The Oregon women’s volleyball team will be on the lookout this weekend for a rare sighting in McArthur Court: fate.
As of late, the Ducks (7-6 overall, 0-5 Pacific-10) have not heard from the mysterious spiritual leader.
But now would be a good time for it to make an appearance.
If fate does make its way into McArthur Court for the two-game home stand against Arizona State and Arizona, it will likely not bring Oregon its first Pacific-10 Conference win easily.
In tonight’s matchup, Arizona State (11-4, 3-2) brings its undefeated road winning streak to Eugene with some momentum. Last week, the Sun Devils defeated No. 21 Stanford for the first time since 1993. Senior Amanda Burbridge recorded 24 kills, 18 digs and four service aces in the Sun Devils’ win and will look to make her presence known against the Ducks.
And that, on paper, is as easy as it gets for the Ducks.
On Saturday, No. 7 Arizona (12-1, 5-0) — the nation’s second-best hitting team with a .358 percentage — will enter Mac Court hoping fate is on its side for the 14th consecutive match.
The Ducks are well aware of the challenge that lies ahead if they wish to win in the Pac-10 for the first time since Nov. 5, 1999.
“We know we have to be more physical and compete hard,” senior Amy Banducci said. “We can’t wait for them to lose. We had those three five-game matches and a couple points here or there could’ve changed the outcome. We have to finish them off if we get ahead.”
Oregon will also have to contend with Arizona’s smashing tandem of Marisa DaLee and Allison Napier. DaLee’s .493 attack percentage leads the nation. En route to being named the Pac-10 player of the week, Napier combined for 37 kills and posted a .397 hitting percentage in the Wildcats’ victories over Stanford and California last weekend.
“Arizona State is always an overachieving, scrappy team and Arizona is a big, physical strong team,” first-year head coach Carl Ferreira said. “We’d like to beat these teams at home and then fight like crazy on the road.”
Ferreira said he wants to establish a true home-court advantage at Mac Court, with more fan support from the students and the community.
“Our first goal as a team is to win, but we also want to put out an entertaining product,” he said. “We want people to come out and watch us play and help us win. We want to create an electric atmosphere at home.”
Perhaps Oregon’s fate will be predicated in the stands.
On playing the final half of her collegiate career and trying to win the first Pac-10 game of the season, Banducci said she just wants to compete hard and reach some of the team’s goals.
“We just want to accomplish everything we can,” the 6-foot-1 outside hitter said. “There’s no time to make up. We just have to give it all we can and play hard. It is kind of sad because there’s not much time left, but it is a big challenge and we’re going to enjoy it.”