Oregon football got back in the win column on Saturday night against its former head coach Chip Kelly and the UCLA Bruins.

Quarterback Justin Herbert and wide receiver Dillon Mitchell carried the load offensively after coming off a week of being under concussion protocol.

Oregon volleyball was swept Friday night against the USC Trojans after sweeping the Trojans earlier in the season.

Oregon bounced back and defeated the UCLA Bruins in four sets on Sunday afternoon to sweep the season series against the Bruins.

Women’s soccer would end its season on a high note, defeating Oregon State on senior night

Tom Snee, Oregon’s Australian punter, is taking his rugby background to the football field.

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Oregon volleyball has been plagued with lack of belief and lack of confidence throughout the season and their head coach Matt Ulmer has not been shy about calling his team out.

Despite a four-set (25-21, 14-25, 16-25, 25-27) victory this match proved to be no different.

After a dominate set two victory against the No. 22 UCLA Bruins (12-9, 7-7 Pac), the No. 16 Ducks (16-8, 9-5 Pac) found themselves trailing 6-1 in set three, which forced Ulmer to take an early timeout early on in set three.

“I was pretty intense and just trying to call people out,” Ulmer said. “We needed more from certain individual.”

Two of the Ducks’ leaders stepped up and begin a rally for Oregon.

Lindsey Vander Weide, Ronika Stone and August Raskie led the charge taking Oregon on a 5-1 run that brought them back into the set.

Ulmer was not please with Willow Johnson in the beginning of the match but Ulmer put Johnson back into the rotation late in set three. Ulmer’s words fueled Johnson and she came up with huge kills in the third set. Johnson finished her day with 11 kills on 29 takes, averaging a .207 hitting percentage.

Oregon capped off an emphatic comeback with a 25-16 set three victory.

“We’re the ones on the court and the ones that need to buy in,” junior middle blocker Ronika Stone said. “For us to be able do that even while we are down, shows how much we’ve grown.”

The Ducks dominated early on in set four but let the Bruins rally and tie the set at 13. Brooke Van Sickle led the Ducks offensively down the stretch in set four and ended her day with 11 kills on 28 takes, hitting a .357 hitting percentage. Ronika Stone led the team defensively with an astounding 11 blocks, the team in total had 15.

“I thought Ronika in particular was really special with her block, 11 blocks in a four set match, that’s beautiful,” Ulmer said.

Stone’s biggest block came at the last point of the set and match.

UCLA was mounting a comeback but after back-and-forth in the set, Oregon found themselves on the verge of victory leading 26-25. Stone and Van Sickle teamed up to put a roof over the UCLA offense and end the match. The last block almost blew the roof off of Matthew Knight arena in front of a crowd of 2,298 in attendance who let themselves known they were there.

“I loved it,” Stone said. “As a team we are high energy but when the crowd brings it with us too then it just makes it want to finish it even faster for them. We don’t want to disappoint our fans.”

Despite Oregon’s strong defense performance that held the Bruins to a .077 hitting percentage and a comeback that showed nothing but confidence and belief, Ulmer still thinks there is space to grow, but time is running out.

The Ducks will fly down south this weekend to take on No. 2 Stanford and Cal.

Follow Gabe Ornelas on Twitter @gabe_ornelas 

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The Oregon Ducks (15-7, 8-4 Pac-12) got revenge against the Arizona Wildcats (17-8, 6-6 Pac-12) in four sets (25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17) Sunday, in Tucson, Arizona.

Oregon started the first set by jumping out to a quick 11-6 lead but a 5-0 run by Arizona would put them even with the Ducks at 11. The two teams traded points until Oregon was able to take set one.

Oregon and Arizona traded scoring runs in the set second but a strong block and hitting would notch Oregon a set two win. The Ducks would prove too much offensively as they would go on to win set four and the match.

The Ducks were led offensively by Lindsey Vander Weide, who had 17 kills on 40 takes with a .300 hitting percentage.

The Ducks also had a strong block that held Arizona’s main hitters under .171 hitting average. Oregon (13) doubled Arizona’s (6) block total. Vander Weide was a big part of that Oregon defense as she had four blocks and held one of Arizona’s top scorers, Candice Denny, to a .067 hitting percentage.

The Ducks came into this match going to five sets with the Wildcats in each of their last four meetings, but the Ducks put an end to that streak.

