Throughout the 2024 season, No. 12 Oregon (18-5, 10-4 Big Ten) has shown why it’s struggled to crack the top-10 with losses to teams such as Penn State, Wisconsin and Nebraska.

But Saturday’s 3-0 victory against No. 14 Minnesota (16-8, 9-5 Big Ten) is an example of how it’s proven why it’s a top-15 squad — it will always bounce back after each time it’s fallen.

Just two days prior, the Ducks suffered their second home loss of the season against No. 2 Nebraska in a sweep. Matthew Knight Arena welcomed 8,566 fans — a record crowd — but Oregon quickly discovered the gap between being the No. 12 team in the nation and the talent of a top-2 squad.

Saturday was a new day and a new opportunity to get a top-15 win. The Ducks delivered in their sweep, 25-14, 25-20, 25-21.

Oregon was energetic in its 8-2 start. Outside hitter Mimi Colyer tallied 52 attacks on Thursday against the Cornhuskers but this one began with a more balanced attack.

Set 1 was dominant for the Ducks and middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu, who starred with a perfect five kills on five attacks and three blocks in the period. Oregon held the Gophers to a .050 hitting percentage with nine attack errors.

The second set started with Minnesota keeping it closer. The Gophers, however, returned the advantage to the Ducks, which went on a 7-0 run to go up 12-7.

The Oregon front row was sharp throughout the match. The Ducks recorded 13 total blocks, including a triple block between Ofoegbu, Noemie Glover and Michelle Ohwobete that sparked the Set 2 run.

Minnesota came into the third set hot. Back-to-back service aces and a 4-0 start required Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer to call a quick timeout — eventually leading to a 4-0 run for his team.

Freshman outside hitter Bella Gamache subbed into the match and made an instant impact in Set 3. Gamache tacked on consecutive service aces for the Ducks — their fourth and the fifth of the afternoon and the first two of her career — to put them back up.

Oregon conceded one last Gophers run, partially because of 18 total kills from Julia Hanson, but the Ducks persevered to the finish line. Ohwobete capped off the match with one final kill.

Ofoegbu finished with 10 kills and seven blocks on .714 percent. Colyer contributed 10 kills but, again, had 32 attacks, while Mackenzie Morris and Cristin Cline also recorded two service aces.

A victory on Saturday continued Oregon’s perfect record following a loss this season. Next, the Ducks will face Northwestern at 6 p.m. at Matthew Knight on Friday before traveling to USC next Sunday.

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season opener, and after playing a scoreless game for 73 minutes, she scored the game-winning goal.

Bryan’s celebration didn’t just symbolize the excitement of the Ducks’ first win in over a year — it represented the energy and authenticity Bryan has brought to the program.

“This whole team is a group of girls with a whole bunch of personalities. I was allowed to be myself,” Bryan said. “These are girls I could dance around that make me feel comfortable enough to be me.”

The fifth-year forward transferred to Oregon after being at Virginia Tech University for four years and playing in three seasons. She helped the Hokies to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022.

She led Oregon in shots and was tied for the most goals heading into the third weekend of conference play. Her ability to score in big moments has helped propel this Ducks squad to its best season in three years.

“I feel like that has honestly been the trend even at Virginia Tech — just moments where they need me,” Bryan said. “I’m able to perform and I’m able to do sometimes what the team needs, whether that’s a goal or two, or just also be a light, be some type of energy, be a fire to get the team going again.”

Bryan said it was an “easy decision” to join the Ducks in what she called her “grandma season.” She has ambitions of going professional after college and said she feels supported in her goals.  

“The teammates around me also just want to go far,” Bryan said. “We all have the same dreams. We all want to get to the same place. So [coming to Oregon has] been more than I’ve expected.”

Bryan and her teammates have their sights set on making it far in the postseason as well.

“The Big Ten Tournament is where we want to be. The NCAA Tournament is where we want to be,” Bryan said. “Trying to get there by any way, shape or form, and that’s making big moments and making them ours.”

Oregon was only one point away from a sweep to finish a six-match road trip — but a long stoppage to mop up the court left the players waiting for the conclusion. 

After a couple of minutes, play resumed. Outside hitter Sophie Gregoire rose in the air with an emphatic kill to clinch the Ducks’ victory.

The final point sums up No. 12 Oregon’s win over Portland State (1-9) on Wednesday. It was choppy and, at times, sloppy for the Ducks. Oregon still did enough to earn the 3-0 sweep and continue its seven-match win streak.

The Ducks (7-1) typically haven’t gotten off to dominant starts in their non-conference matches. The beginning of their sets are sometimes riddled with miscues and service errors.

On Wednesday, Oregon had seven service errors in the first set. An animated head coach Matt Ulmer immediately took a timeout after Cristin Cline recorded the seventh error and the Ducks’ lead narrowed to 17-16 in the first.

To Oregon’s advantage, the Vikings also conceded seven free points in the set, all via attack errors. The Ducks went on to take the first set and win eight of the last 13 points after Ulmer’s timeout.

Portland State’s offense mainly featured Makayla Lewis and Carissa Barron. The two combined for 67 of its 104 total attacks. Despite a predictable opposing attack, the Ducks made it difficult on themselves with their errors. A second set that looked to be commanding ended up only being a 25-22 victory.

