In its first dual meet of the season, the Oregon sand volleyball team will travel to Portland, where the Ducks earned two of their three wins last season.
Oregon will square off against Washington at the Eastmoreland Courts in Portland tomorrow at 11 a.m.
“We’re pretty excited to play,” head coach Stacy Metro said after Friday’s practice at South Eugene High School. “You get tired of practicing. … The returners know what’s going on. The newbies will have to learn very quickly.”
The Ducks and Huskies met last season on the same court. Oregon won 4-1, winning at positions two through five.
Everyone, including the seniors, is adjusting to the change of pace of sand volleyball.
“I have learned so much, just from the few tournaments that we had last year,” senior Liz Brenner said. “I feel much more comfortable doing it a second time.”
Many of the freshmen will be competing in the sand for the first time, but that doesn’t worry Metro, who says freshmen learn quickly after their first taste of sand.
“We’ll see how some of them react,” Metro said. “Their competitive nature in some of them will come out more than they think it will.”
This year marks the second full year of sand volleyball at Oregon. Last year, it became the 20th varsity sport at Oregon and the Ducks went 3-8 in their first campaign. Freshman Frankie Shebby said with more experience, the team can begin to set goals and expectations once everyone feels comfortable with the changes the game presents.
After their first dual meet, the Ducks will be back in action next weekend in the Bay Area, playing in the Stanford tournament against Stanford, St. Mary’s, California and Cal Poly.
“A lot of people are looking forward to the season. It’s a lot of fun doing something new, rather than being in the gym every day,” Brenner said. “I think it’s a good switch up and we still get to play volleyball.
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