First Place Ducks Welcome No. 20 UCLA and USC To MKA This Week

Wednesday, October 12

Eugene, Ore.

7:00 PM

University of Oregon

UCLA

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

First Place Ducks Welcome No. 20 UCLA and USC To MKA This Week

10/10/16 | Women's Volleyball

Weekly Notes - UCLA and USC Weekly Notes: UCLA and USC

No. 16 Oregon volleyball looks to stay atop the Pac-12 standings this week with a pair of home matches against No. 20 UCLA and USC, starting on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena with BEOREGON Night against the Bruins.

By: Nate Krueger

THIS WEEK

#16 OREGON vs. #20 UCLA
Wednesday, Oct. 12 | 7 p.m. | Matthew Knight Arena
BEOREGON Night
WATCH: Pac-12 Networks
STATS: GoDucks.com

#16 OREGON vs. USC
Friday, Oct. 14 | 8 p.m. | Matthew Knight Arena
Pink/Greek Night
WATCH: Pac-12 Networks
STATS: GoDucks.com

WEEKLY NOTES

First Place Ducks Welcome No. 20 UCLA and USC to Matthew Knight Arena
No. 16 Oregon stays home for two more matches in Eugene after a 1-1 weekend that included a dominating sweep of then-No. 10 Washington State on Sunday. At 12-3 and 5-1 in the Pac-12, the Ducks sit tied with the Cougars for the top spot in the conference and look to build on the momentum from winning 12 of their last 13 matches against the Bruins and the Trojans this week, who both sit at 3-3 in conference play.

Live Coverage
Both matches this week will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks. Anne Marie Anderson (pxp) and Holly McPeak (analyst) will be on the call for both matches. Live stats for both matches will be available through the volleyball schedule on GoDucks.com.

Ducks Host BEOREGON Night Against UCLA On Wednesday
Wednesday's match against No.20 UCLA will honor UO's recent BEOREGON initiative, which stresses the committment to diversity, inclusion and unleashing of potential of all Ducks, asking them to be their most authentic selves. The conversation around BEOREGON began with Nike a few years ago and is inspired by Nike's Be True campaign. The BEOREGON logo represents the entire colorway Oregon has worn in its various uniforms.

Oregon by the Numbers: Ducks Rank Among the Nation's Elite
Oregon's offense has been stellar through its first 15 matches, evident by the Ducks' standing in multiple national statistic categories. The Ducks' .306 team hitting percentage leads the conference and is fourth nationally, putting them as one of only seven teams in the nation to hit better than .300. Jim Moore's club is also seventh in the nation in kills per set at 14.51, also tops in the Pac-12. Setters Maggie Scott and August Raskie have been stellar in UO's 6-2 offense at setting up the Ducks' hitters as they have paced Oregon to a mark of 13.57 assists per set, best in the Pac-12 and ninth in the country. The Ducks' opponent hitting percentage of .169 is third in the conference and 48th in the country.

Individually, freshman Ronika Stone is 10th in the country and second in the Pac-12 with an astounding .420 hitting percentage through her first 15 collegiate matches, while also ranking eighth in the Pac-12 with 1.23 blocks per set. Kacey Nady is right behind Stone at third in the conference with a .390 hitting percentage, while Taylor Agost is seventh and 49th in the country with a mark of .371. Amanda Benson leads the conference and is 27th in the country with 5.02 digs per set, the only player in the Pac-12 to average more than 5.00 per set.

Ducks Rebound From Loss to No. 8 UW to Dominate No. 10 WSU in Straight Sets
The Ducks lost their 11-match winning streak on Friday with a dissapointing sweep at the hands of then-No. 8 Washington. The Ducks were held to their lowest hitting percentage of the season (.177) against the Huskies, committing a total of 17 attack errors. Head Coach jim Moore said after the match that he thought the Ducks were "trying to protect something" and that the Huskies came out as the aggressors.

On Sunday, the Ducks put their first loss since Aug. 27 in the back of their minds as they came out and swiftly swept aside the No. 10 Washington State Cougars, handing them their first Pac-12 loss of the season. Taylor Agost and Jolie Rasmussen led the Ducks with nine kills each, both hitting better than .400. Lauren Page had her most impressive match of the season, hitting a career-best .700 with seven kills while tying her career-high with six blocks to lead the team. Lindsey Vander Weide and August Raskie each added a pair of service aces. The Ducks hit .356 against the Cougars while allowing just a .056 mark, and were a perfect 10-for-10 on sideout opportunites in a 25-10 second set victory.