The Vikings’ .087 hitting percentage ended up being the difference maker in the match. They had 24 total attack errors to only 10 by Oregon. Five of them came off the hands of Lewis and Barron in the final set.

Onye Ofoegbu led the Ducks down the stretch, finishing with eight kills on .727 percent hitting and five blocks. Cline finished with 30 of the team’s 37 assists, while All-American Mimi Colyer didn’t see the court in the final two sets.

Oregon now has back-to-back sweeps versus Portland State in the last two meetings. The Ducks have won 14 of the last 15 matchups in the series against the Vikings.

Oregon finishes off non-conference play on Sunday against Oregon State. It’ll return to Matthew Knight Arena with the match set to begin at 1 p.m.

No. 17 BYU had No. 12 Oregon on the ropes in a decisive fifth set. Down 15-14 and one point away from their second loss, the Ducks took a timeout.

The kill, the ace and the attack error that ensued gave Oregon its biggest win of the young season.

The match against the Cougars (4-2) provided another opportunity for the Ducks (5-1) to get a victory against a ranked opponent. Oregon won four straight heading into the matchup, but dropped its first match against No. 4 Pittsburgh to start the season.

Junior outside hitter Mimi Colyer starred in the action early on. The first point went to BYU off a Colyer attack error. Colyer didn’t waste much time responding with two straight kills to give the Ducks their first lead at 5-4.

Colyer tallied six of her 10 kills in the first set. She entered the match coming off a big weekend at the Ram Volleyball Classic. Colyer recorded 50 total kills across three matches last weekend, including a season-high in kills with 19 versus Colorado State.

Colyer’s consistent play led Oregon to a 25-14 first-set victory.

The second set was less lopsided but favored the Cougars. The Ducks conceded five service aces to BYU in the set to get ahead. Oregon stayed close, partially due to Colyer tallying three aces in her own right.

The Cougars still tied it up with an authoritative kill by Mia Lee to take the set 25-23.

BYU has dominated the matchup against the Ducks in the past, entering 10-2 overall. Most recently, it knocked Oregon out of the NCAA Tournament in the 2017 second round.

This was a shot for the Ducks to avenge that 2017 loss — but they needed to win two of the next three sets.

Oregon started hot with three points in a row in the third. Then, it allowed a Cougars’ response, similar to how the previous set went.

This time, the Ducks controlled the end of the set 18-6.

However, each time Oregon dominated a set, a closely contested one followed. BYU forced the Ducks to their second five-set match of the season.

Finally, Oregon secured a close set win — and for the first time in 12 years, it was a match point against the Cougars. 

Friday was also a milestone day for middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu, who reached 1,000 career kills, and outside hitter Michelle Ohwobete, who recorded her 100th ace. 

Ohwobete led the team with 16 digs and nine blocks, to go along with her 12 kills. Colyer also had 12 digs but contributed 11 of the team’s 17 errors.

Oregon concludes the San Diego Invitational on Saturday at 7 p.m. versus the host team. The Ducks will return to Matthew Knight Arena to play Oregon State next Saturday after they head to Portland State for a match on Sept. 18.

The frustration was mounting for No. 12 Oregon. Between a first-set loss and seemingly every review going Colorado State’s way, the Ducks appeared to be headed toward their second loss in three matches.

That frustration immediately turned into grit when the Ducks’ middle blocker Colby Neal had a monstrous block in the back half of the second set. Oregon took the set and never looked back.

The Ducks (2-1) started their season with a loss against No. 4 Pittsburgh at home last weekend. They followed it up with a sweep versus Long Beach State, something they looked to build on in Fort Collins, Colorado.

But the Rams (0-3) had all the confidence in the first set. They began the match with two straight points, including a service ace by Delaney McIntosh. 

Oregon responded with a 3-0 scoring run, but Colorado State had an answer for everything the Ducks sent its way. A critical challenge also flipped the score to 19-13 in the Rams favor en route to their 25-20 first-set victory.

Set two was much closer with Oregon starting on the front foot. The front row kept the Ducks in the match but the two sides still traded the first nine points. 

Colorado State took its first lead at 5-4 off an attack error by Sophie Gregoire to seize back some of the momentum.

Then came the block by Neal to take control of the set 19-17.

Neal tallied three blocks to go along with her four kills. Mimi Colyer finished the match with a team-high of 19 kills, while Gregoire and Noemie Glover each contributed 11 kills.

Set three was just as back and forth as the second one. A series of kills by the Ducks forced a pair of Rams timeouts but the latter wasn’t able to rally back.

It took Oregon a few minutes to settle into the fourth. After early attack errors, the Ducks got into a groove that they rode to finish the match.

Colorado State stayed in the game until the very last rally. It came within one with Oregon leading 24-23. Ultimately, Glover had the final kill to seal the Ducks’ victory in four sets.

Malaya Jones led the Rams with 20 kills and 11 digs. Oregon finished with the higher hitting percentage of the two squads, while Colorado State also had 15 service errors to the Ducks’ 12.

Oregon continues its journey in the Ram Volleyball Classic in Fort Collins. It’s set to face Grand Canyon University at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday before finishing the trip against Central Arkansas on Sunday.