B1G Opening Weekend at Illinois, Northwestern

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon volleyball team takes a 9-1 record into the start of Big Ten play. The Ducks open their conference slate on the road, beginning Friday at Illinois. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PT inside Huff Hall in Urbana-Champaign, Ill. Oregon will also play Northwestern this Sunday at 12 p.m. Both will stream on B1G+.

Series History vs Illinois
Friday will be the sixth meeting between Oregon and Illinois, and the third on the Illini's home floor. Prior to last season's match in Eugene—also the B1G opener for both—the teams hadn't played since 2016. The Ducks lead the series, 3-2.

Series History vs Northwestern
Oregon owns a 3-2 lead in the short history between the two programs. The teams will be playing for a third-straight year after a non-conference meeting in 2023 and a home conference date for the Ducks in 2024. Sunday will be just the second match played in Evanston, and first since 1987.

Last Time Out
The Ducks rallied past Portland State (Sept. 19) in five sets to close out their non-conference slate. Facing a 2-1 deficit, the Ducks dominated the fourth set, 25-13, to force a final set in which they only trailed once—down 2-1—before pulling away for the five-set victory. With the win, Oregon improved to 2-1 in five setters this season.

25-for-25
In the second set of their five-set win at Portland State (Sept. 19), the Ducks accounted for all 25 points without the benefit of an opponent error. Oregon had 20 kills, three aces and two blocks on its way to a 25-12 set win. Maria Tabacuks and Iva Sucurovic combined for 11 of the kills and behind Valentina Vaulet's serve, the team jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the set.

Clemente Sets the Pace
Freshman Alanah Clemente accounted for 4.56 points per set including 4.00 kills per set while hitting .424 in two wins over Oregon State and Portland State. She recorded back-to-back season highs with 17 kills (.483) against the Beavers followed by a 19-kill performance (.378) against Portland State. Clemente is hitting .390 this season along with 3.13 kills per set.

Spark Off the Bench
Freshman Ksenija Tomic provided 10 kills over the last three sets of Oregon's five-set win at Portland State (Sept. 19). She put down six of her 10 kills in the fourth set, and finished the match with three blocks—two solo—and a dig. Tomic hit .421 in the victory.

Rivalry Win Gets Kersten No. 100
With Oregon's four-set road victory over Oregon State (Sept. 18), head coach Trent Kersten recorded his 100th career win. He enters the Big Ten opener with a 101-41 (.711) career record, a mark including this time at Oregon (9-1), LMU (45-12) and San Jose State (47-28).

Blocking is Fun
Sophomore Iva Sucurovic leads the Big Ten and ranks 20th in the NCAA with 58.0 total blocks through the Ducks' first 10 matches of the season. She has at least five blocks in seven matches including a season-high 12.0 blocks in a straight-set road win at Montanta State (Aug. 31).

Out-of-System Hands
Freshman libero Natalie Fukumoto dished out a season-high seven assists in the Ducks' five-set road win at Portland State (Sept. 19). She has at least four assists in eight of 10 matches this season. As an outside hitter, grad transfer Sophia Meyers tallied a career-high six assists in Oregon's win at Oregon State (Sept. 18).

Service Pressure
Eleven different Oregon players have at least one service ace through the team's first 10 matches. Valentina Vaulet enters Big Ten play with a team-high 22 aces, good for second in the league. Alanah Clemente and Sophia Meyers each have eight aces. The Ducks have seven or more aces in six matches this season including a season-high 10 aces against Prairie View A&M (Aug. 30).

Steady Hand
Junior Valentina Vaulet leads Oregon and is 10th among Big Ten players with 130 kills (3.25 k/s) and is hitting .262 entering conference play. She has 10 or more kills in eight of 10 matches including four outings with at least 15 kills. Vaulet leads UO with 22 aces and is second on the team with 26 total blocks.

Offensively Efficient
Oregon is hitting .281 this season with four matches at .300 or higher. The Ducks recorded a season-high .343 hitting percentage in their four-set victory at Oregon State (Sept. 18). Oregon has hit at least .250 in all but one match this season. In its last outing, the team hit .299 against Portland State.

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