Matthew Knight Arena shook and the crowd erupted after a kill from Eugene native Taylor Williams secured an Oregon victory, sweeping UCLA in three sets.
Oregon and UCLA battled it out for every single point in a tight match. Both teams were neck and neck until the final points of each set. The Ducks trailed the Bruins in the first two sets only to take the lead in the second half of each set, winning 25-23, 26-24. The Ducks found their footing in the third set, holding the lead after key kills from Brooke Nuneviller and Willow Johnson, finishing the set 25-16.
“I really wanted them to feel some success by getting the total victory, the team victory tonight,” head coach Matt Ulmer said. “So that was great to just see them come out in the third set, I thought it was the best volleyball we’ve played so far this year.”
In the first set, the Bruins got off to a hot start with some long rallies and an ace for the first few points.
Oregon challenged a call which disrupted UCLA’s momentum, but UCLA regained its energy and scored six straight points. A couple of miscommunication errors in Oregon’s back court allowed UCLA to mount a substantial lead.
The set continued with long rallies as both teams were fighting for each point. Oregon showed some spurts of energy and a series of short, strong points and an ace by Nuneviller helped the Ducks close the gap to 12-15.
UCLA pulled ahead, again, but the Ducks remained close behind due to some good communication and strong serves. The Ducks slowly drew the score closer, following some relentless defense and an offensive attack pulled the score to 17-18, the closest so far in the set.
An ace from Kylie Robinson tied it up at 23 and a net violation on UCLA brought the Ducks into the lead at 24-23 for the first time in the game. A long rally finished off the first set and clinched a comeback for Oregon.
Willow Johson led the first set in kills, giving the Ducks a much needed advantage in some close points.
“We’re starting to string together a lot of good points, a lot of good rallies. Great comeback from us, this team has been fighting their butts off all year long,” Ulmer said. “We’re learning every day, this team has a high ceiling, we are very young so we just need to continue to grow.”
The Ducks came in with a renewed energy in the second set, allowing them to pull ahead of the Bruins. The game remained close until UCLA took the lead at 16-13, the largest lead so far in the set.
Oregon was stuck trailing and tying it up, but unable to gain a lead.
An ace by Robinson pulled it to 17-18 and a net violation on UCLA tied it up at 18-18. It remained close, a kill by UCLA’s Mac May tied it up again at 21. Both teams fought for each point and the score was tied again at 24. Two errors by UCLA gave Oregon a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The Bruins were led by May with 17 kills in the first two sets, twice that of any other player on the team.
“We tried to serve her (May) really tough and give her some harder looks on offense. It worked sometimes, sometimes it didn’t,” Ulmer said. “With great players like that, they are going to make great plays, we just have to make it as hard on them as possible while doing our best job on everybody else.”
Ronika Stone had some key kills in the first few points of the third set, giving the Ducks a slight lead at 7-5, but a net violation kept the game close.
After a kill from Johnson and a wide shot from UCLA, Oregon stretched its lead 10-6. It was Oregon’s biggest lead, so far, in the match.
Oregon slowly pulled ahead and a kill from Nuneviller solidified Oregon’s lead, 20-12. Nuneviller contributed some key points in the latter half of the third set, bringing the score to 22-15.
The Ducks persisted and held the Bruins, winning the third set and sweeping UCLA 25-16.
“We’re just trying to play for one point at a time,” Ulmer said. “Every rally is brand new.”
Ulmer also contributes this win to having 12 healthy players for the first time this season.
Oregon will round out the weekend against USC on Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena.
“I think we really needed a game like this to really flip the switch for us. I mean we’re so young and talented. The more game time we get and the more time we get together is going to help our chemistry on the court,” Nuneviller said. “We just keep getting better every time we step on the court.”
