Big Ten Play Continues at No. 22 USC

EUGENE, Ore. – The third week of Big Ten begins with a road trip to Los Angeles to face No. 22 USC on Thursday evening. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. on FS1 with A.J. Kannell and Anna Connelly on the call. It will be Oregon's first ranked opponent of the season. Oregon carries an 11-3 overall record and 2-2 Big Ten mark into the road test.

The Ducks are then back on their home floor Sunday to host Washington (1 p.m., BTN).

Series History vs USC
Oregon has won nine of the past 13 meetings with USC including a split last season with each winning on its home floor. In the recent history between the two programs, the Ducks have won 13 of 23 going back to 2012 which accounts for more than half of the team's wins in the all-time series (21).

Series History vs Washington
Oregon and Washington split a pair of five setters last season, each winning on its home floor. Dating back to 2018, seven of the 13 matches between the two have gone five sets. The Ducks have won four of the past five meetings in Eugene.

Last Time Out
The Ducks swept their way past Ohio State (Oct. 4) in front of a season-high 2,976 fans at Matthew Knight Arena. Freshmen Alanah Clemente and Holley McFadden led the team with 10 kills and seven blocks, respectively. Oregon held Ohio State to a season-low .117 hitting percentage on the way to its 11th win of the season.

Staying Alive
Oregon saved four match points in the fifth set against Iowa (Oct. 3). The Hawkeyes led 14-12 but Oregon pulled even after a kill from Alanah Clemente followed by a tandem block from Iva Sucurovic and Cora Taylor. The visitors had more match points at 16-15 and 17-16 but Valentina Vaulet saved both with kills. The Ducks went on to win the fifth set, 19-17, on another Vaulet kill.

Building Blocks
Freshman Holley McFadden posted 13.0 blocks (1.63 b/s) over the Ducks' wins over Iowa and Ohio State last weekend. She had six in the opener and followed with seven in the straight-set win over the Buckeyes. McFadden has eight matches with at least three blocks this year including a season-high eight against South Dakota (Aug. 29).

Service Pressure
Entering this week's matches, thirteen different Oregon players have at least one service ace. Valentina Vaulet leads the team and is third in the Big Ten with 26 service aces. Alanah Clemente is second for Oregon with 17 aces followed by Sophia Meyers and Cora Taylor with 11 and 10, respectively. The most recent addition to the list of 13 is freshman libero Reese Sheppard who had three aces in two matches last weekend.

The Ducks are fourth in the Big Ten with 93 service aces and have seven or more aces in nine matches this season.

RPI Watch
The Ducks checks in at No. 41 in the first RPI release (Oct. 6) of the 2025 season. Oregon is one of the 13 Big Ten teams inside the top 51 of the initial report. This week's opponents, USC and Washington, are ranked 18th and 47th, respectively.

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