McArthur Court is going to be the center of volleyball in Oregon on Sunday, when the No. 24 Oregon State Beavers (12-5 overall, 1-3 Pacific-10 Conference) take on the No. 7 Oregon Ducks (13-3, 2-2).
For the first time in the history of the Civil War, both teams are ranked at the same time, and bragging rights aren’t the only thing on the line.
The Beavers come off a five-set victory over then-No. 4 USC, snapping a 22-game losing streak to the Trojans. The next night, they took then-No. 5 UCLA to five sets before losing 15-11. It’s a huge turnaround for a program that went 3-15 in Pac-10 play last year and 10-20 overall.
“OSU is a lot better team than last year, and they are going to want to kick our butts because we’ve beat them the past two years,” sophomore Heather Meyers said. “But I think with how things went last weekend we have a huge boost in confidence.”
That boost is the new ranking and two important wins over top five teams. After beating then-No. 4 USC and then-No. 5 UCLA last weekend, the Ducks ended up as the seventh-ranked team in the country on Monday afternoon. Add on Pac-10 Player of the Week and National Player of the Week awards for junior Sonja Newcombe, and Oregon volleyball has been vaulted into the spotlight.
After beating UCLA last Friday, Newcombe said she just wanted to prove that the team belonged with the conference’s elite programs. Now the crux of the matter is how they deal with the added expectations.
“With success comes greater expectations,” senior Katie Swoboda said. “We want to improve on what we did last year.”
Newcombe agrees, and added it was only two games.
“We have to work on being more consistent,” Newcombe said. “Coach (Jim) Moore said it was only two wins, and you can’t let up in our conference.”
As for her awards, Newcombe says it’s more a reflection on how her team played than herself.
“Obviously I couldn’t have received the award without my team,” she said. “The defensive play of Katie (Swoboda) made it all happen. This is a huge honor for our team.”
But the Pac-10 season is 18 games, not four. Like head coach Jim Moore said, it’s only two games, and his team needs to continue to play hard. None of the players or coaches are taking them for granted, in light of their recent success. Assistant coach Tina Johnson-Lockhart said rivalries are special cases where everything is thrown out the window.
“We are just going to have to play really tough,” she says. “When you play your in-state rival it doesn’t matter about the record. You throw it out. The Beavers are feeling really confident. They beat Wisconsin earlier in the year, then turn around and beat USC and then go five with UCLA.”
If the record of the rivalry under Head Coach Moore is any indication, OSU will want to prove Oregon isn’t the only team in the state that can play volleyball. The Ducks own a 4-2 record in the Civil War, and have won the previous four matches dating back to the 2005 season.
Swoboda says there’s excitement along with the expectations. “We both had great weekends, so it should be a very fun match,” she said. “The Civil War is a great rivalry, and we always have a big turnout of fans. They’re a good team, we’re a good team, and we’re ready.”
Oregon State is led by junior Rachel Rourke. Last year she was the only Beaver to be named as an All-Pac-10 performer, and her 4.39 kills per game average is the all-time best in school history. Last week against USC she had 24 kills, and 20 against UCLA.
Rourke’s ability has garnered respect from the Ducks, and although Newcombe says she hasn’t paid a lot of attention to Oregon State outside of what they have seen in practice, she remembers Rourke from last year.
“She’s a hard-hitter, and we have to be ready for that,” Newcombe said.
One thing is sure: No matter what the Beavers bring, the Ducks will be ready.
“Playing in the Pac-10, you pretty much have to be on your A-game every time you go out there,” says coach Johnson-Lockhart. “You can’t take anything for granted.”
Senior Gorana Maricic explained it’s about focusing on their own side of the net.
“We have to work hard for every hard team and in the Pac-10, including Oregon State,” she said. “We just have to worry about us. It’ll be hard.”
The match starts at 12:30 p.m. at McArthur Court.
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