Oregon Volleyball Overwhelms California

California volleyball occupies last place in the Pac-12 standings and the Golden Bears were not able to muster much of a challenge against #10 Oregon, getting knocked off in straight sets, 25-16, 25-12, 25-17.

The writing was on the wall from the very beginning, when Brooke Nuneviller started the match with a pair of service aces.

As if Oregon’s hitters weren’t enough to contend with, Cal had difficulty dealing with the Ducks’ blockers all match.

After the Ducks pulled ahead by eight at 20-12, Cal was able to scrape together a run to come within five at 20-15, but that would be their last gasp in the first set.

The Bears played a little closer initially in the second set, and for a short time looked like they might be able to keep pace with Oregon.

After keeping within one at 5-4, however, Cal’s ideas of being competitive were squashed for the mirage they were as the Ducks went on a 6-0 run, and the rout was on.

There wasn’t much the Bears could do other than watch Oregon impose their will, and this set - and match - got out of hand for Cal.

The Golden Bears managed to hang on to a lead in the early ¹⁄₃ of the third set and led at one point, 7-9.

The same as before, attempts to keep up with Oregon proved to be illusory. The Ducks went on an 8-3 run to pull ahead.

After a pair of California points, Oregon embarked on another 6-0 and started looking for the brooms.

Oregon hit .470 in this match to Cal’s .133, including an astonishing .538 H% in the second set. The .470 mark is a season high and the seventh-best in the history of the program.

Morgan L. Blackwell

Brooke Nuneviller finished her afternoon as the kills leader with 13, on a H% of .522. Mimi Colyer added 12 kills. Kiari Robey knocked in 6 kills, Karson Bacon added 5 kills, and Gloria Mutiri brought another 4 kills.

Hannah Pukis scored another double-double with 34 assists and was the digs leader with 10. Georgia Murphy added 8 digs.

Morgan L. Blackwell

Today was Oregon’s seventh match of the year with a .400 or higher hitting percentage, which is new program record against Pac-12 opponents. The Ducks committed just five attack errors in 83 swings against Cal; a truly amazing statistic.

The Oregon Ducks finish their regular season on Friday in Matthew Knight Arena. Even though they’ll treat all games equally, it’s against Oregon State, who is only being kept out of the bottom of the rankings by California. Look to the Ducks to finish their regular season with a 13-game winning streak.

Oregon Ducks volleyball hosts the Oregon State Beavers on Friday, 11/25/22, in Eugene. First serve is at 6:00 pm and the match will be televised on Pac-12 Oregon.

Morgan L. Blackwell