First Serve: Ducks vs Nebraska in Sweet 16

First Serve
Oregon, the No. 3 seed in the Louisville Regional, carries its 15-match winning streak into Thursday's regional semifinal against (2) Nebraska. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. (ET) at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. The match will air live on ESPNU and also be available on the ESPN app. Top-seeded Louisville and Baylor will play in the other regional semifinal.

Series Info vs Nebraska
Thursday will be the ninth meeting between Oregon and Nebraska, and fourth in the NCAA Tournament; the Cornhuskers lead the all-time series, 6-2. The two teams last meet in 2018. Oregon is 1-2 against Nebraska under head coach Matt Ulmer including his first-ever win, a 3-1 victory in Gainesville, Fla., to kick off the 2017 season.

Last Time Out
Oregon beat Arkansas in four sets (Dec. 3) to secure a spot in the regional semifinal and complete a 14-0 home season. The Ducks rebounded from hitting .000 (11-11-35) in a first-set loss to defeat Arkansas in front of more than 3,000 fans inside Matthew Knight Arena; UO rallied to hit .270 in the match. In her final home match, Brooke Nuneviller led all players with 19 kills and the Ducks registered 15.0 total team blocks.

Stat Pack
Oregon leads the Pac-12 and ranks fourth in the NCAA with its .298 hitting percentage. The team has hit .300 or higher in 18 of 30 matches this season including eight at .400 or better. Conversely, Nebraska's strength lies in its defense that leads the NCAA with a .123 opponent hitting percentage.

It's a Streak
The Ducks are one of six teams entering the second weekend riding a winning streak of 10 or more matches. With its win vs Arkansas, Oregon tied the program record with a 15th victory in a row; the 1980 squad also had a 15-match winning streak. The Ducks' current streak is the fourth-longest in the country behind San Diego (26) and Stanford and Wisconsin (20).

More Awards, More Ducks
Oregon added five all-region selections to the team's postseason awards collection. Mimi Colyer was voted AVCA Pacific North Freshman of the Year, becoming the second UO player to earn the honor after Brooke Nuneviller was previously selected as the region's top freshman in 2018. The duo joined Hannah Pukis on the AVCA Pacific North All-Region Team. On the honorable mention list, Georgia Murphy and Gloria Mutiri were also recognized by the region's head coaches.

Killer Season
With 15 kills against Arkansas, freshman Mimi Colyer boosted her season total to 490 kills which moves to 10th on Oregon's all-time single-season list. She and Brooke Nuneviller (474 kills) are currently fifth and sixth, respectively, on the single-season list during the rally scoring era. Colyer is second among NCAA freshmen and ranks fifth in the Pac-12 with 4.19 kills per set.

Answering the Call
In her first start since Oct. 28, redshirt freshman Colby Neal responded with six kills (.750) and five blocks against LMU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She added another five blocks in the victory over Arkansas. Fellow middle Kiari Robey came off the bench to post seven kills (.700) and seven blocks in the Ducks' second-round win over Arkansas.

Running Like Clockwork
With Friday's performance against LMU, Oregon has recorded a .300 or higher hitting percentage in 18 matches this season. The Ducks' .351 mark is the fifth-best mark in program history for an NCAA Tournament match. Oregon carried a .299 hitting percentage in Saturday's second round against Arkansas.

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