Postseason begins for third-seeded Oregon volleyball as Ducks open NCAA Tournament at home
Oregon enters the postseason on the heels of a historic regular season and riding a win streak that dates back to the middle of October.
But now the real fun begins.
The Ducks volleyball team opens NCAA Tournament play Friday as a No. 3 seed and one of 16 programs hosting the first two rounds. They’ll face Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. in Matthew Knight Arena, with the winner advancing to a second-round match at 7 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Friday’s 4 p.m. match between sixth-seeded Arkansas and Utah State.
Oregon (23-5) went 17-3 in the Pac-12 this fall to set a program record for most wins in conference play. The Ducks’ overall winning percentage of 82.1% is its best since the 2012 team that played for the national title went 25-4 during the regular season (86.2%).
The Ducks have also won 13 straight matches and two wins this weekend will tie the longest streak in program history.
“I think the group is very confident and I think they should be,” coach Matt Ulmer said. “They’ve been really consistent. We know we can lose, we know we’re not invincible, but we know that if we play our best we have a shot against anybody.”
Oregon certainly does at home, where it's 12-0 this season and on a 16-match win streak in Matthew Knight Arena.
“We’ve been working so well together and working so hard throughout the year,” senior outside hitter Gloria Mutiri said. “We’re just building up as we go and I think we’re starting to hit a good stride at a perfect time.”
Elite offense led by elite players
The Ducks are doing it with an offense that ranks fourth in the NCAA in hitting percentage (.298), ninth in kills per set (14.28) and seventh in assists per set (13.5).
Senior outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller, freshman outside hitter Mimi Colyer and redshirt junior setter Hannah Pukis were named all-Pac-12 selections earlier this week, with Colyer also being named Pac-12 freshman of the year — the first such honor for an Oregon player since 1986.
Colyer ended the regular season ranked fourth in the Pac-12 with 4.89 points per set — a mark that leads all freshmen in the NCAA — and fifth with 4.20 kills per set.
“It’s just really impressive what she’s been able to do as a freshman so far,” Nuneviller said. “ … She’s really just handling everything like a vet, honestly.”
Schedule:Click here for the complete NCAA Tournament bracket
Nuneviller is averaging a career-best 4.02 kills and is hitting .291. She is one of two players in the country with at least 4.00 kills per set, a .290 hitting percentage and 2.95 digs per set.
Nuneviller and Colyer are also one of four sets of teammates in the NCAA averaging at least 4.00 kills per set this season.
Pukis, a transfer from Washington State, is ninth in the NCAA with 11.24 assists per set.
Mutiri and libero Georgia Murphy were also named honorable mention all-Pac-12.
“I think we’re just overall very, very talented everywhere on the court,” Nuneviller said. “We have something to prove. I don’t think anyone’s really going into the tournament saying ‘Wow, watch out for Oregon.’ I’m really excited to show everyone just how good we are.”
Sting of '21 NCAA Tournament loss motivates
Nuneviller is one of seven players on the team who played against Kansas last season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament when the Ducks were taken down in three sets.
Ulmer said that loss should motivate the players to stay focused on the moment instead of thinking about how deep of a postseason run the team can make.
“Everybody always wants to talk about ‘the road’ and wants to talk about next weekend, and I sure hope we learned our lesson last year, because people wanted to do that same thing and then we lose in the first round to Kansas and we didn’t even win a set,” Ulmer said. “I thought we were a pretty talented team and had a chance to do good things there, so I sure hope experience works in our favor this time.”
Loyola Marymount (18-9) finished third in the West Coast Conference standings, and outside hitter Kari Geissberger (3.36 kps, .259 hitting percentage), setter Isabella Bareford (10.52 assists per set) and middle blockers Phoebe Awoleye (2.10 kps, 1.4 blocks per set) and Jacquelyn Moore (2.29 kps) were all named first-team all-WCC.
“LMU is going to give us their best shot and we expect that,” Ulmer said. “We expect everybody to do that, but hopefully we respond in kind.”
Arkansas, Utah State back in the show
Friday’s first match will feature two teams who have broken long postseason droughts.
The Razorbacks (20-8) are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 and are led by all-SEC outside hitters Jill Gillen (3.68 kps) and Taylor Head (3.57 kps).
The Aggies (22-10), who won the Mountain West Conference tournament last weekend, are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010 and fifth time overall. They’re led by all-Mountain West middle blocker Kennedi Boyd (1.07 bps) and junior outside hitter Tatum Stall (3.12 kps).
NCAA Volleyball Tournament
At Matthew Knight Arena
FRIDAY
Match 1: Arkansas vs Utah State, 4 p.m., ESPN+
Match 2: Oregon vs Loyola Marymount, 7 p.m., ESPN+
SATURDAY
Match 3: Winner 1 vs Winner 2, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.
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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks volleyball on hot streak ahead of NCAA Tourney
