Season Opener in Big Sky Country

EUGENE, Ore. – The 58^th season of Oregon Volleyball begins Friday afternoon against South Dakota in the opening match of the EVEN Hotel Bobcat Invite in Bozeman, Mont. First serve is set for 3 p.m. (PT) inside Shroyer Gymnasium. The round robin also includes matches against Prairie View A&M and host Montana State.

2025 EVEN Hotel Bobcat Invite (Bozeman, Mont., all times PT)
Friday, Aug. 29 vs South Dakota – 3 p.m.
Live Stats

Saturday, Aug. 30 vs Prairie View – 1 p.m.
Live Stats

Sunday, Aug. 31 at Montana State – 1 p.m.
Watch | Live Stats

New Look Ducks
A new era of Oregon Volleyball under new head coach Trent Kersten officially begins Friday afternoon. Kersten was announced as the program's head coach in February. The Ducks' roster will also see a new look with 15 of 16 spots being newcomers. Senior L/DS Maya De Los Reyes is the team's lone returner. Oregon is replacing 100 percent of its kills and blocks production, and all but one assist, from a season ago.

Including De Los Reyes, the Ducks' roster includes five players with previous D1 playing experience with sophomore Marlee Arrington (LMU), graduate student Sophia Meyers (LMU), senior Cora Taylor (Butler) and junior Valentina Vaulet (Michigan). Additionally, redshirt freshman Orian Drore began her career at Tennessee.

Series History vs South Dakota
Oregon and South Dakota will be playing one another for the first time, one of two first-time opponents for the Ducks this weekend. South Dakota is the reigning Summit League Tournament champion and has been picked to finish second in the conference's preseason poll.

Series History vs Prairie View A&M
Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between Oregon and Prairie View A&M, the second first-time opponent in as many matches to start the season. Prairie View A&M was picked fourth in the preseason SWAC poll and senior OH Kylee Owens was tabbed the league's Preseason Player of the Year.

Series History vs Montana State
Oregon and Montana State have played 20 times prior to Sunday's weekend's finale but have not met since 1989. The Ducks lead the all-time series, 13-7. It will be just the fourth meeting in Bozeman on the Bobcats' home floor. MSU libero Lauren Lindseth (4.54 d/s in 2024) was named to the preseason all-Big Sky team.

Starting Point
Oregon received votes in the AVCA Top 25 preseason poll and was picked to finish 12^th of 18 teams in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll. The Ducks were one of nine teams recognized in the first national rankings of the year with seven inside the top 25 and two—Oregon and Washington—receiving votes.

1K Program Watch
Oregon begins the 2025 season just five wins shy of 1,000 program wins. The Ducks take a 995-796-19 program record into this weekend's season opener, a tally good for a .555 winning percentage.

Tabacuks Shines at U19 World Championships
Incoming freshman Maria Tabacuks led Germany and finished 12^th overall in total scoring at the FIVB U19 World Championships this past July in Croatia. In eight matches played, she registered 124 points with 104 kills, 13 blocks and seven service aces. Tabacuks had 15 or more points in five outings with a best of 21 kills—19 kills, 1 block, 1 ace—in a five-set loss to the United States in the round of 16.

The Road Ahead
The Ducks' non-conference schedule features two matches against NCAA Tournament teams from last season including South Dakota (Aug. 29) and Colorado State (Sept. 6). The latter will be played at MKA as Oregon's second home match of the year. The Big Ten slate begins on the road against Illinois before the conference home opener is Oct. 3 against Iowa. Along with their fellow west coast B1G teams, the Ducks' home schedule also includes preseason top-25 teams Minnesota, reigning NCAA champion Penn State and Wisconsin.

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