Four-Match Road Swing Begins in L.A.

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 20 Oregon volleyball team will look to bounce back from a pair of tough home losses this weekend on its first Pac-12 road trip of the season. The Ducks will head to Los Angeles to kick off a stretch of four straight road contests against two top-25 opponents in No. 17 UCLA (Friday) and No. 12 USC (Sunday). Oregon is 2-2 to start conference play and 2-4 this year against ranked opponents, with wins over then-No. 1 Minnesota and No. 22 Washington State.

The Ducks suffered their first Pac-12 loss of the season last Friday in a tough five-set battle with No. 21 Arizona, coming up just short of a comeback victory after falling behind 2-1, and then struggled with inconsistent and sloppy play in a straight-set loss to Arizona State on Sunday.

"You just can't play poorly in our conference and expect to get away with it," said head coach Matt Ulmer. "But I think it's a really good learning opportunity for us right now in terms of how do we handle disappointment and how do we bounce back, and I'm excited to see how we do."

#20 OREGON (9-5, 2-2) at #17 UCLA (7-4, 2-2)
When: Friday, October 5
First Serve: 7:04 p.m. PT
Where: Los Angeles, Calif.
Venue: Pauley Pavilion
TV: Pac-12 Network (Kevin Barnett and Holly McPeak)
Live Stats: Oregon.statbroadcast.com
All-Time Series: UCLA leads, 55-11 (UCLA W4)
Last Meeting: UCLA won, 3-1 (9/22/17, L.A.)
About UCLA: The No. 17 Bruins are 2-2 in conference play with wins at No. 24 Utah and at California after picking up a pair of top-25 wins over No. 12 Baylor and No. 12 USD in nonconference action. Like the Ducks, UCLA is strong defensively, ranking third in the Pac-12 with 17.11 digs per set. The Bruins operate around two setters in the 6-2 system and have three players averaging 2.00 kills per set or more, led by Mac May (3.42 k/s).

#20 OREGON (9-5, 2-2) at #12 USC (11-4, 3-1)
When: Sunday, October 7
First Serve: 1:00 p.m. PT
Where: Los Angeles, Calif.
Venue: Galen Center
Live Stream: pac-12.com/live/usc
Live Stats: usctrojans.com
All-Time Series: USC leads, 52-12 (USC W1)
Last Meeting: USC won, 3-1 (11/22/17, Eugene)
About USC: USC opened its season with four straight wins against top 25 teams - Kentucky, Northern Iowa, Creighton and Florida - and have started 3-0 in Pac-12 play with wins over UCLA (3-0), Colorado (3-2) and California (3-1). The Trojans are led by first-team all-American Khalia Lanier (4.18 k/s, 2.30 d/s) and budding star Brooke Botkin, who has broken out as as sophomore to lead USC with 4.32 kills per set on .262 hitting.

NOTES
Ducks All Over Pac-12, NCAA Leaderboards
Almost midway through the 2018 season, Oregon finds itself littered across the top of many Pac-12 and national team and individual statistic leaderboards:

Team Statistic	P12 Rank	NCAA Rank
17.25 Digs/Set	1st	22nd
14.06 Assists/Set	2nd	4th
14.84 Kills/Set	2nd	5th
.258 Hitting Pct.	3rd	29th
1.53 Aces/Set	3rd	62nd

Name	Statistic	P12 Rank	NCAA Rank
August Raskie	12.29 Assists/Set	2nd	4th
Brooke Nuneviller	4.69 Digs/Set	2nd	77th
Brooke Van Sickle	0.39 Aces/Set	3rd	T85th
Ronika Stone	1.31 Blocks/Set	4th	34th
Ronika Stone	.361 Hitting Pct.	4th	63rd

Eight Pac-12 Teams in AVCA Top 25
At No. 20 in the AVCA coaches poll, the Ducks are the one of eight teams from the conference in this week's top 25, the most of any league in the nation. Defending Pac-12 champion Stanford leads the way at No. 2, and is followed by USC (12), Washington (15), UCLA (17), Oregon (20), Arizona (21), Washington State (22) and Utah (24).

