EUGENE, Ore. – The 56th season of Oregon Volleyball begins Friday against 13th-ranked San Diego in the opening match of the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu. First serve is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. (PT). The Ducks’ weekend also includes matches against Northwestern and host Hawai’i.
2023 Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic (all times PT)
Friday, Aug. 25
#9 Oregon vs #13 San Diego – 7:45 p.m.
Live Stats
Saturday, Aug. 26
#9 Oregon vs Northwestern – 7:45 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 27
#9 Oregon at Hawai’I (RV) – 8 p.m.
Watch | Live Stats
Series History vs San Diego
Friday’s season opener marks the first meeting between Oregon and San Diego since 1996, and the fifth overall in the all-time series. The programs split the previous four meetings (2-2).
From the Start
Oregon checks in at No. 9 in the AVCA Top 25 preseason poll. For the second time in program history, the Ducks start their year ranked among the top-10 teams in the country; UO was eighth in the 2013 preseason poll.
Preseason Nods
Mimi Colyer and Hannah Pukis both landed on the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. In the team poll, the Ducks received one first-place vote and were picked to finish third in the conference behind Stanford and Washington State.
Welcome to Eugene
Among its 10 newcomers, Oregon welcomes the experienced trio of Gabby Gonzales (Ohio State), Kara McGhee (Baylor) and Onye Ofoegbu (UC Irvine). Gonzales was a named to the All-Big Ten Second Team in 2022 while McGhee and Ofoegbu were AVCA All-America Honorable Mention performers in addition to respective Big 12 and Big West first-team accolades.
Milestone Watch
Hannah Pukis is just five assists shy of 4,000 for her career between her time at Oregon and Washington State. Last year, Pukis established a new career high with 11.18 assists per set on the way to earning a spot on the AVCA All-America Second Team. The Ducks hit a program-record .293 last season. At libero, Georgia Murphy needs 26 digs to move into a tie for fourth on the UO all-time list.
Life on the Road
The Ducks will spend the entirety of thier 11-match, non-conference schedule on the road. Eight of the 11 matches will be against teams that appeared in the AVCA preseason poll (five top 25, three receiving votes). Hawaii, Sunday’s opponent, is one of the three teams receiving votes in the first poll of the year.
Season tickets, starting at just $54, are available through the UO ticket office or by clicking HERE. After life on the road during the non-conference schedule, the Ducks’ home opener will double as the Pac-12 opener Friday, Sept. 22, against Oregon State.
For more news and information about Oregon Volleyball, follow @OregonVB on Instagram and Twitter, and @OregonVolleyball on Facebook.