Days after the No. 13@@http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/volleyball-women/d1/avca_coaches@@ Oregon volleyball team’s season ended in a disappointing five-set loss to Colorado State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Ducks (21-10, 14-8 Pac-12)@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4287&SPID=234&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205341102&DB_OEM_ID=500@@ are still struggling to come to grips with the way their season ended.
“We were really disappointed. We’re angry,” Oregon head coach Jim Moore@@CE@@ said. “We’re very angry. We knew, and we felt, it was not a match we should have lost.”
In so many words, that was the story of Oregon’s season. After missing the NCAA Tournament last year, a much-improved Duck squad never grew accustomed to the role of being a favorite this season.@@weird sentence@@
“We just need to handle being the team that is expected to win better,” Moore said.
“I don’t think we like being frontrunners,” Oregon outside hitter Alaina Bergsma@@roster: http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=234&SPSID=4285@@ said. “I don’t think we really have that attitude of ‘this will be easy.’ I think we want things to be hard.”
When it was supposed to be hard, the Ducks flourished. That was never more apparent than in the season opener, when Oregon stunned then-No.1 Penn State,@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=234&SPSID=4284@@ the first of numerous Duck wins over higher-ranked opponents.
In late October, Oregon beat then-No. 7 Washington 3-0.@@see previous@@ A few weeks later, the Ducks topped then-No. 1 UCLA 3-2,@@see previous@@ their second victory over a top-ranked opponent this season. The Ducks reached their season peak during the following weekend when they beat a pair of top-five opponents — Cal and Stanford — on the road. Oregon’s victory over the Cardinal was only its second ever at Palo Alto in program history.@@changed from first: http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4287&SPID=234&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205335697@@
“We had several big wins,” Bergsma said. “I think no one expected us to beat Penn State, and we did that, and we’re always going to have that. No Oregon team, in any sport, had ever beaten two No. 1 teams in the same season.”
Yet for all of the impressive upsets, Oregon endured several stumbles against inferior opposition.
In the Ducks’ first match after their emotional victory over the Huskies, Oregon lost at home to Utah, which won only five other conference games all season.@@http://utahutes.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/sched/utah-w-volley-sched.html@@
A few weeks later, after road wins over Cal and Stanford elevated the Ducks into the top-15 nationally, a loss at Oregon State — which won just 8 of its league games@@changed from 37 (8 divided by 22): http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/w-volley/sched/orst-w-volley-sched.html@@ — curtailed the Ducks’ momentum.
“I think some of the negatives were the inconsistency@@number agreement?@@ and not being able to show up time in and time out,” Oregon libero Haley Jacob@@roster@@ said.
Perhaps some of that inconsistency will be remedied next year with the addition of a banner three-person recruiting class that Moore called “physically the best class I’ve ever recruited, anywhere.”
Recruits Madison Magee,@@http://dailyemerald.com/2011/11/15/oregon-volleyball-announces-recruiting-class-inches-toward-ncaa-tournament-berth/@@ Canace Finley,@@see previous@@ and Martenne Bettendorf@@see previous@@ should provide an infusion of athleticism and skill once they arrive in Eugene over summer.
“There’s a lot more that they can bring,” Moore said. “(Canace) can touch 10-foot-9, so physically there’s a lot she can bring. And Martenne, all three of them can touch as high or higher than our highest touch right now, so that’s huge.”
That trio should also give Oregon much-needed depth at several key spots.
“There will be a lot more competition for positions next year,” Moore said. “Just tons more competition. And that will help tremendously.”
Oregon hopes its early tournament exit will fuel its offseason preparation, for both the returning players and incoming recruits. While the Ducks lose only one player from this year’s roster (reserve outside hitter Lauren Gross),@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=234&SPSID=4285@@ key contributors Katherine Fischer, Kellie Kawasaki, Bergsma and Jacob will all be seniors next season.@@what about Milica Krstojevic? http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=234&SPSID=4285@@
“You’re always trying to get better, trying to work harder and I know for myself and for some other people we do only have this chance,” Jacob said. “Hopefully that will not only motivate us but people coming in.”