Up Next
After hosting No. 20 UCLA and USC this week, the Ducks will head out on the road for a pair of matches on back-to-back nights at Utah and Colorado. Oregon will take on the Utes next Friday (Oct. 21) at 7 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks before heading to Boulder to play the Buffaloes at 6 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 22).

Ducks Thriving In 6-2 Offensive Scheme
The potent attack that has been the Oregon offense this season has been a somewhat unconventional sight for the conventional volleyball viewer, with Jim Moore rotating through as astounding number of players in a highly-effective offense. Led by Lindsey Vander Weide's 3.72 kills per set, the Ducks have nine different players that are averaging more than 1.00 kill per set, and five players hitting better than .300. Setters Maggie Scott and August Raskie have both been very effective while rotating through the offense, with Scott averaging 6.92 assists per set and Raskie adding 5.27 assists per set.

Impressive Win Streak Ends At 11
The Ducks' most recent loss to No. 8 Washington ended an 11-match winning streak that included eight sweeps and 33 wins in 37 sets. During the streak, Oregon hit an impressive .337 as a team while holding opponents to a combined .141 hitting percentage. The Ducks hit better than .270 in each of the 11 wins, while hitting better than .300 in eight of the wins, and held opponents under .200 in all 11 matches including two matches under .100. Individually, Ronika Stone and Taylor Agost led the Ducks during the streak with hitting percentages of .462 and .442, respectively, while Lindsey Vander Weide led the team with 3.21 kills per set. Amanda Benson paced the defense with an impressive 5.32 digs per set. The Ducks' 11-match winning streak tied for the fifth-longest in program history.

About No. 20 UCLA and USC
Both the 20th-ranked Bruins and the USC Trojans enter this week at 3-3 in Pac-12 play, and both are coming off 1-1 weeks against the Arizona schools. UCLA swept ASU before falling to Arizona in five sets at home, and are led by Reily Buechler and Jordan Anderson who are both averaging more than 3.00 kills per set. The Bruins boast an effective defense, as they lead the Pac-12 in digs per set at 18.12, more than 2.00 digs per set better than the Trojans (16.05). UCLA is also second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.152). UCLA leads the all-time series with the Ducks, 53-11, but Oregon has found success as of late with six wins in the last nine meetings.

The Trojans fell out of the AVCA rankings this week after sitting at No. 22 last week, and also fell to Arizona while picking up a win against ASU. Leading the Trojans into Eugene is Khalia Lanier, who enters the week averaging 3.84 kills per set (fourth in Pac-12). Senior Elise Ruddins has been incredibly efficient, hitting .457 this season to lead the conference. The series history with the Trojans has swung in the favor of USC, as they lead the Ducks 51-11 and won both meetings last season.

Vander Weide Continues to Prove She's an All-Around Player
Often referred to on the outside as an "offensive weapon," sophomore Lindsey Vander Weide has made it clear so far this season that she is much more than just an outside hitter. Vander Weide has rarely come off the court this year, serving as a six-rotation player while passing from the back row on a consistent basis. Vander Weide is tied for fifth in the Pac-12 with six double-doubles this season, and has posted double-digit digs in 11 matches this season, including nine of her last 12. The sophomore also has a service ace in all but four matches in 2016, with multiple aces in five different matches.

Ronika Stone Named Pac-12 Freshman Player of the Week (Oct. 3)
Ronika Stone earned the first Pac-12 weekly honor of her career this week, taking home Pac-12 Freshman Player of the Week honors on Oct. 3 after hitting .516 with 2.38 kills per set in a weekend road trip at Arizona State and Arizona, while also leading the Ducks with 10 blocks between the two matches. Stone's weekend was highlighted by an incredibly efficient performance against the Wildcats in which she put down a season-high 13 kills on .625 hitting while also adding five blocks.

