Oregon volleyball players greeted news of their inclusion to the Top 25 AVCA poll with mixed feelings.
Recognition is nice. Continuing to win and earning an NCAA Tournament bid would be even better.
“I’d rather be unranked and win,” Erin Little said. “Ranking doesn’t do anything for you.”
Monday’s release placed Oregon at No. 24, behind No. 23 New Mexico State and ahead of No. 25 Ohio State.
“It’s a great thing for our program, but as a team we understand that rankings mean nothing,” middle blocker Kristen Bitter said. “Really, where we’re concerned is with postseason play.”
Coach Jim Moore thought Oregon deserved to be ranked after beating then-No. 8 California two weeks ago. Oregon had been undefeated in non-league and lost to the same teams the Golden Bears did.
“It was a little anti-climatic, but it’s nice,” coach Jim Moore said. “It helps in recruiting and confidence, etc. But in reality it means nothing. We know that. We got to take care of business on what we need to do on the court.”
Oregon can secure another win tonight with a match against Washington State set for 7 p.m. at McArthur Court. Friday night, Washington, tied for second in the Pacific-10 Conference, arrives for an 8 p.m. showdown.
“Washington is just a big game for us,” Little said. “It’s about continuing to learn how to play and compete in the tournament and learning how to beat teams like that because those are the types of teams we’ll meet in our playoff.”
First up is Washington State. The Cougars are sitting in eighth place after losing home matches to UCLA and USC. Washington State’s top hitter, sophomore Brittany Johnson, leads the Cougars with 3.99 kills per game. Adetokunbo Faleti is close behind at 3.66.
The next is Washington. On its road trip to Seattle, Oregon took the first game before falling in four games. Washington is ranked No. 4 in the Top-25 poll and is on a seven-match winning streak. Washington’s powerful combination consists of the conference’s kills leader Christal Morrison and Stevie Mussie, who average 4.78 and 3.83 kills, respectively.
“It’s going to a tough weekend, but it will be a good weekend,” Bitter said. “They’re both good teams – very different from each other so we’ll have to prepare well for both games.”
Drawing new recruits
Where the ranking’s importance is magnified is in recruiting. The recruiting class of 2007 is complete and already Oregon has a recruit committed for the 2008 class.
“Kids seeing us in the Top-25 helps,” Moore said. “Players want to go where you’re going to be successful. We’re incredibly lucky to have Sonja (Newcombe) here. She wanted to go someplace where she was going to have a chance to win.”
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