Top-10 Matchup at MKA in Season Opener

EUGENE, Ore. – The 57^th season of Oregon Volleyball begins Friday night with a top-10 match between the 10^th-ranked Ducks and No. 4 Pittsburgh. First serve is 7:30 p.m. (PT) at Matthew Knight Arena. The season-opening Oregon Invitational, a three-team round robin, also features Long Beach State.

2024 Oregon Invitational
Friday, Aug. 30: #10 Oregon vs #4 Pittsburgh – 7:30 p.m. (BTN)
Saturday, Aug. 31: #4 Pittsburgh vs Long Beach State – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 1: #10 Oregon vs Long Beach State – 12:00 p.m. (B1G+)

Series History vs Pittsburgh
Oregon and Pittsburgh have met three times before Friday's season opener; the Panthers lead, 2-1. Last season, the Ducks picked up a 3-2 road victory for its first win in the series. Mimi Colyer had 19 kills, six digs and a career-high six aces in that match. Friday will be the third-straight top-10 meeting in the series.

Series History vs Long Beach State
Sunday will be the 10th all-time meeting between Oregon and Long Beach State. LBSU leads 5-4 but the Ducks have won the past three in the series including a 3-2 triumph in the 2022 opener, a neutral-site match in Portland. Oregon beat LBSU at MKA in 2018, the only prior meeting in Eugene.

Ranked Opponents in Season Openers
For fourth time under head coach Matt Ulmer, the Ducks open the season against a ranked opponent when they take on No. 4 Pittsburgh on Friday. Oregon is 2-1 in the prior three including a win over No. 13 San Diego in last year's opener. Overall, the program is 4-6 against ranked teams in season openers.

Starting Point
Oregon will open the season as the No. 10 team in the AVCA preseason poll. This marks the second-consecutive season and third time in program history for the Ducks to start as a top-10 team in the country. Oregon was ranked No. 8 and 9 in the 2013 and 2023 preseason polls, respectively. The team is set to play eight teams within the preseason top 25 and six others receiving votes.

Preseason Attention
Mimi Colyer (Jr./OH) was voted to the 2024 Big Ten Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team. She was an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention performer a season ago with 471 kills and 4.43 points per set. Collectively, the Ducks were picked sixth in the 18-team Big Ten preseason poll.

Ties to The Beach
Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer spent six years at Long Beach State as part of the indoor coaching staff and led LBSU to the 2013 AVCA national title in beach volleyball. Erika Dillard, the Ducks' associate head coach, was an assistant coach at Long Beach State for eight seasons (2009-16) and was a three-time All-Big West and two-time AVCA all-region selection during a standout playing career at LBSU.

The Schedule
As part of its 2024 slate, Oregon will have 13 home matches and face nine teams that played in last year's NCAA Tournament. The Ducks' season--their first as a member of the Big Ten--begins Aug. 30 when they host Pittsburgh in Eugene. In its conference opener, Oregon faces Illinois (Sept. 27) inside Matthew Knight Arena.

#B1GWelcome
Oregon officially joined the Big Ten Conference on Friday, August 2, 2024. The Ducks are one of four new teams in the league, alongside former Pac-12 mates UCLA, USC and Washington. The Oregon Volleyball program is set to begin its 57th season, and eighth under head coach Matt Ulmer.

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

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Players Mentioned

Mimi Colyer

University of Oregon Athletics