<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2ysqFH_0w5fs4h500" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2ysqFH_0w5fs4h500" width="1182" height="619" >EUGENE, Ore. – One of the most successful fall weekends in Oregon athletic history ended with a cinematic masterpiece. On Friday, Oregon soccer's miraculous draw against No. 5 Michigan State was the opener. Dillon Gabriel's connection with Evan Stewart at Autzen Stadium on Saturday was Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. But Sunday, as No. 11 Oregon volleyball (13-2, 5-1 Big Ten) took the hardwood, the Ducks presented the encore with a five-set victory over rival Washington.The exposition on Sunday was a battle against their rivals, No. 24 Washington (13-3, 4-3 Big Ten). Two teams on separate paths, with the Huskies losing their last two and the only two Oregon losses coming against top-three teams. Teams that have rivaled each other since the beginning of time, only to make the trek to a new conference together and continue their rivalry.Oregon had not lost to Washington at home since 2021. It had only lost one set at home since the opening-night loss to Pittsburgh. The Ducks are almost the definition of a top-15 team yet to break the barrier into the top ten — they find success against lower opponents, even those ranked, but struggle against the nation's best.Washington, once a premier program looking to return to its glory days, made a head coaching change last year with former Husky Leslie Gabriel. A shocking undefeated start through 13 matches gave voters no choice but to put Washington in the rankings. But they got swept in Wisconsin, a notoriously difficult place to play. A return home to face UCLA, who has struggled all year, should have been the opportunity to bounce back. But outside hitter Kierstyn Barton (more on her later) only played a handful of turns, and the Huskies lost in four sets.The characters: two of the top attackers in the conference. Oregon outside hitter Mimi Colyer has a history of bouncing back after tough matches. And after finishing with just two kills in Oregon's loss at Penn State, she finished with 25 kills, her most since December of 2022.An introduction to Colyer wouldn't be complete, however, without her ability for self-reflection. It's one of the things that's made her a leader since the minute she stepped on campus."Now, it's our gameday," Colyer said, acknowledging the focus being on ESPN College Gameday the day prior. "We need to be able to come out here and execute, stick to the gameplan. We did a really poor job of that today."And on the other side, Barton, who returned with a vengeance. She stayed on the floor the entire match and finished with 20 kills to lead Washington. She started hot, with two kills before Oregon was able to notch one as a team, and ended equally as high, able to weather a mid-match blip by Oregon's front.No protagonist would be as stellar, however, without their supporting cast. For Oregon, freshman setter Cris Cline dished out 46 assists and middle blockers Onye Ofoegbu and Colby Neal rotated in and out seamlessly to hamper whichever Husky was opposite Barton. On Washington's end, three players finished with double-digit assists, and the floor defense was spectacular against anyone not named Mimi Colyer.Which leads to the rising action. After Oregon whooped Washington in the first set, 25-19, the Huskies jumped out to an early set two lead that they would never lose, ending the set 25-22. Washington again jumped out in set three, and a late Oregon push couldn't combat a 13-4 deficit, falling 25-19.The end of the third set, with Oregon down two sets to one and on the brink of their first home loss since Pittsburgh, provided the climax. Two of Oregon's leaders, Neal and Daley McClellan, collided on the final point of the set, with McClellan frozen on the ground."We didn't stick to our gameplan, they got really big, and they got really good, and they got really aggressive," said Colyer. "They were playing really freely. And we looked kind of timid, and we looked kind of scared. Not that we were going to roll over and die, but it was kind of looking that way for a second. So it's just 'hey, everyone, just flush it off. We're a good club, we know who we are. Let's just get back to what we're doing, and make them play out of it.'"Set number four presented the falling action. It was a more back-and-forth affair, with Oregon holding no larger than a four-point lead through the latter stages. Colyer, ever the showman, notched her 15th career 20-kill match, at one point finding the hardwood three serves in a row, as the Ducks took the set, 25-21.The fifth, and final, set was the denouement. A battle to 15 points, what should have been a back-and-forth set of its own. But Oregon scored the first two before Washington jumped out to a 9-4 lead, forcing head coach Matt Ulmer to use a timeout. From there, it was all Oregon. The Ducks first inched closer, making the score 12-9, before Oregon went on a 6-0 run to silence Washington.The Ducks finished a perfect weekend as Noemi Glover's kill fell harmlessly in Husky territory.</div></body>

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Oregon volleyball finishes storybook weekend in Eugene with a comeback win against Washington

EUGENE, Ore. – One of the most successful fall weekends in Oregon athletic history ended with a cinematic masterpiece. On Friday, Oregon soccer's miraculous draw against No. 5 Michigan State was the opener. Dillon Gabriel's connection with Evan Stewart at Autzen Stadium on Saturday was Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. But Sunday, as No. 11 Oregon volleyball (13-2, 5-1 Big Ten) took the hardwood, the Ducks presented the encore with a five-set victory over rival Washington.

Oregon volleyball finishes storybook weekend in Eugene with a comeback win against Washington

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