Oregon Ducks Volleyball Defeats Colorado In 5 Sets

Oregon Ducks volleyball was down two sets to zero, but overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth set to win their match against the Colorado Buffaloes, 13-25, 20-25, 25-22, 26-24, 15-12. The Ducks battled with their back to the wall, showing that they’re never out of a match, and that it ain’t over until it’s over.

The match started with Oregon not really attacking or defending well in the first two sets. In the first set, the Ducks took an early 6-4 lead, but the Buffaloes lapped the Ducks with a 6-0 run, taking a 7-13 lead that they would not relinquish. Colorado had contributions from nearly all of their hitters, and most of their kills were well placed.

On the other hand, the Ducks were not attacking well, reflected in their set hitting percentage of -0.031.

Oregon started set 2 with an early 8-4 lead, and Colorado again ended that with a 6-0 run. In this set, Oregon did a better job of keeping pace, even as they were not able to get the lead back.

Oregon’s hitting percentage improved in the second set, but the Buffaloes hit .480 in the first set and .400 in the second set, and those numbers will win sets virtually every time.

In the third set, the Ducks jumped out to an early lead, and Colorado again crawled back in the game, but in this set the Buffaloes would not be able to overtake the Ducks. A key to the Ducks taking sets 3, 4, and 5 was better defensive play.

The Ducks were successfully getting digs that got past them in the first two sets, such as this great dig by Georgia Murphy:

Oregon had found its game and was back in it - or so it seemed, but in the fourth set Colorado jumped out to an early 10-3 lead and then increased that lead by ten points.

Down 9-19, the Ducks pulled off one of the most incredible comebacks that you’re likely to see in any sport.

Kills by Brooke Nuneviller and Gloria Mutiri were finding paydirt. Oregon tied up the set at 23 and 24 points, then took the set with their amazing comeback, 26-24.

Both sides were playing well, and the fifth set was the nail biter that we knew it would be. Long rallies such as this only added to the tension:

The Ducks built an early lead at 9-3, but the Buffaloes came back and tied the game 11-11.

That tie is as close as Colorado would get, as the Ducks took care of business, point by point, and came out of Boulder with the victory.

Mimi Colyer and Brooke Nuneviller both had a double-double in this match. Colyer lead the Ducks with 20 kills and added 11 digs. Nuneviller had 16 kills and also had 11 digs. Gloria Mutiri was huge in this match, with 17 kills and three blocks, and her hitting percentage was .441. Hannah Pukis had a double-double with 56 assists and 11 digs. Georgia Murphy was the digs leader with 17.

Oregon continues its improvement at the service line and again served well in this match, with 5 aces and only 6 service errors.

The Ducks have won eight in a row and are second in the Pac-12 standing, behind Stanford.

Oregon Volleyball will try for their ninth straight victory this Sunday against the Utah Utes. That match in on 11/13/22 at 12:00 pm PT and can be seen on Utah Live Stream.