Sunday, November 9
Eugene, OR
1:00 PM
University of Oregon
14-10,5-9Big Ten
2
vs
3
Michigan State
18-6,8-6Big Ten
1
2
3
4
5
F
Michigan St.
23
25
25
21
16
3
Oregon
25
16
21
25
14
2
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Ducks Take MSU To Wire On Senior Day
11/09/25 | Women's Volleyball
Oregon rallied to force a fifth set Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena but came up just short.
EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon battled back from a deficit and was serving for the match at one point Sunday, before Michigan State rallied to escape Matthew Knight Arena with a win.
The Ducks (14-10, 5-9 Big Ten) won the first and fourth sets, and came back from a 13-10 deficit in the fifth to set up match point. But the Spartans scored the final three points of the night to win 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 16-14, the last two points of the night coming on UO errors as the Ducks hit a season-low .102 in the match.
"Simply too many hitting errors from us," UO coach Trent Kersten said. "As far as volleyball execution goes, we didn't hit the ball in the court enough. … So we've got to go look and really evaluate why those things were happening and why those decisions were being made. And also know, despite that, we're right there in a tiebreaker in a fifth set."
Alanah Clemente continued her torrid freshman season with a match-high 21 kills, and Valentina Vaulet added 15. Sophia Meyers fought through an illness to add seven kills with 14 digs on her Senior Day, when the Ducks also honored setter Cora Taylor and defensive specialist Maya De Los Reyes — the only returner on the 2025 roster in Kersten's first season as head coach after replacing Matt Ulmer.
"She was the only one here, and she committed to it," Kersten said. "She was like, 'I'm in. I want to help. Let's go. I want to graduate a Duck.' And so, gosh, I feel so lucky to have gotten to coach Maya, and I know Matt and (his staff), those guys all feel the same way. And so it's a really special senior night for her — and that doesn't take anything away from how special it is for Cora and 'Phia as well."
How It Happened: Oregon trailed early in the first before a kill by Clemente got the Ducks within 7-6. Taylor served three more winning points to give the UO women a 4-0 run and the lead at 9-7. The Ducks held off the Spartans until they scored three straight to go up 17-16. Oregon scored four in a row to reclaim the lead, Michigan State wrestled it back with its own 4-0 run for a 21-20 lead, and moments later it was tied, 23-23. But a kill by Meyers put Oregon in position to win the set, and the Ducks did so on an error by the Spartans.
The Ducks hit a match-high .244 in that opening set, but couldn't maintain that offensive efficiency the rest of the way. Michigan State took command of the second set early on the way to evening the match, and the Ducks fell behind 10-5 in the third, rallying no closer than two the rest of the set to fall behind 2-1 in the match.
The fourth set got back to being evenly played. Consecutive aces by Vaulet helped the Ducks jump out to a 5-1 lead, before the Spartans rallied back to lead 9-8. The UO women trailed 12-10 when Taylor again got going from the service line, helping the Ducks score six straight to lead 16-12. Michigan State used a 5-0 run to take a 19-18 lead, but Oregon answered with the next six in a row on the way to forcing a fifth set.
"We had a period of time that was lower error offensively in transition, and so we were able to manufacture some more points," Kersten said. "We've got to really go back and look at how many points we forced Michigan State to earn — and there's definitely some, they're a good volleyball team with good players. But I think we just gave them too many tonight."
A couple of early kills by Meyers in the fifth helped Oregon take a 5-3 lead, before the Spartans responded to go up 13-10. A kill by Clemente put her on the service line, and the Ducks scored the next three points with help from a spark off the bench by Marlee Arrington. Up 14-13 with a chance to clinch the win, the Ducks instead were on the wrong end of a 3-0 run that clinched the match for the visitors.
Up Next: The Ducks play at Indiana on Friday (4 p.m., B1G+).
The Ducks (14-10, 5-9 Big Ten) won the first and fourth sets, and came back from a 13-10 deficit in the fifth to set up match point. But the Spartans scored the final three points of the night to win 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 16-14, the last two points of the night coming on UO errors as the Ducks hit a season-low .102 in the match.
"Simply too many hitting errors from us," UO coach Trent Kersten said. "As far as volleyball execution goes, we didn't hit the ball in the court enough. … So we've got to go look and really evaluate why those things were happening and why those decisions were being made. And also know, despite that, we're right there in a tiebreaker in a fifth set."
Alanah Clemente continued her torrid freshman season with a match-high 21 kills, and Valentina Vaulet added 15. Sophia Meyers fought through an illness to add seven kills with 14 digs on her Senior Day, when the Ducks also honored setter Cora Taylor and defensive specialist Maya De Los Reyes — the only returner on the 2025 roster in Kersten's first season as head coach after replacing Matt Ulmer.
"She was the only one here, and she committed to it," Kersten said. "She was like, 'I'm in. I want to help. Let's go. I want to graduate a Duck.' And so, gosh, I feel so lucky to have gotten to coach Maya, and I know Matt and (his staff), those guys all feel the same way. And so it's a really special senior night for her — and that doesn't take anything away from how special it is for Cora and 'Phia as well."
How It Happened: Oregon trailed early in the first before a kill by Clemente got the Ducks within 7-6. Taylor served three more winning points to give the UO women a 4-0 run and the lead at 9-7. The Ducks held off the Spartans until they scored three straight to go up 17-16. Oregon scored four in a row to reclaim the lead, Michigan State wrestled it back with its own 4-0 run for a 21-20 lead, and moments later it was tied, 23-23. But a kill by Meyers put Oregon in position to win the set, and the Ducks did so on an error by the Spartans.
The Ducks hit a match-high .244 in that opening set, but couldn't maintain that offensive efficiency the rest of the way. Michigan State took command of the second set early on the way to evening the match, and the Ducks fell behind 10-5 in the third, rallying no closer than two the rest of the set to fall behind 2-1 in the match.
The fourth set got back to being evenly played. Consecutive aces by Vaulet helped the Ducks jump out to a 5-1 lead, before the Spartans rallied back to lead 9-8. The UO women trailed 12-10 when Taylor again got going from the service line, helping the Ducks score six straight to lead 16-12. Michigan State used a 5-0 run to take a 19-18 lead, but Oregon answered with the next six in a row on the way to forcing a fifth set.
"We had a period of time that was lower error offensively in transition, and so we were able to manufacture some more points," Kersten said. "We've got to really go back and look at how many points we forced Michigan State to earn — and there's definitely some, they're a good volleyball team with good players. But I think we just gave them too many tonight."
A couple of early kills by Meyers in the fifth helped Oregon take a 5-3 lead, before the Spartans responded to go up 13-10. A kill by Clemente put her on the service line, and the Ducks scored the next three points with help from a spark off the bench by Marlee Arrington. Up 14-13 with a chance to clinch the win, the Ducks instead were on the wrong end of a 3-0 run that clinched the match for the visitors.
Up Next: The Ducks play at Indiana on Friday (4 p.m., B1G+).
Team Stats
MSU
Oregon
Kills
55
53
Errors
24
37
Attempts
149
157
Hitting %
.208
.102
Points
74.0
74.0
Assists
54
52
Aces
6
9
Blocks
13
12
Game Leaders
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
15
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
4
Aces
3
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOPP/OH
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Valentina Vaulet & Cora Taylor: "Working off of one another."
Friday, October 24
