SEATTLE, Wash. — The ninth-ranked Oregon volleyball team capped its weekend with a road sweep at Washington (25-20, 25-22, 25-15) in front of a national television audience on ESPN. The Ducks tallied a season-high .442 hitting percentage on their way to improving to 19-4 overall with a 9-3 mark in Pac-12 play.
Sunday’s result gave the program its first win in Seattle since 2018, and paired with Friday’s victory at Washington State, the Ducks secured its first sweep of the UW/WSU road weekend since 2016.
Seniors Morgan Lewis and Gabby Gonzales led all players with 15 and 11 kills, respectively. Lewis did not commit an attack error in 23 swings, good for a .652 hitting percentage while Gonzales hit .474 (11-2-19) against the Huskies. It was her fourth match of the year with 10 or more kills while hitting .400 or higher.
Gonzales and libero Georgia Murphy each had nine digs Sunday and fellow senior Kara McGhee led the defensive charge at the net with a match-high six blocks. Collectively, the Ducks limited Washington to a .149 hitting percentage and have now held their opponents to a .200 or lower figure in nine of 12 league matches.
How It Happened: The Ducks took an early 12-7 lead after three-consecutive Washington errors, forcing a timeout by the home team. Oregon pushed its lead to six but the Huskies answered with a 7-1 run to pull to within one—UO leading 16-15—and head coach Matt Ulmer called his first timeout of the match.
Leading 18-17, the Ducks used a quick surge to establish a 21-18 advantage after a Lewis kill, and went on to clinch the opener with a kill out of the middle by Colby Neal.
Lewis had six of her 15 kills in the opening frame and McGhee was 4-for-4 for the Ducks in set one.
Washington (13-10, 4-8) won the first three points of the second and led 8-4 after a kill by Madi Ensley who led the Huskies with eight kills Sunday. Oregon chipped away to tie the set at 11-all but the home team took four of the next five points heading into the media timeout.
The Ducks trailed by as many as four—UW leading 17-13—but pulled even at 19-all with back-to-back kills by McGhee. The teams traded the next four points but Colyer gave Oregon its first lead of the set with a kill for 22-21. After the Huskies tied the score with the next point, the Ducks ended the second with a 3-0 run featuring consecutive kills by Lewis.
McGhee ended the afternoon with eight kills and a .583 hitting percentage.
Eyeing the sweep, Oregon sprinted out to a 7-2 lead in the third. McGhee was involved in three blocks—two solo, one assist—during a four-point stretch early in the set. Washington got as close as two points but the Ducks never trailed in the set. Up 13-11, Oregon rattled off seven of the next eight points for a 20-12 advantage. Gonzales had two kills and an ace during the run of points.
Neal and Hannah Pukis teamed up for a block on the team’s first match point to clinch the win and the Ducks’ first sweep in Seattle since 2016.
Notable: Fourth match of the season with a .400 or higher team hitting percentage; held opponents to .178 or lower in those four matches…conference season-low nine attack errors…third match of the year with single-digit attack errors; had seven against San Diego (Aug. 25), eight against Northwestern (Aug. 26)…overcame a season-high 18 service errors…second-consecutive Sunday playing on ESPN…moved to No. 6—up for seventh—in the second NCAA Committee top-10 reveal.
Up Next: The Ducks begin the final month of the regular season with a home weekend beginning Friday, Nov. 3, against Utah. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon will then host Colorado in next Sunday’s weekend finale.
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