Ducks Welcome No. 3 Stanford, No. 19 Cal to MKA

EUGENE, Ore. - Coming off a big five-set win over No. 18 Utah on Sunday, the No. 25 ranked Oregon volleyball team is back at home this weekend for a pair of top-25 showdowns against No. 3 Stanford and No. 19 California in Matthew Knight Arena.

Oregon (5-6, 1-1) will host the No. 3 Cardinal on Friday at 7 p.m. before welcoming the No. 19 Golden Bears to Eugene for a 1 p.m. match on Sunday.

How to Follow
Friday's match against the defending national champion Cardinal will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with Paul Sunderlund and John Dunning on the call, while Sunday's match will be live streamed at GoDucks.com/Live. Fans can also listen live with Sean MacPherson and KWVA Radio at 88.1 FM. Live stats can be found at Oregon.Statbroadcast.com, and live updates will be provided on Twitter at @OregonVB.

About the #3 Stanford Cardinal (7-3, 1-1)
The Cardinal saw their 26-match Pac-12 winning streak snapped Sunday in a four-set loss to No. 8 Washington. All three of Stanford's losses have come to top 15 teams, and the Cardinal have four wins over top 10 opponents. The defending NCAA champions are led by two-time national player of the year Kathryn Plummer, who is fifth in the nation with 5.18 k/s. Jenna Gray is fourth nationally with 11.58 a/s, and Morgan Hentz is 23rd with 5.16 d/s.

About the #19 California Golden Bears (11-1, 1-1)
Cal got 2019 off to a roaring 10-0 start before falling to Stanford in its Pac-12 opener, but the Bears bounced back Saturday with a five-set win over WSU. Mima Mirkovic (3.48 k/s), Maddie Haynes (3.03 k/s) and Preslie Anderson (2.65 k/s) lead the offensive attack in Cal's 6-2 offense, and Anderson's .494 hitting percentage is second best in the Pac-12. UO has won 10 in a row against Cal, including seven straight sweeps.

Ducks Bounce Back to Beat No. 18 Utah
After suffering a tough five-set loss to Oregon State last Thursday in their Pac-12 opener, the Ducks bounced back on Sunday and pulled out a big home win over No. 18 Utah in five thrilling sets, 25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 20-25, 15-13. SR RS Willow Johnson (17 K, 13 D, 5 SA), SR MB Ronika Stone (16 K, .300, 2 SA) and SO OH Brooke Nuneviller (16 K, 12 D, SA) led the way once again, with FRF S Kylie Robinson dishing out 56 assists and FR L Georgia Murphy recording 14 digs, including a couple of huge diving plays tied 13-13 in the fifth to help give Oregon match point. Stone put down kills on the final two plays to clinch the win.

Robinson Wins Second Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Award
RFR S Kylie Robinson was named the Pac-12 freshman of the week on Monday for the second time already this season after racking up 108 total assists last week in Oregon's first two Pac-12 matches. Robinson totaled 56 assists in Sunday's win vs. No. 18 Utah while adding a season-high nine digs, four kills and an ace, and she had eight digs and four blocks to go with 52 assists at OSU. Through her first 11 collegiate matches, Robinson ranks second in the Pac-12 and 20th in the nation with 11.02 assists per set.

Johnson Returns in Time for Pac-12 Play
SR RS Willow Johnson returned to the starting lineup last week for the first time since going down with an injury at No. 6 Pittsburgh on Sept. 11, and the left-hander made her presence felt immediately in UO's first two Pac-12 matches. Johnson tied her career-high with 18 kills and added a career-high 14 digs and three aces last Thursday at OSU, and the senior followed that up with 17 kills, 13 digs and a career-high five service aces in Sunday's win over Utah. The return of Johnson, who is hitting .300 this season with 3.00 k/s, 2.20 d/s and a team-high 12 aces, is huge for a very young Oregon squad that had to rely on multiple true freshmen to fill the void during Johnson's absence.

Stone Joins 1,000 Kill Club
SR MB Ronika Stone has a chance to etch her name at the top of multiple UO all-time lists before her career ends, and the 2018 second-team all-American reached an impressive milestone earlier this month on the East Coast. Stone surpassed the 1,000 career kills mark on Sept. 10 with a match-high 17 on .615 hitting against Hofstra, and she enters this weekend's matches with 1,034 kills on only 2,109 career attacks. Stone's current .360 career hitting percentage wouuld shatter Sue Harbour's program record of .333, and the San Jose, Calif., native also ranks ninth in Oregon history with 1,338 career points scored. Stone is currently second all-time at UO with 366 career block assists, just 23 behind all-time leader Neticia Enesi (389, 2006-10), and she is also seventh with 415 total blocks, sitting 127 behind Harbour's program record of 542. So far in 2019, Stone is leading the Ducks with 3.42 k/s and 4.16 p/s while hitting at a whopping .374 clip, fifth best in the Pac-12.

Nuneviller Embracing New Role
SO OH Brooke Nuneviller was one of the nation's top liberos as a freshman in 2018, but the Chandler, Ariz., native has moved to outside hitter as a sophomore and is really beginning to thrive in her new role. Nuneviller leads the Ducks with seven double-doubles while averaging 3.66 k/s (.233) and 2.84 d/s, and she posted three straight matches with 15 or more kills while hitting better than .315 in the final week of UO's East Coast road trip. Nuneviller took over and willed the Ducks to a five-set comeback road win over Princeton on Sept. 17 with a career-high 19 kills on .389 hitting, including an astounding 13 in the final two sets.

Murphy Thriving at Libero as True Freshman
With Nuneviller now playing on the outside, FR L Georgia Murphy moved immediately into the starting libero role and hasn't looked back. Murphy leads the Ducks with 2.98 d/s and has recorded 14 or more digs six different times, including a season-high 19 in UO's Pac-12 opener at OSU. Murphy has also been a threat at the service line with 10 aces so far, including a season-high five on Sept. 20 against Duke.

Oregon Remains in AVCA Top 25
The Ducks moved down one spot in this week's AVCA coaches poll, but UO remained in the top 25 at No. 25. UO ended 2018 at No. 9 after its thrilling run to the NCAA Elite Eight and opened 2019 at No. 11 before moving to No. 9 in week one, No. 10 in week two, No. 14 in week three and No. 24 in week four. Oregon has been ranked in the AVCA top 25 for 22 straight polls and 50 of the last 51.

Ducks Look to End Streak Against Stanford, Extend Run of Dominance Over Cal
The Ducks enter this weekend aiming to end one streak and extend another. Oregon has lost 13 in a row against Stanford, but the Ducks own a 10-match winning streak over Cal. The Ducks' last win over the Cardinal came on the road in 2011, while the last time the Golden Bears beat Oregon was in Berkeley in 2013. During Oregon's 10-match winning streak over Cal, nine of those wins have come in straight sets.

Efficiency is Key
Oregon's success in 2018 leaned largely on winning the attack percentage battle, and the same has been true so far in 2019. The Ducks are 5-2 so far this season when leading in attack percentage after going 21-2 in 2018 when finishing with a more efficient offensive attack. Oregon is also 5-2 this year when leading in kills; the Ducks were 19-5 in 2018 when finding the floor more often than their opponent.

Up Next
Oregon will head North to face No. 24 Washington State and No. 8 Washington next weekend.