Oregon Ducks volleyball and soccer played thrilling matches yesterday, and if you missed them then you missed out on what makes Oregon Ducks sports great.

Oregon soccer ended their season with their only conference win of the season – a stunning, 2-1 upset victory over the #8 Washington Huskies.

The game was a defensive battle, with not a lot of shots taken by either side. The Huskies and the Ducks each only got 9 shots off all game. Oregon scored first, a little over 30 minutes into the game. Carly Cormack sent the ball into the net:

The Ducks held a 1-0 lead going into the half, but the Huskies evened the score shortly after halftime.

Toward the end of the match, Oregon took advantage of a penalty from Washington star defender Kolo Suliafu. Suliafu picked up a red card and was ejected from the game, and Oregon immediately scored on the free kick with only two minutes left in the game. Lauren Kenny sent the ball in solo off the kick:

The game was a great way for Oregon to end the season. To play so close in so many games, only to not quite pull out a victory, and then finally get the win over a ranked team speaks volumes about the quality of this team. Oregon soccer finishes the season 3-10-5, but is building toward a promising future.

The #12 Wisconsin Badgers came to Matthew Knight Arena, giving Oregon volleyball another opportunity to test itself against another Top=25 foe. The match marked the return of former Oregon volleyball star Mimi Colyer, who received a warm welcome before the game.

The match turned into something that we would not have expected three or four weeks ago – a tense, closely contested battle that could have gone either way. Wisconsin ultimately prevailed, 3-1.

The first set began with the Badgers firing off a flurry of points, and it initially looked like the Ducks might be in for a dismal afternoon. Things did not look good when Wisconsin took a 13-4 lead.

But after that nine point lead, Oregon battled back, buoyed by their dramatic improvement in their defensive performance. The Ducks went on a 9-1 tear and were in the match from then on.

The teams traded ties from then on and gained the upper hand at the end of the set. The Badgers fought off three set points, but the Ducks would not be denied, and took the first set 28-26.

Oregon was up in the beginning of the second set. After a 4-0 run, the Ducks were leading 14-11. Wisconsin kept up the pressure, and the Ducks were looking in good shape when they were ahead 21-19. The Badgers, however, embarked on a 6-2 run to take the second set 25-23.

The third set was back and forth with 13 ties and 4 lead changes. Both teams looked very good. After Oregon sported a 21-20 lead, UW closed the set when it counted, and a 5-1 run gave the Badgers a 25-22 win and a 2-1 lead.

The Ducks started strong again in set four, and led for the majority of the set.

UW showed again what separated the teams on this Sunday afternoon. The Badgers fought off three set points in a 6-1 run that closed out the set and match with a Mimi Colyer kill to take the 27-25 win.

Mimi Colyer led Wisconsin with 18 kills for a .146 H%, 6 digs, and 1 SA. The Badgers finished with a .290 H% and 6 blocks.

Oregon hit .282 on the day, with 5 blocks. Alanah Clemente led the Ducks with 17 kills and a .146 H%, 8 digs, and 2 SA. Sophia Meyers also had 17 kills. Valentina Vaulet and Iva Šucurovic each had 11 kills. Cora Taylor had 48 assists, and Reese Sheppard was the digs leader with 14.

Head coach Trent Kersten had these thoughts after the game:

Oregon volleyball (13-7, 4-6 Big-10) is exceeding expectations and they are playing better than we could have hoped for just a few weeks ago. If the team can finish strong in sets and in the second half of the conference swing, they can vie for placement in the top thirds of the conference – something unthinkable at the beginning of this season.

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