A berth in the NCAA Tournament is a virtual certainty for the No. 15 Oregon volleyball team, but the Ducks still have plenty of motivation to finish the season strong.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4287&SPID=234&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205333444&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
Oregon has four games left in the regular season – a visit to No. 3 Cal and No. 5 Stanford this weekend and two matches with Oregon State next week.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=234&SPSID=4284@@ @@http://www.pac-12.org/SPORTS/Volleyball/Standings.aspx@@
If the Ducks sweep the Beavers and pick up at least one victory in the Bay Area, they’ll be in prime position to possibly host an NCAA Tournament regional, a distinction that’s awarded to one of the top 16 national seeds.
“To host we almost probably have to win one of these two and then we can’t have a letdown against Oregon State,” Duck coach Jim Moore said. “Every match from now on is huge.”
Beating either the Cardinal (20-5, 14-5 Pac-12) or the Bears (25-4, 15-4 Pac-12) will be no easy feat, however. When the teams met earlier this season in Eugene, Cal swept the Ducks and Stanford beat Oregon 3-1.@@http://www.gostanford.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2011-2012/wsu2.html@@ @@http://www.calbears.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2011-2012/29uw.html@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=234&SPSID=4284@@
The Ducks will begin the weekend by facing the Cardinal at 7 p.m. tonight. Although it doesn’t possess as many explosive offensive weapons as the Golden Bears, Stanford’s smothering defense and consistent play makes it a formidable opponent.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=234&SPSID=4284@@
“They are the best defensive team (in the Pac-12), in my opinion,” Moore said. “The way you judge who’s the best defensive team is you take hitting efficiency against and they’re the best in the conference in conference matches. They are an incredibly solid team. They’re the most disciplined team in the conference and they have enough weapons to put balls on the floor that make it real tough.”
Nonetheless, the two teams were relatively evenly matched last time out. The Cardinal’s held only slim advantages in hitting (.260–.189) and blocking (14–11). Time and again however, Stanford was able to exploit the middle of Oregon’s defense using the tip – a play in which a hitter delicately nudges the ball over the block in front of the back row – to rack up points in bunches. The Ducks, however, are determined to avoid a repeat.@@https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/790316.pdf?ATCLID=205313617&SPSID=4287&SPID=234&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
“(Defending the tip) really comes down to the floor defense and the off-blocker being ready,” Oregon outside hitter Alaina Bergsma said. “We’re going to try to make sure that doesn’t happen this game.”@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204880765@@
Conversely, Cal didn’t need any trickery to defeat Oregon last time the teams played. The Bears outscored the Ducks 75-57 in the three-set victory, outhit the Ducks .269-.042 and generally controlled play.@@http://www.calbears.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2011-2012/18ore.html@@
“They definitely have big outside hitters,” Duck middle blocker Savannah Paffen said. “They just have really athletic people on their team.”@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205157861@@
The premier athlete on a team stocked with premier athletes is Cal outside hitter Tarrah Murrey. Murrey, who had 19 kills and hit .340 against the Ducks earlier this year, is one of the top hitters in the nation. Oregon’s block will need to be more consistent to slow her.@@http://www.calbears.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/murrey_tarah00.html@@ @@https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/790065.pdf?ATCLID=205312988&SPSID=4287&SPID=234&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
“If you put up a solid block, you’ll get a lot of touches,” Paffen said. “She probably can hit over most blocks, but not every time. And if she gets a really good kill you just move on to the next play.”
Cal will be even more difficult to beat with the return of sophomore outside hitter Adrienne Gehan from injury. Gehan missed a month and a half after suffering a dislocated ankle in late September.@@http://www.calbears.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/gehan_adrienne00.html@@
“Now they have Gehan back,” Moore said. “That will help them a lot. They’re a team that was in the (NCAA Tournament) finals (last season) and all they did was replace their setter. Especially now they have everybody back.”
Oregon’s match with Cal will start at 7 p.m. Saturday.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=234&SPSID=4284@@