No. 16 Ducks to Host No. 15 USC, No. 22 UCLA

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 16 Oregon volleyball team is back in Eugene this weekend to host No. 15 USC and No. 22 UCLA in a pair of top-25 matchups in Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon has won six of its last eight after going 2-0 at the Arizona schools last weekend, including back-to-back road sweeps of the Trojans and Bruins at the beginning of October.

The Ducks (15-7, 8-4) are currently tied with USC and Washington State for second place in the Pac-12.

"These are two really big matches for us," said head coach Matt Ulmer. "If our fans turn out this weekend and if we can really have great energy in the gym and make it a great environment and make everyone feel uncomfortable in Matthew Knight Arena, then I think that will give us a big advantage and we could really use that."

#16 OREGON (15-7, 8-4) vs. #15 USC (16-7, 8-4)
When: Friday, November 2
Time: 8 p.m. PT
Where: Matthew Knight Arena
TV: Pac-12 Network
Radio: KWVA 88.1 FM
Live Stats: oregon.statbroadcast.com
Promo: Halloween Costume Contest
All-Time Series: USC leads, 52-13 (UO W1)
Last Meeting: UO won, 3-0 (10/7/18, L.A.)
About USC: USC comes to Eugene in a three-way tie with Oregon and WSU for third in the Pac-12. The Trojans are 4-2 since getting swept at home by the Ducks on Oct. 7, and they rank third in the conference with a .257 hitting percentage. USC is led by the terrific outside hitter combination of Brooke Botkin (4.38 k/s) and Khalia Lanier (4.31 k/s), and Raquel Lazaro (11.39 a/s) has been terrific at setter as a freshman. Victoria Garrick is No. 2 in the Pac-12 with 4.81 digs per set.

#16 OREGON (15-7, 8-4) vs. #22 UCLA (11-8, 6-6)
When: Sunday, November 4
Time: 12 p.m. PT
Where: Matthew Knight Arena
TV: Pac-12 Network
Radio: KWVA 88.1 FM
Live Stats: oregon.statbroadcast.com
All-Time Series: UCLA leads, 55-12 (UO W1)
Last Meeting: UO won, 3-0 (10/5/18, L.A.)
About UCLA: The Bruins enter the weekend on a three-match losing streak, which comes on the heels of a four-match winning streak following UCLA's 3-0 loss to Oregon on Oct. 5. UCLA leads the Pac-12 defensively with 17.49 digs per set, anchored by libero Zana Muno (4.57 d/s). Mac May paces the offense with 3.83 kills per set, and Kylie Miller (9.42 a/s) and Devon Chang (8.89) have been sharing the setting duties.

NOTES
Oregon Tied for Second in Pac-12 Race
At 8-4 in conference, Oregon currently sits in a three-way tie for second place in the Pac-12 with USC and Washington State, four games back of first-place Stanford (12-0) and two ahead of Arizona and UCLA (6-6). The Ducks have placed second in conference just twice in program history (2012, 1978).

Nuneviller Wins Third Pac-12 Weekly Honor
FR L Brooke Nuneviller was named the Pac-12 freshman of the week for the third time this season after shining in her home state of Arizona last weekend. The Chandler, Ariz., racked up 45 total digs (6.43 d/s) in UO's two wins, including 27 on Sunday at No. 23 Arizona to go with a career-high four aces. Nuneviller now owns three of Oregon's six Pac-12 weekly awards this season.

Ducks All Over Pac-12, NCAA Leaderboards
With just eight matches left in the 2018 regular season, Oregon finds itself littered across the top of many Pac-12 and national team and individual statistic leaderboards:

Team Statistic	Pac-12	NCAA
14.73 Kills/Set	2nd	5th
13.80 Assists/Set	2nd	7th
.263 Hitting Pct.	2nd	23rd
16.20 Digs/Set	3rd	77th

Name	Statistic	Pac-12	NCAA
August Raskie	11.91 Assists/Set	2nd	5th
Brooke Nuneviller	4.80 Digs/Set	3rd	73rd
Brooke Van Sickle	0.36 Aces/Set	6th	T109th
Ronika Stone	.357 Hitting Pct.	7th	57th
Ronika Stone	1.18 Blocks/Set	7th	75th
Sumeet Gill	.352 Hitting Pct.	8th	71st
Lindsey Vander Weide	3.97 Points/Set	10th	116th
Lindsey Vander Weide	3.45 Kills/Set	10th	131st

Six Pac-12 Teams in AVCA Top 25
At No. 16 in the latest AVCA coaches poll, the Ducks are one of six teams from the conference in this week's top 25. Defending Pac-12 champion Stanford leads the way at No. 2, and is followed by USC (15), Oregon (16), Washington State (18), Arizona (21) and UCLA (22). Washington, Utah, Colorado and Arizona State have all been in the top 25 at some point this season, and the Huskies, Utes and Buffs are currently receiving top 25 votes. The Ducks have been inside the top 25 every week this season, reaching as high as No. 12 (three times).

