Weekend Road Trip to the Desert

EUGENE, Ore. — The No. 24 Oregon volleyball team hits the road for three matches at the Snyder-Park Classic (Sept. 11-13) in Tempe, Ariz. The Ducks' weekend begins Friday with a top-25 match against host and seventh-ranked Arizona State. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.

Oregon will also play UC Davis (Sat., 1 p.m.) and San Diego (Sun., 2 p.m.) during the road trip.

The Ducks enter the weekend among the top 30 nationally in kills per set (14.61, sixth), assists per set (13.56, 13^th) and hitting percentage (.282, 30^th). The team's 90 digs against Washington State (Sept. 6) are the most by the program since 2021 and are the third most by a team this season during a four-set match.

Senior outside hitter Valentina Vaulet leads Oregon with 65 kills and 10 service aces through two weeks of the season. Alanah Clemente and Laura Eichert with 53 and 43 kills, respectively. Eichert and Marina Crownover, the reigning Big Ten Setter of the Week, each have two double-doubles this season. Junior middle blocker Dalia Virlan leads the team and ranks sixth in the Big Ten with a .458 hitting efficiency.

Virlan also leads the Ducks with 18 total blocks. Behind the block, Crownover has 54 digs just ahead of sophomore libero Reese Sheppard with 52.

Nice Start
With Sunday's win over Washington State, the Ducks improve to 5-0 for the fourth time in the past six years including consecutive seasons under head coach Trent Kersten. Oregon checks in at No. 24 in the latest AVCA coaches poll, up one spot from the first two weeks of the season.

Series History vs Arizona State
Friday will be the first match between the former Pac-12 mates since the 2023 season. Oregon has won five of the past seven meetings dating back to the Spring 2021 campaign, four of those five wins coming on ASU's home court. Arizona State leads the overall series, 42-32.

In a Familiar Place
Associate head coach Giovana Melo graduated from Arizona State where she was a two-year starter at setter and served as a team captain in 2004. She had a career high of 66 assists which still ranks seventh on the ASU single-match list during the rally scoring era. Following her playing career, Melo served as an ASU assistant for three years.

Series History vs UC Davis
The two programs first met in the early 1980s but then not again until 2016. Both recent meetings have been straight-set home wins for Oregon including a sweep in 2022. The Ducks hold a 2-0-2 advantage in the series history.

Series History vs San Diego
Oregon owns a 4-2 lead in the brief series history against San Diego. The teams most recently played in 2023 and 2024, both straight-set wins for Oregon. Prior to those matches, the two teams hadn't played since the 1996 season.

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