Ducks Host No. 2 Nebraska Thursday

EUGENE, Ore. – A week featuring a pair of top-15 opponents begins Thursday when the No. 12 Oregon volleyball team welcomes second-ranked Nebraska to Eugene. It will mark the 12^th time the program is playing a top-two team at Matthew Knight Arena, and first time since 2018. Oregon enters the week at 17-4 overall and 9-3 in Big Ten play.

Doors at MKA open at 6 p.m. with the match scheduled for a 7 p.m. start on the Big Ten Network. A.J. Kanell and 2008 Olympian Nicole Branagh will handle the play-by-play and analyst duties, respectively.

The Ducks will then hit the road for a Saturday matchup at No. 14 Minnesota (1 p.m. PT, BTN).

Series History vs Nebraska
Thursday will be the 10th meeting between Oregon and Nebraska, and just the second in Eugene (1986). The Ducks are 2-2 against Nebraska under head coach Matt Ulmer including a five-set win in the 2022 NCAA regional semifinal in Louisville, Ky. The other victory came in Ulmer's first match as the Oregon head coach, a 3-1 win in the 2017 season opener. Overall, Nebraska holds a 6-3 lead in the all-time series.

Series History vs Minnesota
Saturday is the 12th meeting between Oregon and Minnesota with the Gophers carrying the 7-4 advantage. Oregon will be looking to snap a four-match skid in the series and its first win against Minnesota since the 2018 NCAA regional semifinal round. Eight of the previous 11 matches have gone at least four sets including four five setters.

Last Time Out
The Ducks hit a season-high .380 and Michelle Ohwobete had a season-high 15 kills in a straight-set win over UCLA (Nov. 2). Ohwobete was joined in double figures by Onye Ofoegbu who had 11 kills at season-best .769 clip (11-1-13). The Ducks held the Bruins to a .119 hitting percentage in the sweep. With the result, Oregon has a program-best five-match winning streak against UCLA.

Milestone Watch
Libero Mackenzie Morris enters the weekend needing 41 digs to reach 2,000 for her career. The UO grad transfer picked up a season-high 24 digs at Washington (Oct. 30) and in the past 10 matches, is averaging 3.89 digs per set. Morris began her career at Kansas State (2020-23) where she was an All-Big 12 Second Team performer a season ago.

How They Rank
Oregon ranks 11th in the NCAA in blocks per set (2.80 b/s) and 19th in hitting percentage (.273). The Ducks have double-digit blocks in eight matches and have topped .300 in 10 matches this season, half of those coming in conference play. Oregon is also among the top 40 nationally in opponent hitting percentage (39th/.172). Individually, Onye Ofoegbu ranks 20th in the NCAA with her .398 hitting percentage.

The Schedule
Including Thursday, the Ducks will play three more home matches during the 2024 regular season. That slate also features matches against Northwestern (Nov. 15) which will double as the team's Senior Day and Purdue (Nov. 27).

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