Forced Fifth Set But Ducks Lose in Seattle

Sunday, October 9

Seattle, WA

4:00 PM

University of Oregon

10-3,4-2Pac-12

Washington

13-3,5-1Pac-12

Oregon

Washington

Photo by: Serei Hendrie

10/09/22 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Oregon is now 10-4 this season with a 4-2 mark in Pac-12 play.

SEATTLE, Wash. – The No. 12 Oregon volleyball team rallied to force a fifth set Sunday and saved three match points before 16^th-ranked Washington came away with the Sunday thriller. With the setback, the Ducks are now 10-4 overall with a 4-2 mark in Pac-12 play.

Freshman Mimi Colyer put down a season-high 25 kills while senior Brooke Nuneviller tallied a 20-20 performance with 20 kills and a match-leading 25 digs. Morgan Lewis added 11 kills on a .450 hitting percentage. Defensively, libero Georgia Murphy and Kiari Robey led the efforts with 17 digs and five blocks, respectively.

Sunday's top-20 matchup was the sixth five setter in the past 11 meetings of the Oregon-Washington series.

How It Happened
In the decisive fifth, Washington (13-3, 5-1) jumped out to a 5-0 advantage before Oregon got on the board with back-to-back kills from Nuneviller. The Huskies continued to stretch their lead, up to 11-3 before UO began to mount a charge.

The Ducks rattled off three in a row, two featuring plays—a block with Robey and a kill—by Lewis. She tallied her 11^th and final kill of the night to bring Oregon within four and Washington called a timeout with its lead down to 12-8. Out of the break, Colyer continued the UO surge with her 25^th kill to cut the Ducks' deficit to three.

Washington steadied to win the next two points and give itself a handful of match points.

Oregon saved the first with a UW service error and then got back-to-back points featuring Colby Neal, teaming with Elise Ferreira for a block and then putting down a kill to bring the Ducks to within two. Following a second Washington timeout and another extended rally, a Colyer attack landed long to end the match in the Huskies' favor.

After dropping the first two sets and facing a 20-17 hole in the third, Oregon put together a 5-1 run to take the lead, 22-21, with back-to-back aces by Ferreira. On the team's first set point, Nuneviller came through with an ace to avoid the sweep and send the match to a fourth.

Ferreira finished the match with three aces, her fifth outing of the season with multiple service winners. She filled the box score Sunday with 53 assists, eight digs and three total blocks.

In the fourth frame, Oregon led from the jump with a 3-0 start featuring a pair of kills from Colyer. The Ducks never trailed in the set, building an advantage of as much as five at 12-7 with a kill by Robey. The Huskies pulled to within two on a couple of occasions, the last as late as 23-21, but Lewis put down a kill for set point and then, she teamed with Neal for a set-winning block.

Up Next
The Ducks' road swing continues next weekend in Los Angeles, beginning Friday night at USC on the Pac-12 Networks. Oregon's next home match is Friday, Oct. 21, against Utah. Click HERE for full schedule.

For more news and information about Oregon Volleyball, follow @OregonVB on Instagram and Twitter, and @OregonVolleyball on Facebook.