Oregon faced a different Arizona squad compared to the last five set thriller earlier this season as the Wildcats were without senior outside hitter Kendra Dahlke. Dahlke has played in all sets (73) and matches (20) this season. She leads the Pac-12 in kills per set (5.05) and kills (369).

The Ducks entered this weekend at full strength and get back two gut punching losses they suffered at the beginning of Pac-12 play earlier this season.

Oregon will head home this weekend to take on USC and No. 20 UCLA, both teams they swept earlier in the season.

Follow Gabriel on Twitter at @gabe_ornelas

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After splitting the first two sets between Oregon and Stanford, the Ducks looked as if they could upset the No. 2 team in the nation, but those two sets would quickly become a distant memory going into set three and four.

No. 16 Oregon (13-7, 6-4 Pac-12) lost in four sets (16-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-15) against the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal (18-1, 10-0 Pac-12) Sunday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena.

“We’re not ready to sustain at that level yet,” head coach Matt Ulmer said.

The Ducks looked ready to sustain at that level in set one as they held the number one offense in the Pac-12 to a .147 hitting percentage in the first set. Their defense would hold the reigning 2017 national player of the year, Kathryn Plummer, to only two kills in the first set. The Cardinal offense came alive in set two, roaring back and hitting .419 to win a close second set.

Plummer came back after the first set and finished the match with 19 kills on 45 takes with a .333 hitting percentage. Oregon had three players finish with double digit kills: Brooke Van Sickle (12), Willow Johnson (11) and Lindsey Vander Weide (13).

The Ducks traded points early on in set three with the Cardinal. Once the score reached 14-12, Stanford never looked back. Stanford went on a relentless 7-0 service attack run that would put them ahead 21-12. The Ducks rallied on a late run led by Willow Johnson, who ended the match with a .318 hitting percentage and would account for 13 points. Oregon would eventually drop that set.

“They are just a really aggressive serving team,” outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide said. “They were getting us out of system a lot.”

The Matthew Knight arena crowd came alive in the first two sets of the match as Oregon was on a relentless attack but once the pressure of serve-receive came from Stanford, Oregon quickly lost their identity.

“We started to panic, we started to loose what we were doing and we started to focus on what they were doing,” said Ulmer. “We definitely lack that competitive nature to just keep going after it and even if we make a mistake, bouncing back.”

The Cardinal have now won 16 straight matches and remain unblemished in Pac-12 play to continue their conference dominance. Oregon’s confidence did not waver as the match went on when they continued to fight back each set but the Ducks are still searching to reach an elite level.

“We are one of the elite teams but the difference is the mindset..that’s really the last piece,” said Ulmer. “That’s the difference from a Sweet 16 and a Final Four.”

Oregon will seek redemption next weekend as it travels to Arizona to take on Arizona State and Arizona in an attempt to avenge its early conference losses.

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At the age of 4, Taylor Borup knew that she wanted to attend the University of North Carolina after cheering for the Tar Heels during the March Madness men’s basketball tournament. She never expected to become a volleyball national player of the week, and she certainly didn’t expect to transfer to Oregon.

Taylor Borup never knew from a young age that she would be in a territory she’d never seen despite her constant travel for volleyball. She discovered that despite being so far away, she’d find a home away from home in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon became a destination that would also share her goal of reaching her highest potential and winning a national championship.

Borup was born in North Carolina and lived there until the age of 5 when her family moved to Leesburg, Virginia. In Leesburg, she grew up on five acres of land on which in the summer she’d be seen driving a golf cart or riding on an all-terrain vehicle. But in the winter you could find her sitting on a tube as her dad pulled her through the snow in an ATV.

At 9, Borup’s parents, Susan and Raymond, would drive her to Loudoun County High School volleyball matches because her favorite player, Morgan Petkovich, was the star of what would be Borup’s future high school team. Borup, a natural lefty, admired Petkovich so much that when she began crafting her volleyball skills, she taught herself to play volleyball right handed.

“If you know anything about volleyball, being left handed is such an advantage,” Susan said.

After winning her first state championship as a freshman, Borup committed to North Carolina at 14 and started her club volleyball career. Borup played for Metro Volleyball Club, which is 36 miles west of her home in Leesburg. A two-hour drive every day to practice was in store for the next four years for Borup and her dad. That drive also built a bond that lasts to this day.

“We’re super close,” Borup said. “It was really nice to have that support.”

