Erin Little has seen both sides of the Oregon volleyball program. She experienced two years of losing under Carl Ferreira and two years on the rise under coach Jim Moore.
Little culminated her Oregon stay with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament at Long Beach State. Oregon lost in three straight games to Hawaii, but it gave the team an experience they can draw on for years to come.
The Victoria, Canada native enjoyed a career year for Oregon this season with 307 kills – third on the team – and 245 digs – also third for Oregon.
Oregon, as a team, finished 17-12 with the season-ending loss to Hawaii.
Last Sunday, Little took some time and talked to the Emerald about her Oregon volleyball career and her future plans.
Oregon Daily Emerald: What’s it going to be like to finish school and earn that degree?
Erin Little: Probably a shock. Just kind of figuring out what I want to do for my next step. I’m not really sure if I want to go on and do my master’s or my (human physiology) program or what the next thing is. I’m definitely going to go on and do more school so it’s not the end of the road.
ODE: What’s your degree in?
EL: A general science degree with a minor in biochemistry.
ODE: What are your tentative plans for post-college?
EL: I’m going to move home and work for a few months and then take off and go travel Europe probably for a few months, like early spring hopefully through the summer if I make enough money.
ODE: How long has it been a plan for you to try and go back to Europe? Are you going with friends?
EL: Tentatively, yes. But I guess it depends on whether or not they get into programs they’ve been applying for. It’s been my plan since pretty much freshman year that I wanted to take a year off at least from school and go travel and do something different and kind of see the world.
ODE: What kind of temporary job do plan to do?
EL: I’m going to try and look for something in the medical field, whether or not it’s just secretary work or lab work.
ODE: Is it going to feel different not having the structure of volleyball like you’ve had the last four years?
EL: Yes, definitely. I think I’ll probably try and find some of that myself, probably join different running groups or workout groups or pick up some fun sport with friends or do something so I have set practice times or what not because I miss being a part of something and so I definitely will probably seek out something to do at home.
ODE: What will fill out that competitive void?
EL: There’s not a lot of beach in Victoria but there’s a huge spring/summer grass league so I could probably see myself doing that with one of my other friends who I played volleyball with through high school and club. So I can see that for sure and then maybe actually soccer because I played soccer with kids growing up and there’s a few women’s teams around my house. It still kind of depends how much time I have and how work goes.
ODE: What has this spring been like, typically you’d be having spring individual workouts?
EL: It’s been hard. I’ve started working out again. I took a little bit (of time) off earlier this term and wasn’t really doing much. I’ve gotten back into running and I’m probably actually going to end up working out at the Cas when they do the running nights and different stuff so that I still kind of have that structure and build in that workout time in my day.
ODE: So when will you actually go back to Victoria?
EL: I’m actually here for summer school. I have two labs I have to take this summer, but I finish like August 16 and then I think me and my parents and my family are going to stay down for a week and maybe rent a cabin on the coast or something and just kind of hang out. So probably near the end of August I’ll be back in Canada.
ODE: How much did the team’s success this last year mean to you to finish out your career here?
EL: A lot. I think it made it a lot harder to leave ’cause not only was I leaving amazing girls and good coaches but then I was also leaving the future. I look at them now and I’m like ‘Oh my gosh, they’re so much better already and you don’t even have any newcomers in.’ So it just makes me wish I had another year to kind of see where everything goes.
ODE: Was it important to be a part of the turnaround while you were still here?
EL: Yeah, I think so ’cause … it’s a lot easier to be like I spent three years working my butt off and it paid off and like I can actually see the results, whereas if things had happened next year even though I knew I would have been a part of it cause I worked hard and I helped bring in good recruiting classes and stuff. It’s not the same to know that it was you personally that did it.
ODE: How did coach Jim Moore help change the way you viewed volleyball, the way you viewed winning?
EL: I think it was refreshing in the sense that he was really competitive, but at the same time really understanding, and I think he can read his players really well. I feel like he knew me really well and my personality, and so I felt like he was able to coach me well ’cause he could tell when I needed a kick in the butt or when I really just needed someone to support me and kind of more be there for me. I think he made it fun again. He took a lot of that stress off that I don’t know if I was necessarily putting it on myself or what, but he kind of just changed the way I looked at it and got back to the fact of just thinking ‘it’s a game and you just figure out how to win it and that’s all that really matters.’
ODE: Describe what the experience was like at the NCAA Tournament at Long Beach State? (Oregon lost to Hawaii in three games, 17-30, 17-30 and 18-30).
EL: Very nerve-wracking. It was hard just ’cause we hadn’t been there ever before and have no experience and it was just an eye opener. I will always think of that last game and hate it every bit, but at the same time I think that if I was here next year I would remember that forever and that would be such a good driving force and I think it is for the girls still there. I think that just having that opportunity will put them above other people.
ODE: What was your reaction when you learned you were going to the NCAA Tournament? Did you always feel like you were going to get in?
EL: Kind of relief. I thought after beating Washington State the second time, I thought we were in but we had that rough stretch kind of the last few Pac-10 games and so actually hearing it and knowing that it was done was just kind of a major relief.
ODE: You’ve experienced a lot in the last four years. What are you going to really remember when you look back at your time at Oregon?
EL: The girls, mostly. Just how close of friends I’ve made. I think just being able to know that everyone goes through hard times and that’s just life and to really push through as much as possible.
ODE: What was your welcome to Division I volleyball moment when you first arrived?
EL: I think it’s even the first Pac-10 game as a freshman. I was so nervous. I don’t even remember who we played, but I just remember being completely in awe of everyone.
ODE: Do you see yourself playing competitive volleyball again in the future?
EL: I don’t know. I love it and I guess I would never say no ’cause if the opportunity arrived then I would definitely jump at it but I don’t know necessarily if it’s something that I’ll really really actively pursue.”
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