Team win-loss records can be deceiving.
Take California for example. The Golden Bears, the No. 10 team in the country, visit McArthur Court Thursday night winless through three matches in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Look closer at their recent schedule though and all three losses came against top five teams, including No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 USC and No. 5 UCLA.
Game TimeOregon vs. California When: Thursday, 7 p.m. Where: McArthur Court |
Oregon coach Jim Moore realizes this and is preparing his team for a hungry Cal squad. The Ducks face the Golden Bears this Thursday at 7 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports Net. The broadcast will be tape delayed and is set to appear on Fox Sports Northwest at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7.
The Ducks were able to cushion what could have been a devastating five-game loss to Washington in the last homestand with three consecutive wins against Washington State, Arizona State and Arizona.
The latter two wins – both on the road – provide a boost going into this week’s matches, Moore said.
“I think that was very important for us, especially after losing to Washington the way we lost to (the Huskies),” Moore said. “It was crucial.”
Cal, visiting at 10-4 overall, 0-3 in conference, pushed Stanford and USC to four games and UCLA to five. The Golden Bears bring powerful hitter Hana Cutura back to McArthur Court for the first time since she visited last fall and recorded a career-high 28 kills and six total blocks with a .386 hitting percentage. She leads the current Cal team with 160 kills – 35 more than the nearest teammate.
Stanford begins its Oregon trip with a stop in Corvallis. The undefeated Cardinal have taken on 10 teams currently or formerly in the top 25. Stanford’s biggest test this season was a five-game match with No. 3 Penn State.
The Cardinal feature a trio of players with more than 170 kills, including Alix Klineman (189), Foluke Akinradewo (176) and Cynthia Barboza (176). The junior Barboza, who also may be the most recognizable, overcame a torn anterior cruciate ligament she suffered as a freshman and set five single-season Stanford records as a sophomore.
This season Barboza, along with her kills total, leads the Cardinal with 16 service aces and is second in digs with 141.
Veteran perspective
Oregon’s two wins in the desert – the first time the Ducks beat both schools since 1987 – was “really really good for everybody” Moore said but held extra significance for Karen Waddington and Katie Swoboda.
Waddington is Oregon’s lone senior and the last individual to have played under the last coach Carl Ferreira in fall 2004. The team went 10-19, 1-17 in the conference. Swoboda, a junior, joined the program the following year – Moore’s first in Eugene. That season, Oregon went 12-18, 1-17 in conference.
Last season, the Ducks made large improvements with a 17-12 record – 7-11 in conference – and culminated with an NCAA appearance. This season, Oregon is off to a 14-2 start, 3-1 in the conference and No. 19 in the country.
Waddington has perspective of both sides – winning and losing – and Moore asked her to help everyone on the team know what she and the program’s gone through to get to this point.
“I think that is very important to have everybody understand where we came from,” Moore said. “We don’t want to dwell on it, but we want to make sure everybody does understand.”
Moore, who has revitalized programs at Northern Michigan, Kansas State and Chico State among others, has also shared his experience.
“I try to give that perspective all the time because it’s not easy and it’s not going to be easy and we’re going to have to fight for everything we get,” Moore said.
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