The momentum has changed. The confidence is fading.
But not completely.
After being swept by both No. 4 USC and No. 8 UCLA this weekend in McArthur Court, the Oregon volleyball team (9-12 overall, 1-11 Pacific-10) is still hungry for more.
Which is something that the Ducks aren’t used to.
“This doesn’t damper our spirits,” head coach Carl Ferreira said. “We’re still fighting for some of our goals. In the past, this team may have lost their confidence already, so this is definitely a good sign.”
A few years ago the struggling Oregon program would most likely be thinking about the next season, in hopes of more success. This team, however, is only getting better.
“It’s almost November, and to be as passionate as we are right now says a lot about this team,” Ferreira said.
Junior outside hitter Monique Tobbagi said by this time last year, the program had all but called it quits. This time around, though, the Ducks’ mentality remains strong as the season comes down to the final stretch.
“I honestly feel that we can beat a top-25 team,” Tobbagi said. “We just need to work on consistently executing our game plan and sustaining a high level of play.”
The consistency that the Ducks needed this weekend was nowhere to be found.
On Friday night, Pac-10 leader Southern California (19-1, 12-1) rolled into Eugene and quickly rolled out with a victory.
Oregon did not go down easily, however.
“Against the number four team in the country, you have to give yourself an opportunity to win,” Ferreira said. “And heading into this match, I think our emotional confidence was tremendous.”
But the talent level was obviously heavy on the visitor’s bench.
In a match that lasted just 90 minutes, the Trojans’ Jennifer Pahl led her team with 12 kills and a .529 attack percentage en route to a 15-8, 15-9, 15-4 sweep.
“Good teams have the ability to wear you down. If they push on your shoulders long enough, you’re eventually going to sit down,” Ferreira said.
In the crucial game two, Oregon took a 5-2 lead, but USC quickly came back to tie and take the lead after four service errors by the Ducks.
“We were up in game two, but good teams make it hard for you to execute,” Ferreira said. “We played well, but we needed to squeeze out a little more in order to win.”
Tobbagi and senior blocker Halie Mazza each had 10 kills, but as a team, the Ducks were held to a .071 clip.
“You have to pass very crisply to beat the fourth ranked to in the country,” Ferreira said. “We needed to play at about an eight-plus or nine tonight, and I think we were at about a six-plus or seven, which is still good volleyball, but not good enough.”
While Saturday’s contest was a match between the Ducks and UCLA (16-5, 11-2), it should have been subtitled “The Kristee Porter Show.”
While tallying 22 kills (13 in game one), three blocks and three aces, the Bruins’ junior hitter made the Ducks look like falling targets in her team’s 15-9, 15-10, 15-7 win.
“She is a pretty special kid,” Ferreira said. “Sometimes you just wonder ‘how can she get that?’”
For Oregon, setter Sydney Chute posted a .526 attack percentage on 10 kills, 19 assists and eight digs. Mazza committed just one error on 15 total attacks, while senior Amy Banducci had six kills and five digs.
“I like the way we’re executing game plans, but at some point we’re going to have to make some big plays,” Ferreira said. “Against these top teams, you are able to find out where you’re at. It’s good for us to measure ourselves against these top teams. The fact that you have to play high level matches gives you the opportunity to have high level confidence.”
The results were the same, but the Ducks said they performed much better this time around than when they faced the two teams in Los Angeles.
“We showed what we could do, and that’s nothing to be ashamed about,” Banducci said.
In hopes of brighter outcomes, the Ducks head to Arizona later this week to take on No. 5 Arizona and Arizona State.