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.