The Oregon Ducks volleyball team will take their No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament and face off against Northern Colorado University at 8 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Bears are currently riding a five-game win streak that helped secure them the Big Sky Championship over Idaho State last week. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205803161@@@@
Oregon enters the game winning their past three matches as well, including an impressive victory over then-No. 7 ranked UCLA in Eugene prior to Thanksgiving.
Jim Moore’s squad is coming off an incredibly successful 2012 regular season where the team set the program record with 25 wins which is the most for the University since the Pac-12 began playing volleyball in 1986.
In order to secure an opening round victory and live to play again tomorrow, the Ducks will once again rely heavily on redshirt senior outside hitter Alaina Bergsma. Bergsma is averaging 4.76 kills per set and is the unquestioned leader of the squad. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205716141&KEY=@@
Oregon will also hope for a solid effort out of setter Lauren Plum who has played at an incredibly high level all year for the Ducks. When Plum is in the zone and using her raw athletic ability to set up the hitters in prime positions to score, the Oregon offense is one of the most effective in the country.
Coach Moore and the Ducks are hoping to improve upon their NCAA Tournament effort last year when they were surprisingly knocked out in the first round after a five-set loss to Colorado State.