Borup continued her stellar career at Loudoun High, becoming the first player in the state of Virginia to win four state championships and two national titles at the club level.

“It was really special because each team was so different,” Borup said. “The fact that we could do it every time and win was special.”

In her freshman year at North Carolina, Borup played 29 matches and started seven, landing her on the ACC All-Freshman team. Her sophomore season was plagued with early-season injury, as she only played in 20 sets the entire season.

After two years at North Carolina, Borup wasn’t getting the chance she’d imagined, so it was time for a change. Despite looking at Tennessee, Ohio State and Penn State, she felt Oregon, a place she had never been too, was the team that shared the same aspirations as her.

“I wanted to reach my potential as best as I could and play with a team that had the same goal,” Borup said.

That goal was to win a national championship, and Borup felt she had the best chance at Oregon.  

“When Taylor decided to come here, I was shocked,” Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer said. “It said a lot about our program.”

Borup will look to lead the Ducks down the back stretch of the season with her sights set on the professional level after college; however, her parents think something different is in store for her after volleyball.

“She is obsessed with the weather,” Raymond said. “When she was about 12-13, she told without hesitation, ‘when I am 30, I will do the weather on the weather channel.’”

Borup will have plenty of time later to think about her 30s, but for now she’s focused on a daunting Pac-12 schedule.

Follow Gabriel Ornelas on Twitter @gabe_ornelas

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The No. 14 Oregon Ducks (12-6, 5-3 Pac-12) were upset by the unranked Utah Utes (11-8, 3-5 Pac-12) in four sets (22-25, 18-25, 26-24, 23-25) on Sunday in Salt Lake City.

The Ducks started the match without three of their starters, Brooke Nuneviller, Brooke Van Sickle and Willow Johnson, due to a violation of team rules. Oregon went from a seven-player rotation to a six-player rotation after outside hitter Taylor Borup went down with a foot injury in the second set.

Oregon quickly found itself down two sets after Utah held Oregon to a .154 hitting percentage in set one and .062 hitting percentage in set two. Utah’s big block in front of the net was able to get a total of eight through the first two sets to stifle Oregon’s offense.

The Ducks rallied to win the third set with only a six-player rotation that included Camryn Tastad, a 5-foot-3 libero playing the front row.

Lindsey Vander Weide and Sumeet Gill led the Oregon offense throughout the match, but especially in set three. Vander Weide tallied 19 kills on 53 takes and Gill had 13 kills on 19 takes and accounted for 14.5 points.

Oregon, despite having a late comeback, committed a service error by August Raskie (46 assists, 10 digs) to go down 24-23, and a block by Megan Yeet and Kennedi Evans on Ronika Stone ended the game to give the Utes the upset.

Oregon will head back home after a four-match road trip to take on Cal and No. 2 Stanford this weekend at Matthew Knight Arena.

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Oregon volleyball moved up six spots in the AVCA poll following a dominant weekend in Los Angeles.

The Ducks started the weekend with a sweep of then-ranked No. 17 UCLA. The Ducks swept the Bruins for the first time since 2014 and for the first time ever on the Bruins’ home court.

The Ducks capped off the weekend with a sweep of then-ranked No. 12 USC. Oregon swept USC at home for the first time since 2013.

The Ducks were led by junior transfer Taylor Borup. Borup had her first Pac-12 start against the Bruins and notched a season high 13 kills, and a career high 16 digs. Borup finished her stellar weekend with 10 kills on .312 hitting and added 11 digs. Those numbers earned Borup Pac-12 offensive player of the week.

Brooke Nuneviller earned Pac-12 freshman of the week after leading her team in digs in both matches and being the anchor for them defensively against the SoCal schools.

Oregon (11-5, 4-2 Pac-12) will continue its time on the road as they travel to Colorado (10-7, 2-4 Pac-12) on Friday and then to Utah (9-8, 1-5 Pac-12) on Sunday.

Other Pac-12 teams in this week’s updated poll include No.2 Stanford, No. 15 USC, No.18 Washington, No. 20 UCLA, No. 21 Washington State, No. 23 Arizona and No. 25 Arizona State.

Follow Gabriel on Twitter @gabe_ornelas

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Oregon soccer found itself on the cusp of a monumental upset but ended up falling to No.1 Stanford in overtime on Thursday night. 

Oregon volleyball took a drop in the polls following last weekends back-to-back losses against the Arizona schools.

