morgan, Gloria and Taylor –– they’re gonna have a good chance at being successful.”
The Ducks have now won five straight matches and have situated themselves among the top teams in the Pac-12.
Oregon will look to stay hot and yield a different result against Washington State Nov. 18. The Cougars swept the Ducks 3-0 when they met in October.
