Elite Opponents on Tap at Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 18 Oregon volleyball team will get two more chances to prove itself against elite nonconference competition this weekend when the Ducks take on No. 1 Minnesota (Fri., 5 p.m. PT) and No. 5 Penn State (Sat., 2 p.m.) at the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge in Stanford, Calif.

Minnesota (5-0) and Penn State (5-0) will mark the third and fourth top-10 teams the Ducks (4-2) will have faced in their first eight matches of 2018; Oregon dropped a pair of hard-fought battles to then-No. 3 Texas and then-No. 2 Nebraska at the VERT Challenge to open the season. Oregon enters the first year of the four-year tournament between the Ducks, Minnesota, Penn State and Stanford on a four-match winning streak after sweeping four matches at home last week.

#18 OREGON (4-2) vs. #1 MINNESOTA (5-0)
When: Friday, September 7 | Time: 5 p.m. PT
Where: Stanford, Calif. | Venue: Maples Pavilion
TV: Pac-12 Network | Live Stats: goducks.com
All-Time Series: UMN leads, 3-2 (UMN W1) | Last Meeting: UMN won, 3-2 (2011)
About Minnesota: The top-ranked Golden Gophers enter the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge undefeated at 5-0 after sweeping the Diet Coke Classic. Minnesota will be looking to get back at the Pac-12 this weekend after falling to USC in the Sweet 16 last season. UMN is led by Stephanie Samedy's 4.15 kills per set, and Regan Pittman is hitting .483. Defensively, Minnesota is second in the NCAA with 3.41 blocks per set, and three Golden Gophers average more than 1.00 blocks per set.

#18 OREGON (4-2) vs. #5 PENN STATE (5-0)
When: Saturday, September 8 | Time: 2 p.m. PT
Where: Stanford, Calif. | Venue: Maples Pavilion
Live Stream: pac-12.com.live/stanford-university | Live Stats: goducks.com
All-Time Series: UO leads, 2-1 (UO W2) | Last Meeting: UO won, 3-1 (2012 Final Four)
About Penn State: The undefeated and fifth-ranked Nittany Lions will face the Ducks for the first time since Oregon beat PSU in the 2012 Final Four to reach the national title match. PSU has swept all five of its matches so far in 2018, and features a balanced attack with four players averaging more than 2.00 kills per set. Kendall White anchors the PSU defense with 5.07 digs per set, and three players average more than 1.00 blocks per set. Penn State ranks fourth nationally as a team with 3.23 blocks per set.

MATCH NOTES
Ducks Dominate Oregon Classic
After picking up their first win of 2018 last Tuesday vs. Portland State, the Ducks completed an undefeated weekend at the Oregon Classic in Matthew Knight Arena with dominant sweeps of Utah Valley, Long Beach State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. SR S/RS August Raskie was named the Oregon Classic MVP after averaging 12.00 assists and 2.11 digs per set while adding four aces, six kills and six blocks. SR MB Sumeet Gill and JR RS Willow Johnson were also named to the all-tournament team. Gill hit an astounding .622 with 3.22 kills per set over the weekend, twice recording a career-high 12 kills, and Johnson averaged 3.00 kills per set on .500 hitting.

Gill, Ducks Pacing the Pac-12
Through the first five matches of 2018, SR MB Sumeet Gill leads the Pac-12 Conference and ranks second in the nation with a tremendous .541 hitting percentage. Gill is followed closely by JR RS Willow Johnson, who is fourth in the conference and 31st nationally with a .430 hitting percentage. SR S/RS August Raskie leads the Pac-12 and is fifth nationally with 12.47 assists per set, and RSO L/OH Brooke Van Sickle is first with 11 service aces and second with 0.58 aces per set. As a team, Oregon leads the Pac-12 in assists per set (14.00), kills per set (15.00) and aces per set (2.21), and is second with 16.58 digs per set. The Ducks are sixth in the NCAA in kills per set and 11th in assists per set.

Oregon Vs. Ranked Opponents
The Ducks are looking for a breakthrough against a pair of top-five opponents this weekend at the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. Oregon beat No. 5 ranked and eventual national champion Nebraska to open the 2017 season, but the Ducks finished the year 1-5 vs. ranked opponents and dropped a pair of hard-fought matches vs. No. 3 Texas and No. 2 Nebraska to open the 2018 season. Against Minnesota on Friday, Oregon will aim for its first victory over a No. 1 ranked team since the Ducks took down top-ranked Penn State in the 2012 Final Four to reach the national title match. Minnesota and Penn State will mark the third and fourth top-five teams the Ducks will have faced in their first eight matches of the season.

Van Sickle Serves Ducks to Sweep of Portland State in 2018 Home Opener
The Ducks picked up their first win of the 2018 season last Tuesday in their home opener with a dominant 25-15, 25-10, 25-13 sweep of Portland State. RSO L/OH Brooke Van Sickle dominated on the serve with a career-high nine aces, the second-most in UO single-match history, to lead the Ducks to 13 total. JR MB Ronika Stone hit a career-high .700 with a team-best 15 kills to lead Oregon to a .431 team hitting percentage.

Vander Weide, Raskie Crack UO Top-10 Lists
With 54 points so far in 2018, SR OH Lindsey Vander Weide has pushed her career total to 1,244.5 to move into the Oregon all-time top-10 list. Vander Weide is only 22.5 points shy of Martenne Bettendorf for ninth all-time at Oregon. Vander Weide also owns 1,062 career kills, 221 shy of No. 10 all-time at Oregon, and she is only 59 digs away from reaching the 1,000 mark in that category as well. SR S/RS August Raskie has also moved into a UO all-time top-10 list this season, racking up 237 assists through the first five matches to run her career total to 1,680, the 10th-most in Oregon history.

Up Next
The Ducks will head to Honolulu, Hawaii, next week to wrap up nonconference play with a pair of matches against Hawaii at 10 p.m. PT on Sept. 13-14.