Oregon women’s basketball released its non-conference and conference schedule on Thursday ahead of a big 2018-2019 season.

Following Oregon football’s dominate win against No. 24 Cal, the Ducks attempt to stay focused as they prepare for No. 10 Washington.

Take a dive into Oregon football’s stock on both the defense and offensive side halfway through the season.

Oregon football has heavily relied on its young running back core to lead the Ducks halfway through the season.

Follow Gabriel Ornelas on Twitter @gabe_ornelas

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The Oregon Ducks thought they were heading to a second overtime against the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal, but Sophomore Catarina Macario had other plans.

The Ducks (7-4-1, 1-3-0 Pac-12) held tough against the Cardinal (11-0-1, 4-0-0 Pac-12) for 99 minutes. Oregon had to survive for one more minute to have hopes of a tie or a win in the second overtime. A foul call on Oregon’s Jazmin Jackmon set up Catarina Macario for a free kick just outside of the the box.

Macario, who’s tied for team leader in goals (6) has been deadly from just outside the box all season long and Thursday night was no different. Macario set the ball and put her shot in the top corner of the net, just out of reach of Oregon’s goalie Halla Hinriksdottir’s outreached arms.

“I’m gutted for our players,” head coach Kat Mertz said. “We played 99 minutes of pure heart and discipline and committed to the game plan. She’s deadly with free kicks around the box, I’ve seen it all year long.”

The Ducks went into the match without senior and leading scorer Marissa Everett, who was injured in the Ducks’ 1-0 loss at Washington.

Oregon was able to stifle the high-scoring Stanford offense in the first half by holding them to only two shots on goal. The Ducks also matched that number with two but had the best chance of the first half to score early as Bayley Bruner was able to get into the box and shoot a shot that was just wide left of goal.

Oregon’s morale was high coming out of the locker room going into the second half not allowing Stanford to convert a goal in the first half compared to last year, when Stanford routed Oregon 4-0.

Stanford came out strong in the second half as it took four early shots on goal within 10 minutes of starting the second half.

Stanford took the breath out a season-high 775 people in attendance, for a brief moment, as freshman Sophia Smith hit a shot from the left flank that bounced off the post and out.

Stanford forward Sophia Smith (3) takes a shot at the Oregon goal. Oregon Ducks Womens Soccer takes on Stanford at Papé Field on Oct. 4, 2018. (Ben Green/Emerald)

Oregon’s golden moment of late game magic almost came in the 87th minute from Eugene native Emma Eddy.

Oregon’s attack came storming down the field. Bruner had the ball on the left side of the field, crossed it into Eddy at the doorstep of the goal but the shot would go just wide of the goal. Eddy lied on her back in disbelief on the ground after her miss.

Despite the miss, Oregon was able to keep its confidence heading into overtime.

“We were excited, senior defender Jazmin Jackmon said. “We have nothing to loose when we play the No. 1 team in the nation.”

Oregon will look to end its three-game loosing streak as it takes on Cal (4-6-1, 0-3-0 Pac-12) on Sunday, Oct. 7, at Papé Field.

“We have to take this and go into Sunday with full steam ahead,” Mertz said. “I think we’re going to learn from this. It’s going to give us the confidence and I think we can really play with anyone.”

Follow Gabe Ornelas on Twitter @gabe_ornelas 

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After winning five straight matches, Oregon soccer now finds itself on a two-match losing streak after it failed to find the back of the net against the Washington Huskies in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.

The 1-0 loss came after the Ducks’ (7-3-1, 1-2-0 Pac-12) attempt to get back in the win column after losing to Washington State on Thursday night.

The Ducks and Huskies found themselves in a tight match near halftime with no one giving on either side. The Ducks had a chance early on as forward Marissa Everett took a shot but the ball ended up hitting the crossbar and bouncing out of bounds. Moments later, defender Hannah Taylor had a shot on goal but was unable to convert.

The Huskies capitalized on a late first-half opportunity as Mireya Gray found the back of the net after being set up by Makena Carr 44 minutes into the match. Washington would go into halftime leading 1-0.

Washington’s defense only allowed Oregon eight shots on goal compared to Washington’s 13 for the match. This has been Washington’s third shutout in its last four matches.

Oregon will work for its next win this Thursday, Oct. 4, taking on No.1 Stanford at 5 p.m. on Papé Field.

Follow Gabriel Ornelas on Twitter @gabe_ornelas

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