In Oregon’s 4-2 Flex offensive system, setters Sydney Chute and Julie Gerlach have capitalized on their need to be more aggressive for the volleyball team.
This season, the duo has combined for 236 kills, compared to just 75 during all of last season.
Head coach Carl Ferreira’s scheme requires the setters to open their options and understand opponents’ positioning.
“Their knowledge of the game has improved tremendously,” Ferreira said. “They’re very intelligent and they know how to read a defense, which is something neither of them were doing at the beginning of the season.”
According to Chute, watching film and communication on the floor has helped the setters become more of an offensive threat.
With another six Pacific-10 Conference matches remaining on the schedule, Gerlach and Chute have already combined for 651 total attacks. Last season, they tallied a total of just 201 attacks.
“Julie and I have put in the extra effort,” said Chute, who is also averaging 6.27 assists per game. “In this offense, we have to be more aggressive and more physical.”
Still chuggin’ away
Oregon’s nine victories are the most since 1997, and one more win will post the Ducks’ first double-digit win total since 1996 (when the Ducks were 11-20 overall).
“We’ve learned so much more this year,” Chute said. “We know we can play with these teams and beat them. We haven’t won all the games that we want, but at times it is apparent that we can beat almost anyone.”
The Ducks’ sole Pac-10 win was at Oregon State on Oct. 20. The team is on its way to Arizona today to face the Sun Devils Thursday and the Wildcats Friday.
A block in the road
Coming into this season, the Ducks knew their biggest deficit was going to be their physicality — or lack thereof. Senior Halie Mazza has been the only consistent blocker for Oregon, although sophomore middle blocker Amanda Porter and freshman Alisha Stevens have made major contributions off the bench.
The Ducks are last in the Pac-10 in total blocks, averaging just 2.15 per game.
“Blocking is always a factor; it’s the first line of defense,” said Mazza, who leads the Ducks with a 0.95 blocks per game and is second with a .315 hitting percentage. “You can definitely struggle without a good blocking game. But we’ve worked on defense a lot, and our attitude is that nothing’s going to fall.”
Who’s on top?
No. 3 Southern California and No. 8 UCLA face off in a cross-town rivalry Friday in what could decide the Pac-10 crown. With three weeks remaining in the conference schedule, the Trojans (19-1, 12-1) are tied with No. 4 Arizona (19-2, 12-1), while the Bruins (11-2, 16-5) sit just one game back.
Earlier this season, on their home floor, the Women of Troy defeated UCLA 3-1.
“This game is huge,” UCLA senior middle blocker Elisabeth Bachman told the Daily Bruin. “The top of the Pac-10 rest on this game. They are our cross-town rivals, which helps us focus on wanting to beat them more.”
Arizona will travel to Los Angeles to face USC and UCLA in two weeks.
