The scene looked rather bleak for Oregon’s two seniors last Friday.
It was the end of their careers in a home volleyball uniform, and they had just been thoroughly beaten in front of friends and family.
But that didn’t matter to a group of about 30 young fans, who eagerly waited outside the women’s locker room of McArthur Court, hoping to catch a final glimpse of Halie Mazza and Amy Banducci.
The mob, swarming Banducci as she made her first appearance after the match, waved pamphlets and posters in hopes of taking home some autographed memorabilia.
For Banducci, this is what it’s been all about during her four years in a Duck uniform.
“The fans here are great. It’s always nice to see such friendly faces after a match,” said Banducci, a Malibu, Calif., native. “That was one of the biggest reasons I decided to come here.
“I had a little girl tell me that she was me for Halloween, and that was the nicest feeling in the world.”
While they haven’t had as much success as they would have liked, the two seniors said playing Division I volleyball has been a tremendous experience.
“It’s been a great learning experience for me,” said Banducci, who has played in 386 out of 398 total games in her four-year career. “I’ve endured a lot … and I have no regrets.”
Mazza, the team leader in blocks and attack percentage, transferred from Texas-Arlington after her sophomore campaign, despite leading the squad to a 24-7 overall record and a conference championship. Texas was just not the place for her, she said, and the decision to come home was not a difficult one.
“I wasn’t a happy person in Texas,” the 6-foot middle blocker from Hood River, Ore., said. “I’m very happy I came here. I’ve enjoyed the time here, especially with my teammates, who I am definitely going to miss.”
A new volleyball life under first-year head coach Carl Ferreira’s system has not been an easy adjustment for the team, but Mazza and Banducci have helped mold the team into a potential conference contender in the years to come.
“Players spend a lot more time with each other than they do the coaches,” Ferreira said. “You need the upper-division kids to believe in the philosophy. [Mazza and Banducci] have put a blind trust in me, and they haven’t complained about anything.”
All season, Ferreira has said that the team follows in the footsteps of its upper-division leaders — primarily Banducci and Mazza. The added pressures of having to carry the team mentally took some adjustment for the duo in the beginning of the season, but their leadership has netted the Ducks their best season in four years (10-15 overall, 2-14 Pacific-10 Conference).
“I think we’ve come a long way and are more consistent leaders now,” Mazza said.
Additionally, a strong support for each other on and off the court has molded their leadership skills.
“We get along really well,” said Banducci, who is eighth on the Pac-10’s active digs list with 642. “We’ve come a lot closer and understand each other better. We help each other out a lot … and are able to laugh at each other on the court and be competitive at the same time.”
In the final Pac-10 road trip of their careers, Banducci and Mazza are looking to upset one of the top programs in the nation tonight — No. 21 Stanford (15-11, 8-8). They will finish the regular season Friday at Berkeley.
“I want to go out with a win,” Banducci said.
In the first two conference matches of the season, the Ducks took both the Cardinal and Cal to five games.
“Considering the amount of effort they put in, I really want to win just for them,” Ferreira said.