EUGENE- The Oregon Ducks volleyball program is continuing to prepare for the upcoming season with an exhibition match. Saturday at 4 p.m. PDT, the Ducks faced Oregon State in an exhibition game just an hour north of Eugene in Corvallis at Gill Coliseum. 

With just six days until the season opener against Pittsburgh, Oregon coach Matt Ulmer is looking to get his athletes as much experience and repetition as possible ahead of their 2024 season debut. 

“You learn a lot more from this than you do from practice,” Ulmer said following Oregon’s Green-Yellow Scrimmage. “We start with Pittsburgh, who’s going to be, I think, a top-five team coming out of the gate. So, I think we’re in a good spot, but we have a couple of weeks to get a little bit better.” 

The Oregon volleyball program will open the season as the No. 10 team in the AVCA preseason poll. This is the second consecutive season and third time in program history for the Ducks to start their year among the top 10 teams in the country. The Ducks will open the 2024 season against a top-five ranked opponent in Pittsburgh. 

One way Ulmer is challenging his Ducks ahead of the season opener against No. 4 ranked Pittsburgh is through competing in an exhibition match against former conference opponent Oregon State. Oregon and Oregon State have competed in the same conference for years, however, with conference realignment coming into play this season for the Ducks and many other programs around the nation, the Oregon volleyball program will not face the Beavers in the regular season. While Oregon will be a member of the Big Ten conference and playing a Big Ten schedule, Oregon State remains a member of the Pac-12 Conference alongside Washington State, the only other team left in the Pac-12. 

Oregon State will play a West Coast Conference (WCC) schedule starting Sep. 26 against Pepperdine. The Beavers rank third in the WCC preseason standings. 

One player to watch in Saturday’s scrimmage is junior outside hitter Mimi Colyer. Earlier this month, Colyer was named to the 2024 Big Ten Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team. 

Colyer has been making a dramatic impact for Oregon since her arrival in Eugene. As a true freshman in 2022, Colyer had great success becoming the first player in program history to win AVCA National Freshman of the Year and seventh in conference history. Colyer was also the first freshman in Oregon volleyball history to be voted to one of the three All-America teams and the second in UO history to win conference Freshman of the Year. Colyer led all NCAA freshmen with 616.5 points and 544 kills, ranking 10th and 11th nationally. 

Colyer’s dominance extended into her sophomore season where she led the Ducks with 471 kills and 4.43 points per set, fourth in the Pac-12. She was second on the team with 13 double-doubles and had career highs in digs (302) and aces (44). 

This year, as one of the Ducks’ only returning starters, Colyer’s role is changing both on and off the court. Off the court, Colyer serves as a leader for Oregon’s newcomers, and on the court, Colyer, a player known for her offensive prowess, will take on a larger defensive responsibility. 

“She’s got a lot of help around her right now to score,” Ulmer explained. “We’re asking her now to pass more, play more defense, do some different things than what she’s done in the past. So, it’ll take some time for her to transition, but I know she can do it. I know she has the skill set to do it.” 

More players poised to be a force and key parts of Oregon’s rotation are Oregon’s four experienced seniors. This year’s senior class includes returners Daley McClellan and Onye Ofoegbu and transfers Mackenzie Morris and Michelle Ohwobete. 

As the Oregon Ducks prepare for their highly anticipated season opener against Pittsburgh the exhibition match against Oregon State offers a valuable opportunity for evaluation and preparation. With a talented roster and a determined coaching staff, Oregon is well-positioned to compete at a high level in the coming season.  

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Since securing the Denver Broncos starting job, rookie quarterback Bo Nix has received high praise from NFL media and fans. Even Broncos legends such as Peyton Manning and John Elway have tipped their cap to Nix.

Nix’s efficiency and ability to make plays on the fly made the decision easy for head coach Sean Payton to pull the trigger on leading the franchise as the starter. Dan Lanning, Nix’s head coach at the University of Oregon, is the latest to send some love to the future face of the Broncos in an interview with Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette.