Vander Weide Joins 1,000/1,000 Club
With a career-high 28 digs vs. WSU on Sept. 23, SR OH Lindsey Vander Weide surpassed 1,000 for her career and became only the fifth player in Oregon history to have 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. Vander Weide is also one of just 11 active players in the NCAA to be in the 1,000/1,000 club, and her 1,150 career kills are tied for 38th in the nation among active players. The Turlock, Calif., native added a season-high 22 kills vs. the Cougars for the first 20-plus kill, 20-plus dig match of her career. Vander Weide also owns 1,380.0 career points, which ranks seventh all-time at Oregon, and she has also surpassed 200 total blocks in her career and needs just 10 aces to get to 100.

Stone Running Wild in 5-1 Offense
Oregon's change to a 5-1 offense has paid immediate dividends for JR MB Ronika Stone, who has thrived with the increased touches. Stone is No. 9 in the Pac-12 with 4.15 points per set and fourth with a .361 hitting percentage. Stone has double-digit kills in six straight matches and nine of the last 10, including a career-high 19 in UO's upset of then-No. 1 Minnesota on Sept. 8. The San Jose, Calif., native is currently averaging 3.22 kills per set, second-best on the team and a big improvement over last year's 2.14. JR RS Willow Johnson has also played well in the 5-1 offense, averaging 2.82 kills per set on .324 hitting (No. 10 in the Pac-12). SR MB Sumeet Gill ranks eighth in the conference with a .342 hitting percentage despite struggling in recent weeks.

Nuneviller Leading Improved Floor Defense
The Ducks entered 2018 with questions at the libero position, but any concerns have been immediately put to rest by the stellar play of FR L Brooke Nuneviller. Nuneviller is the first true freshman to start at libero for Oregon since Amanda Benson in 2013, and the Chandler, Ariz., native has shined with 4.69 digs per set, No. 2 in the Pac-12. Nuneviller was the Pac-12 freshman of the week on Sept. 10 after racking up 28 digs in UO's upset of then-No. 1 Minnesota, and she tallied a season-high 35 on Sept. 23 in a five set win vs. No. 22 Washington State. Nuneviller's 35 digs are tied for seventh-most in UO single-match history, and are the most by a Duck since Benson in 2015. FR L Camryn Tastad has helped stabilize the back-row defense as well with 2.09 digs per set, and the return of RSO L/OH Brooke Van Sickle (2.29 d/s) has also helped take pressure off of SR OH Lindsey Vander Weide and the rest of UO's passers. As a team, the Ducks lead the Pac-12 with 17.25 digs per set. Oregon racked up 103 total team digs on Sept. 23 vs. WSU, the most for the program since 2014.

Raskie Embracing Role as Primary Setter
After splitting time in the 6-2 offense the last three years, SR S August Raskie has taken her game to a new level in 2018 as Oregon's lone setter in a 5-1 scheme. Raskie is No. 2 in the Pac-12 and fourth in the nation with 12.29 assists per set, and she has Oregon in the top five nationally as a team in both assists per set (4th) and kills per set (5th). Raskie is tied for the team lead with seven double-doubles, and she is one of five UO regulars averaging 2.00 digs per set or better (2.76). She has also become an offensive threat at the net with 47 total kills. Raskie's 2,070 career assists rank 10th in UO history, and she has already surpassed her career-high with 627 assists this season (previous: 616, 2016).

Newest "Little Duck" Gives Oregon Volleyball a True Warrior
Oregon officially added a sixth member to its 2018 class on August 7, 2018, signing 8-year-old Eugene-native Danielle Bixby to the roster through the national non-profit Team IMPACT. Bixby has been fighting a rare form of cancer called Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis for the last year, and has become incredibly close with the Ducks over the last few months. "I'm their little Duck, and they're my girls," Danielle said after signing her letter of intent. The Ducks honored Danielle on Sept. 30 vs. ASU with a Stomp Out Cancer match to raise childhood cancer awareness. Danielle was recognized as a starter before the match, took part in most of the in-game promotions and even surpised the team in the locker room postgame with custom-made dolls of each player made by her mom, Shannon.

Up Next
The Ducks' four-match road trip will continue next weekend at Colorado (Friday) and at No. 24 Utah (Sunday).