Ducks Dominate in L.A. Sweep
Oregon put together its most complete weekend of the season the last time it faced the L.A. schools (Oct. 5-7), taking six straight sets on the road from then-No. 17 UCLA and then-No. 12 USC to bounce back from a tough weekend prior at home. The Ducks led nearly the entire match against the Bruins for their first-ever sweep of UCLA in L.A., as JR OH Taylor Borup paced Oregon with a season-high 13 kills (.310) and a career-high 16 digs. SR MB/OH Lauren Page also thrived in her return to middle blocker, hitting .417 with seven kills, and JR MB Ronika Stone led the way with seven blocks. Borup shined again in UO's sweep of USC, recording another double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs on .313 hitting, and Stone was stellar with 10 kills on .450 hitting.

Oregon Shows Flashes vs. No. 2 Stanford
The Ducks showed on Oct. 21 that they have the firepower to hang with - and beat - No. 2 ranked and first-place Stanford, running away with the opening set 25-16. Oregon narrowly dropped the second set before losing the match in four, but proved once again that it is capable of playing elite volleyball against one of the nation's top opponents. "We're just not ready to sustain that level of play just yet," said head coach Matt Ulmer. Oregon bounced back last weekend to beat ASU (3-0) and No. 23 Arizona (3-1) on the road.

Raskie Records Triple-Double in Home State
With 41 assists, 11 digs and a career-high 10 kills on Oct. 12 at Colorado, SR S August Raskie recorded the first triple-double of her career and the first this season by a Pac-12 player. A Colorado native, Raskie notched just the 17th documented triple-double in UO history, and became the first Duck to complete the feat since 2001 (Julie Gerlach, 9/8/01). Raskie commited no errors on 14 attack attempts to hit a whopping .714, which was also a new career-high. Raskie is one of just 24 players in the nation this season to have a triple-double, and the senior leads the Ducks with 10 double-doubles.

Vander Weide Joins 1,000/1,000 Club
With a career-high 28 digs in UO's five-set win over 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 1,277 career kills rank 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 1,492.5 career points, which ranks sixth all-time at Oregon, and she has also surpassed 200 total blocks in her career (215) and needs just five more aces to get to 100. Vander Weide ranks 10th in the Pac-12 this season with 3.45 kills per set and 3.97 points per set, both of which would be career-highs for a season for the 2016 third-team all-American.

Stone Running Wild in 5-1 Offense
Oregon's change to a 5-1 offense has paid big dividends for JR MB Ronika Stone, who has thrived with the increased touches. Stone is second among Ducks and just outside the Pac-12 top 10 with 3.95 points per set on .357 hitting, the seventh-best mark in the Pac-12, and she has double-digit kills in 15 of 22 matches, 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 3.06 kills per set, second-best on the team and a big improvement over last year's 2.14. Stone has also been big on the block for the Ducks, leading the team and ranking seventh in the conference with 1.18 blocks per set. JR RS Willow Johnson has also played well in the 5-1 offense, averaging 2.77 kills per set on .317 hitting, SR MB Sumeet Gill is eighth in the Pac-12 with a .352 hitting percentage and SR MB/OH Lauren Page is hitting .340 with 1.82 kills per set and 1.11 blocks per set in eight matches since returning to middle blocker full-time.

Nuneviller Leading Improved 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 4.80 digs per set, No. 3 in the Pac-12. Nuneviller has been the Pac-12 freshman of the week three times (9/10, 10/8, 10/29), including after racking up 28 digs in UO's upset of then-No. 1 Minnesota. The freshman tallied a season-high 35 digs on Sept. 23 in a five-set win vs. Washington State, tied for seventh-most in UO single-match history and the most by any Pac-12 player this season. FR L Camryn Tastad has also performed well with 2.12 digs per set, and she did a great job filling in at libero at the mountain schools (Oct. 12-14) with 34 total digs. As a team, the Ducks are No. 3 in the Pac-12 with 16.20 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 fifth in the nation with 11.91 assists per set, and she has Oregon in the top 10 nationally as a team in both kills per set (5th) and assists per set (7th). Raskie leads the team with 10 double-doubles, including her first career triple-double on Oct. 12, and is averaging a career-best 2.54 digs per set. She has also become an offensive threat at the net with 85 total kills on .342 hitting. Raskie's 2,384 career assists rank seventh in UO history, and she has already crushed her career-high with 941 assists this season (previous: 616, 2016). Raskie's career-high 66 assists in UO's win over then-No.1 Minnesota on Sept. 7 were the most by a Duck since Lauren Plum in 2012.

Up Next
The Ducks will go to the Bay Area next weekend to face No. 2 Stanford and California.