WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Oregon volleyball team earned a split of its weekend road trip with a five-set win over ninth-ranked Purdue (23-25, 25-23, 25-16, 18-25, 17-15) Saturday evening in Holloway Gym in West Lafayette, Ind. The Ducks saved a pair of match points on their way to a third ranked victory this season, two of those coming on the road.
A B1G five set win in West Lafayette for @OregonVB ?? pic.twitter.com/U21q8dNOkV
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) November 16, 2025
With the win, Oregon improves to 15-11 this season with a 6-10 tally in Big Ten play.
The team is back home this coming week, beginning Wednesday when it hosts No. 17 USC (7:30 p.m., BTN) at Matthew Knight Arena. Click HERE to buy tickets.
Freshman Alanah Clemente led all players with a match-high 25 kills while hitting .340 against the home Boilermakers. She added seven digs, three blocks and two aces including a key service winner down the stretch of the fifth set. Clemente was joined in double figures by Valentina Vaulet şi Sophia Meyers at 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Both UO outside hitters also hit over .300 in the match.
The Ducks registered a season-best .338 hitting percentage behind a career-high 59 assists from senior setter Cora Taylor. Saturday marked the team's fifth match of the year at .300 or better. Taylor also had eight digs, four kills and an ace.
In another career-best effort, freshman libero Reese Sheppard picked up a match-high 19 digs. Meyers added 11 digs of her own to complete her third double-double of the season.
How It Happened: In the decisive fifth frame, the Ducks jumped out to a 5-2 lead before Purdue (22-4, 13-3 B1G) rattled off six of the next seven to lead 8-6 at the side switch. The score was later tied 10-10 but the Boilermakers used a surge to go ahead 13-10 after consecutive kills from Kenna Wollard.
Oregon got a point back on a Purdue service error which got Clemente back to the service line. The UO freshman put in a tough serve that resulted in a down back to the Ducks which she eventually killed out of the back row. Purdue called a timeout with a one-point lead but out of the huddle, Clemente lined a serve down the line for an ace that tied the match at 13-all.
The teams traded the next four points including a kill from Iva Sucurovic to fight off the first match point for 14-14. Facing a second match point, the Ducks benefitted from an error Purdue serve to tie the score at 15-15. Looking for a bigger block, head coach Trent Kersten subbed in Marlee Arrington for Taylor and was immediately rewarded when she teamed with Holley McFadden for a block and match point.
On the ensuing rally, the Ducks—with Taylor still on the bench—got a free ball after a Purdue scramble. Meyers took the second contact and set Vaulet who produced the match-winning kill to seal the victory. Vaulet, celebrating her birthday Saturday, now has 20 outings this season with double-digit kills.
B1G WIN IN WEST LAFAYETTE??#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/edNXtLT6Et
— Oregon Volleyball (@OregonVB) November 16, 2025
Sucurovic finished the match with eight kills (.357), three digs and two blocks.
After dropping the opening set, Oregon took a 13-9 lead in the second after back-to-back aces by Vaulet. The Ducks maintained a lead of at least three points and arrived at set point at 24-20. Purdue answered with three in a row to cut the Ducks' lead to one and force Kersten to call a timeout. Clemente provided the final blow in the set to get UO on the scoreboard.
The Ducks controlled the third set from the start, hitting .452 and tallying 17 digs in the frame. Using the momentum from the previous set, Oregon raced out to an 11-5 advantage. Purdue got to within three—UO leading 17-14—but the Ducks reeled off the next six points to create some cushion, and on a second set point, Oregon turned to Clemente to got a kill for the 2-1 match lead.
In a reverse of the third, however, it was the Boilermakers who got off to a quick start in the fourth and led 7-2 to force an early UO timeout. The Ducks seemed to steady and pulled to within three, still facing an 11-8 deficit, but Purdue put together a decisive 6-0 run to take full control of the set. Oregon saved a set point before the home team sent the match to five.
Grace Heaney and Wollard led Purdue with 21 and 20 kills, respectively, followed by Akasha Anderson with 12 kills.
Notable: Oregon snapped Purdue's nine-match winning streak … third win of the season after losing the first set, and first time doing so in Big Ten play … first win of the season when allowing the opponent to hit over .300; Purdue out-hit Oregon, .342 to .338 … first top-10 road win since 2023.
For more news and information about Oregon Volleyball, follow @OregonVB on Instagram and Twitter, and @OregonVolleyball on Facebook.
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