“I’m not surprised at all,’’ Lanning told Tomasson on Thursday about Payton’s choice. “I know how hard Bo works. Honestly, I felt like it was a great fit from the start. I think the sky is the limit for him, so I’m really pumped for him. I also know that his goal wasn’t just to be named the starter. His goal is to go out there and perform really well for the team. He has high expectations for himself. I’m excited to see him achieve those.”

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Everyone, including Lanning, believes Bo is a perfect fit for Payton and the Broncos, and it’s easy to see why. In both of the Broncos’ preseason games, Nix had a command of the offense unmatched by Zach Wilson or Jarrett Stidham.

Nix has checked all the boxes so far — processing, snap to throw, and using his legs to extend plays, whether scripted or otherwise. It’s also encouraging to hear that his aspirations go beyond just securing the starting job and that his expectations for himself are sky-high. The juiciest part of Lanning’s comments came when citing Nix’s maturity.

“The part that was always different for me with Bo is I 100% always felt like every game I was walking on the field with another coach who just happens to play for us, and I think that’s where his maturity shows up,’’ Lanning said. “He’s seen a lot of things, knows a lot of things, and as much as any player is 100% dedicated to his craft.”

This speaks to Nix’s maturity, preparedness, and dedication to the game. These traits have already served him well in the game, and you can see in various interviews that Payton is absolutely giddy when discussing his young quarterback. Senergy between coach and quarterback is essential for sustained success in the NFL. 

Lanning punctuated his remarks on Nix by sharing his outlook on Bo’s first start in Seattle and how good he’ll fare in Denver in the long run.

“He’s going to go out there and bust his tail and perform,” Lanning said. “When it’s all said and done, Bo can be an absolutely great quarterback for the Broncos and I’m excited to see that all play out.”

Coach Lanning has lofty expectations for his former quarterback, but Nix’s goals for himself are even higher. Lanning felt that Nix was an extra coach on the field, and if that translates to the NFL with Payton, Denver will have found its new face of the franchise.

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With the major core of Oregon’s wide receivers most likely moving onto the National Football League after this season, the room is open for a key Duck recruit to commit.

Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden are seniors. Evan Stewart and Gary Bryant Jr. are juniors. All four have trending upward draft stock heading into the season. As for those key returnees, the sophomores Jurrion Dickey and Kyler Kasper should get more looks in 2025.

Four-star wide receiver Nae’shaun Montgomery in the class of 2025 has an opportunity to help replace those snaps next season if he chooses to head to Eugene. He will announce his college commitment on Aug. 25 between Florida, Florida State, LSU, Penn State, Alabama, and Oregon.

Montgomery, standing 6-2 and 185 pounds, is out of Miami Central, Florida. He’s ranked as the 33rd wide receiver in the nation, according to On3. It’s leaning towards him deciding to stay in his home state with Billy Napier and the Florida Gators.

Oregon co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Junior Adams knows the expectations are high for his group in the inaugural season in the Big Ten. The talent is there, it’s all about the execution now and not being selfish.

“The biggest thing to me that stands out is how connected we are. The room is super talented and everyone is about the people in that room. We talk about ‘we over me’. Each of those guys, they learn from each other and they hold each other accountable. It’s really cool to be a part of.”

– Junior Adams after fall camp practice

Tez Johnson will be the leading man for Adams on the outside. A lot is riding on Johnson’s shoulders but Adams knows he’s the man for the job based on what he’s seen this offseason.

“Tez is the guy this offseason where I would get random text messages at 7 o’clock in the morning or at night of clips of him in the mall doing a route break drill or doing releases. He’s doing a really good job of trying to master his release game and his route package. He comes into the building early, he’s studying film and getting his eyes right as far as coverage recognition.”

– Junior Adams on Tez Johnson

The competition between all the wide receivers is healthy for them. Adams is glad that his players understand that as well.

“When you do have a ton of talented players, we tell them to make it hard on us. They understand the deal too.”

– Junior Adams on competition

Dillon Gabriel’s decision to come to Oregon definitely had to do with the fact that he will have a ridiculous amount of weapons to sling the ball to. Not many programs in the country should have the top-notch air raid that the Ducks will.

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