Volleyball sets the pace. Those who came to Matt Knight Arena for the previews weren’t disappointed, as Oregon’s volleyball team swept Washington State 25-20, 25-21, 25-12 to move to 15-1 on the year. @@http://www.addictedtoquack.com/2012/10/13/3497528/oregon-volleyball-sweeps-wsu-25-20-25-21-25-12@@The win came on the heels of Oregon’s first loss of the year, a thrilling 3-2 loss to No. 7 Stanford. Students on hand for the volleyball game stuck around for free pizza before Matt Knight Madness got underway.
Even more impressive was how Oregon followed up the routine Pac-12 win.
On Saturday, Oregon handed No. 2 Washington its first loss of the year. As the nation’s last unbeaten team, the Huskies came out fired up. But Oregon crawled back from a 11-7 deficit to win the set and carry momentum into the second. The Ducks would hold on 3-1 to move to 16-1 on the year. Their 7-1 mark in conference plays leaves them tied with Washington at the top of the standings.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205711529@@
“This one we really wanted to win,” senior Alaina Bergsma said after the game. “We always like beating Washington at home, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s one game, and we have to come out and play every weekend.”
The Pac-12 remains the sport’s toughest conference in the country. After No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Washington comes Nebraska, followed by No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 Oregon, No. 6 USC and No. 7 UCLA. That, of course, will all change with Monday’s new poll. Expect the Ducks to leap Washington in the standings and give Stanford a run as well.
Artis takes dunk contest. Oregon freshman Dominic Artis@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205412041@@ showed Matt Knight Arena why he was so heavily recruited out of high school this year with two perfect 10s during Saturday’s slam dunk contest. The 5-foot-11 point guard’s vicious windmill jam helped stave off teammate Ben Carter for the win. Senior running back Kenjon Barner, The Duck and Cooper Mullens (son of athletic director Rob)@@true@@ judged the contest.
Artis was a four-star recruit out of Valencia, Calif., who originally committed to UCLA. But after the Bruins scooped up another point guard in 6-foot-8 Kyle Anderson, Artis decommitted and re-explored his options. He also fielded an offer from Cal before settling on Oregon one year ago.
New kids on the block. While Duck fans got their first look at Artis in green and yellow, he wasn’t the only fresh face on the roster. After a busy offseason, Oregon fields a much different team than the one that made a run deep into last year’s NIT. Head coach Dana Altman@@correct@@ has invested in the future with seven freshmen this year, after having  just two on the roster in 2011.
The Ducks also said farewell to five departing seniors, including guards Devoe Joseph and Garrett Sim who sparked the team’s run down the stretch last year.@@http://oregon.247sports.com/Article/Devoe-Joseph-and-Garrett-Sim-made-their-summer-league-debuts-80707@@
If all goes according to plan, Oregon will also get a boost in December or January when two-way athlete Arik Armstead finishes his responsibilities with Chip Kelly and the football team. The defensive end is currently gearing up to see his gridiron playing time expanded with starter Isaac Remington suspended indefinitely after a DUII.
A scrimmage of sorts. The final event of the night was the intra-team scrimmage. With no refs on hand, the players coached themselves and played fast, loose and fun. Carlos Emory @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205185541@@and Artis both showed flashes of greatness, but the highlight of the scrimmage was senior E.J. Singler’s entertaining color commentary.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=3748530@@
On the horizon. The men’s team begins its season with an exhibition game against Concordia on Oct. 29, and the women’s team starts the season with an exhibition game against Southern Oregon on Oct. 30. Full schedules can be found here.