Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Ducks Open New Home Courts With Pair of Wins
10/11/26 | Women's Beach Volleyball
Oregon hosted Portland in an exhibition doubleheader at Duck Dunes on Sunday and posted two 4-1 victories.
EUGENE, Ore. — Let the historical record show that the first intersquad competition at the new home of Oregon beach volleyball featured a pair of 4-1 exhibition victories for the Ducks on Sunday over Portland.
Yes, the action on the sand was an important element of Sunday's event, as the Ducks take their initial steps toward building on what was, last spring, the best season in program history. But it was about much more than that, too.
A little over a decade after the program made its debut, the UO women have unveiled a home to call their own. The team's "Duck Dunes" facility on campus officially opened for practice in late September, and on Sunday it hosted an intersquad competition for the first time as the Pilots came to town.
No, it didn't officially count toward Oregon's record. Yes, it mattered a great deal to the Ducks.
"We just came in with a lot of gratitude, and I think we're also really excited to show the work we've done the past two weeks and how much we've grown as a team and the potential we have this season," said senior Bella Gamache, a native of nearby Monroe. "We're super excited and super hungry, and we just want more."
More would mean building on the spring of 2026, when the Ducks under new coach Kristian Kuld set a program record with 17 wins, including two over top-20 teams. And more would mean more exposure for their sport, which has seen its profile in town lifted exponentially by the presence of new home courts in the heart of campus at 13th & Agate.
"We talk a lot about growing the sport in general, and that comes from leaving the nets up after practice so people can play, and from being loud here this morning so we attract fans from the dorms across the street," senior AJ Slojkowski said. "We just want to put on a show, more than anything else.
"We also put a lot of pressure on ourselves to play for the people that came before us, because they fought for this. Every day we're out here, we're grateful more than anything else, and we're playing for those people that have graduated."
One of those program alums, 2024 senior Jensen Kaelin, was on hand to watch Sunday. She got to see her sister, Vivi Kaelin, contribute a point to one of the Ducks' two 4-1 wins over the Pilots. And she got to see the progress of a program that, when she was competing, played at Amazon Park in Eugene, before moving the past couple of seasons to the courts at Grace Community Fellowship.
"It's really cool to see the sense of ownership and sense of a home here on campus," Jensen Kaelin said. "It took time, and sometimes time is what is needed to create great things. So I'm very excited and stoked for the positioning of this program and where it can launch in the future."
Gamache is the rare current UO student-athlete who competed back at Amazon Park.Â
"We've come so far as a program, from a public park to having our own courts," she said. "We want to honor the people who have come before us, and I think everybody's on the same page with that. We're going to honor those people, and we're going to keep building."
That's music to the ears of the Ducks' coach. For as momentous as Sunday's event was, Kuld has the Ducks' 2027 spring opener on St. Patrick's Day marked on his calendar as the real "Opening Day" for Duck Dunes.Â
But Sunday was a welcome dress rehearsal, for that day and for the season ahead.
"I'm excited for them," he said. "They've been itching to play somebody else. We're only two weeks into practice, so on the developmental curve this is as low as we'll be. We're only going to go up from here."
Yes, the action on the sand was an important element of Sunday's event, as the Ducks take their initial steps toward building on what was, last spring, the best season in program history. But it was about much more than that, too.
A little over a decade after the program made its debut, the UO women have unveiled a home to call their own. The team's "Duck Dunes" facility on campus officially opened for practice in late September, and on Sunday it hosted an intersquad competition for the first time as the Pilots came to town.
No, it didn't officially count toward Oregon's record. Yes, it mattered a great deal to the Ducks.
"We just came in with a lot of gratitude, and I think we're also really excited to show the work we've done the past two weeks and how much we've grown as a team and the potential we have this season," said senior Bella Gamache, a native of nearby Monroe. "We're super excited and super hungry, and we just want more."
More would mean building on the spring of 2026, when the Ducks under new coach Kristian Kuld set a program record with 17 wins, including two over top-20 teams. And more would mean more exposure for their sport, which has seen its profile in town lifted exponentially by the presence of new home courts in the heart of campus at 13th & Agate.
"We talk a lot about growing the sport in general, and that comes from leaving the nets up after practice so people can play, and from being loud here this morning so we attract fans from the dorms across the street," senior AJ Slojkowski said. "We just want to put on a show, more than anything else.
"We also put a lot of pressure on ourselves to play for the people that came before us, because they fought for this. Every day we're out here, we're grateful more than anything else, and we're playing for those people that have graduated."
One of those program alums, 2024 senior Jensen Kaelin, was on hand to watch Sunday. She got to see her sister, Vivi Kaelin, contribute a point to one of the Ducks' two 4-1 wins over the Pilots. And she got to see the progress of a program that, when she was competing, played at Amazon Park in Eugene, before moving the past couple of seasons to the courts at Grace Community Fellowship.
"It's really cool to see the sense of ownership and sense of a home here on campus," Jensen Kaelin said. "It took time, and sometimes time is what is needed to create great things. So I'm very excited and stoked for the positioning of this program and where it can launch in the future."
Gamache is the rare current UO student-athlete who competed back at Amazon Park.Â
"We've come so far as a program, from a public park to having our own courts," she said. "We want to honor the people who have come before us, and I think everybody's on the same page with that. We're going to honor those people, and we're going to keep building."
That's music to the ears of the Ducks' coach. For as momentous as Sunday's event was, Kuld has the Ducks' 2027 spring opener on St. Patrick's Day marked on his calendar as the real "Opening Day" for Duck Dunes.Â
But Sunday was a welcome dress rehearsal, for that day and for the season ahead.
"I'm excited for them," he said. "They've been itching to play somebody else. We're only two weeks into practice, so on the developmental curve this is as low as we'll be. We're only going to go up from here."
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
Sunday, October 04
Saturday, October 03
Sunday, September 20
Friday, September 18
