Oregon
Nebraska Volleyball Sweeps Oregon in Eugene
A high-powered new addition to the Big Ten Conference met the same fate as many before them.
No. 2 Nebraska (23-1, 13-0 B1G) volleyball continues their dominance in the conference with a sweep of No. 12 Oregon (17-5, 9-4 B1G), 25-12, 26-24, 25-18. That makes for 20 consecutive wins and 17 sweeps on the year.
The Huskers dominated the first set, holding the Ducks to negative hitting. The second set needed extra points, but the Big Red prevailed late partially due to one of several correct challenges from coach John Cook. The third set saw Nebraska slowly pull away to take the victory.
Thursday was the second straight match to involve the Huskers and set an arena’s attendance record. Oregon’s new record of 8,566 is nearly 1,200 more than previous record set last year.
Facing one of the better blocking teams in the nation Nebraska hit .278 with 44 kills, 14 errors and were blocked seven times. Serving and defense were on full display as well with four aces, six blocks and 52 digs for the Huskers who out-dug the Ducks 52-38.
Harper Murray and Taylor Landfair led the way, both hitting over .400 with double figure kills. Murray with 14 and 10 digs on .414, Landfair with 13 and two blocks on .407.
Merritt Beason and Andi Jackson chipped in six kills each while Bergen Reilly added three of her own to go along with 33 assists and nine digs.
With her first dig of the match, Lexi Rodriguez took sole possession of second place in career digs in Nebraska volleyball history. The senior Libero finished the match with 14 digs.
Olivia Mauch continued her masterful play from the service line with two aces.
Mimi Colyer led the way for Oregon with 52 swings and 13 kills as the Ducks broke out a 6-2. Cook told the Big Ten Network after the match that he expected Oregon to go away from the 6-2 after being dominated in the first set, but the Ducks stuck with it an kept the next two sets much closer.
The Pacific Northwest road trip continues as Nebraska will face the Washington Huskies Saturday. That will be another late match, with first serve set for 9:30 p.m. CST.
Box score
Set 1: Nebraska took a 4-0 lead, but Oregon fought back to tie the score at 6-6. Back-to-back kills by Murray, two by Landfair and one by Jackson made it 11-6 Big Red. Landfair added three more kills and a block with Allick as the Huskers built an 18-8 advantage. After Oregon scored three in a row, a service error by the Ducks preceded an ace by Mauch, a block by Allick and Beason and a kill by Murray that made it 22-11 Huskers. A kill by Jackson and a solo block by the sophomore middle blocker gave the Huskers a 25-12 win. NU hit .476 in set one and held Oregon to -.031.
Set 2: Oregon led 8-6 when Murray and Jackson pounded kills, and Murray served an ace for a 10-8 Husker lead. Reilly dumped a kill before Beason tallied another to make it 13-10. But the Ducks ran off three straight points to even the score at 14-14. After a Husker timeout, Murray tooled a block and the Ducks hit long twice to put NU back in front, 17-14. The Ducks rallied to tie the score at 19-19, but Jackson terminated a kill and Allick and Landfair combined for a block and a 21-19 advantage. Landfair ended a long rally with a kill to make it 22-20, but the Ducks came right back to even the score at 22-22 after a kill and a Husker hitting error. After an NU timeout, Landfair posted her eighth kill, but Colyer answered for the Ducks. The Ducks then hit long to give NU set point, 24-23, but a kill by Oregon tied it 24-24. Oregon hit wide to give the Big Red another set point chance, and Murray ended the set at 26-24 with her ninth kill.
Set 3: Oregon led 6-4 when Kennedi Orr served a 4-0 run to put the Huskers up 8-6. Reilly dumped two kills, and Allick and Landfair each posted one. After Oregon tied the score at 8-8, Landfair earned a sideout kill and Reilly served an ace before an Oregon error made it 11-8. The Ducks came back with a 3-0 run to make it 11-11, but Beason terminated and Mauch served her second ace before Oregon hit wide for a 14-11 Husker edge. After an Oregon timeout, Reilly set Beason for back-to-back kills, and Allick and Beason stuffed a Duck attack for a 17-11 lead. After Oregon got within 17-13, Allick recorded a solo block, and three Murray kills put the Huskers up 22-15. Nebraska finished off a 25-18 win with three kills by Landfair.
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The good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
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