Freshman Fab Four
Oregon's highly-touted freshman class has delivered on expectations thus far in their first season of collegiate volleyball. Ronika Stone has been stellar, leading the team in both hitting percentage (.420), total blocks (53) and blocks per set (1.23), while providing the team with a noticeable infusion of energy. Stone's .420 hitting percentage is currently 10th in the country. Jolie Rasmussen has shown tremendous potential on the offensive end, averaging 2.69 kills per set while hitting .238, and has also shown some ability in receive with 1.00 digs per set. Willow Johnson has provided versatility with her left-handed swing on the right side, hitting .268 with 2.05 kills per set while also averaging 0.63 blocks per set. Brooke Van Sickle, the heir apparent to Benson at libero, has been all over the court in her first season and has averaged 0.92 kills per set and 1.64 digs per set.

Amanda Benson Earns Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week Honors (Sept. 12)
Senior libero Amanda Benson was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12, after helping lead the Ducks to a 4-0 week and a sweep in the Nike Invitational. Over the four matches, Benson dug 65 balls, 5.00 per set, while committing only four receiving errors and serving as a fixture in the Ducks' defense. It was Benson's second career Pac-12 weekly honor.

Benson Chasing UO Digs Records in Final Season
In her senior season with the Ducks, libero Amanda Benson has a couple of UO career digs records within her sights. Benson is currently second on the all-time digs per set list at 4.60, trailing only Katie Swoboda (5.11). Benson is also second on the all-time total digs list with 1,827 for her career. Benson needs 371 digs this season to reach Swoboda's all-time mark of 2,198. Benson currently leads the Pac-12 with 5.02 digs per set. Elsewhere in the UO career record book, junior setter Maggie Scott is ninth with 7.86 assists per set and eighth with 2,235 assists. Senior Kacey Nady is currently fourth with a career attack percentage of .320.

Moore Closing in on 600 Career Wins
In his 12th season with the Ducks and 28th overall, head coach Jim Moore is just 11 victories away from reaching the 600 mark as a head coach. 237 of those 589 wins have come while at the helm at Oregon, where he has boasted a .677 winning percentage over his 11-plus years. Moore collected a combined 84 wins over four years between Chico State and Northern Michigan before arriving in Eugene, and 84 over four years at Texas, Friday's opponent. Moore started his coaching career at Northern Michigan where he accumulated 123 wins in his first stint with the program before moving to Kansas State, where he won 61 matches over three seasons.

Vander Weide Named Preseason All-Pac-12
Coming off of a phenomenal freshman season, sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide was recognized by the conference's coaches by being selected to the preseason All-Pac-12 team. The Turlock, Calif. native earned All-Pac-12 honors and Pac-12 All-Freshmen Team recognition last season, as well as Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors twice throughout the year. Vander Weide led the Ducks with 410 points in 2015, finished second on the team with 356 kills, 3.21 kills per set, 253 digs and 21 service aces, and third with 59 blocks.

Ducks Picked Fourth in Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll
After a sixth place finish in 2015, the Ducks were picked to finish fourth in the league this season in a poll of the conference's coaches, receiving 95 total points in the poll. Stanford was the consensus at the top of the poll, receiving nine of the 12 first-place votes and 119 points total, while UCLA and Washington each received a first-place vote to round out the top three.

Ducks Land No. 2 Recruiting Class in the Nation
A year after assembling the nation's fourth-best recruiting class, the Ducks welcome a four-player class in 2016 that was ranked No. 2 in the nation by both prepvolleyball.com and volleyballmag.com. The quartet of hitters Jolie Rasmussen and Willow Johnson, middle blocker Ronika Stone and libero/outside hitter Brooke Van Sickle is the Ducks' top-rated class ever. Stone is the top-rated indiviudal recruit in UO history, slotted at No. 10 on prepvolleyball.com's prestifious "Senior Aces" list. Stone was a first-team Under Armour All-American, while Rasmussen was a second-team All-American and No. 20 on the Senior Aces list. Johnson was an honorable mention All-American and ranked 27th in the 2016 senior class, and Van Sickle came in at No. 88 among the Senior Aces while also earning first-team All-American honors.

Ducks Looking to Earn Sixth Straight NCAA Berth
Oregon enters 2016 with its sights set on returning to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season. The Ducks faced off with Wisconsin in the first round of the dance last season, and reached the NCAA Regional round in 2014 after serving as a host school in the first two rounds. The Ducks battled with Nebraska in the second round of the tournament in 2013, a year after the program's most successful season in history in 2012 when it reached the national championship game against Texas. The Ducks started the five-year run in the tournament in 2011 in the first round against Colorado State.