No. 12 Ducks Host Top-Ranked Nebraska Saturday - University of Oregon Athletics

EUGENE, Ore. — The No. 12 Oregon volleyball team hosts top-ranked Nebraska to open its second-consecutive home weekend at Matthew Knight Arena. First serve of the top-15 match up is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. Oregon last hosted a No. 1 team in Eugene in 2015 (USC).

In anticipation of a capacity crowd for Saturday's match, several elements of the match day experience have been adjusted including an earlier doors open time of 5:30 p.m. and a free shuttle service.

The weekend concludes Sunday with Senior Night for Marina Crownover and Valentina Vaulet against Northwestern (6 p.m., B1G+). The Ducks enter the weekend with a 19-3 record and 10-2 mark in Big Ten play.

Series History vs Nebraska
Saturday will be the 12th meeting between Oregon and Nebraska, and just the third played in Eugene (1986, 2024). The Ducks' last victory over Nebraska came in 2022, a five-set win in the NCAA regional semifinal round in Louisville, Ky. Saturday will be the second time Oregon will face a No. 1 Nebraska team in as many seasons. Nebraska (23-0, 12-0 B1G) leads the series, 8-3.

Series History vs Northwestern
Oregon and Northwestern will play for the seventh time with the series evenly split, 3-3. As Big Ten opponents, each team has won on their home floor with the Ducks' 3-1 win in Eugene in 2024 and Northwestern's five-set win in Evanston last year.

Last Time Out
The Ducks improved to 10-0 on their home floor with a sweep of Iowa (Nov. 1) at Matthew Knight Arena. Sophomore Alanah Clemente led all players with 18 kills while hitting .429 coupled with seven digs and two aces. The win also clinched the team's spot for the inaugural Big Ten Tournament.

Sold Out!
Saturday's Oregon-Nebraska match will be played in front of an expected sell-out crowd inside Matthew Knight Arena. The current attendance record for Oregon Volleyball of 8,566 was set during the 2024 Oregon-Nebraska match in Eugene. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.; fans can begin lining up no earlier than 4 p.m. In addition to pay lots on campus, a free shuttle service from Autzen Stadium will begin running at 5 p.m.

Setting the Tone
Oregon setter Marina Crownover enters the week eighth in the Big Ten and 25th nationally with 10.46 assists per set. She has 14 matches with 40 or more assists with a season high of 51 assists in a four-set win over Illinois (Oct. 4). Crownover is 15 assists shy of reaching 3,000 in her career.

Milestone Watch
Junior outside Sjakkie Donkers enters the weekend with 970 career kills, just 30 shy of joining the 1,000-kill club between her time at UT Arlington, Gonzaga and Oregon. She is second on the team with 253 kills entering the Nebraska match, just four behind Alanah Clemente (257). Donkers is eighth in the Big Ten with 3.67 kills per set.

Killing It
Oregon enters the weekend second in the Big Ten and fourth nationally with 14.30 kills per set. Sjakkie Donkers and Alanah Clemente lead the Ducks with 3.67 and 3.47 kills per set, respectively. Oregon is also third in the Big Ten and eighth in the NCAA with 13.24 assists per set.

Active Ace
Senior Valentina Vaulet has 185 career service aces, good for second among active NCAA Division I players. She has 86 of those aces in her 51-match career at Oregon. Vaulet goes into the weekend trailing just Autumn Martinez-Robinson (187) of George Mason and one ahead of Pitt's Olivia Babcock (184).

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