Two weeks ago, Oregon traveled to UCLA and stunned the then-No. 25 Bruins in straight sets. Tonight, the two Big Ten and former Pac-12 rivals squared off at Matthew Knight Arena, and the Ducks reaffirmed what their win in Los Angeles said: they never should have been ranked below UCLA.

“The challenge for this team over the next three weeks is to stay present, stay connected, and keep believing,” head coach Trent Kersten said after the game. “This team wasn’t supposed to be any good, so why not let it rip at this point?”

The Ducks (14-9, 5-8 Big Ten) were led in their 3-1 win by graduate student Sophia Meyers, who finished the game with 13 kills and 10 digs, and freshman Alanah Clemente, who finished with 14 kills and 13 digs.

Oregon took the momentum first when UCLA (13-10, 7-6 Big Ten) opened with a service error and soon found itself trailing the Ducks 3-0. The Bruins just could not keep the ball in the air and called an early timeout after Oregon took a 7-1 lead.

UCLA came out of the break with a couple of positive possessions, but the Ducks were having none of it. Oregon continued to put up rally after rally to go up 16-7 against a helpless looking Bruins team, leading to another time out.

The away team still had no answers when play resumed as the Ducks ran away with the first set, 25-9- the largest margin of any set victory this season. Meyers led the way with five kills, four digs and two blocks in Set 1.

“Our offense was firing at all cylinders,” Kersten said. “We came out and we were ready.”

The Bruins entered the second set hungry, taking an early 2-0 lead, but once again, Oregon had an answer. UCLA did a better job matching the Ducks’ intensity from the first set the second time around. It led by as much as 4 before Oregon tied it at 10. The Ducks were able to inch ahead, but never led by more than 3.

Despite UCLA’s fight, the Ducks did not flinch and took the second set, 25-22. Clemente held her ground in that set, recording four kills and five digs. Meyers also tacked on three more kills and a service ace to her already impressive night.

Oregon took an early 7-3 lead in the third set, but UCLA answered with four straight to tie it. The Bruins maintained a small lead through the middle of the set. The Ducks called a timeout trailing 19-14 and came storming back to force a UCLA timeout after cutting its lead to two points.

The Bruins were unable to take the momentum back after the break. The Ducks tied it at 22, forcing another timeout, but couldn’t quite pull ahead. UCLA took Set 3, 25-23 to extend the game.

UCLA came into Set 4 and took the early lead, but Oregon responded and tied it at 6. The Bruins then moved back ahead by four, but the Ducks came back to tie it once again.

It was nothing but back-and-forth action from that point on. Neither team took a lead larger than a point until very late, when Oregon took a 23-21 lead. UCLA got back within one, but Clemente came up with a service ace thanks to a UCLA net violation on match point to send the Bruins home.

The Ducks return to Matthew Knight Arena this Sunday, November 9, where they will take on the Michigan State Spartans.

“Our story is starting to be told more and more through the volleyball world right now,” Kersten said. “I think this is a really special thing that’s happening here in Eugene.”