Earlier this month while putting her team through the preseason paces, Oregon beach volleyball coach Stacy Metro took a moment to reflect with assistant coach Matt Ulmer.
“We’re lightyears better than we were two years ago,” Metro said.
Ulmer agreed, but exactly how that’ll translate to the upcoming season remains to be seen, Metro said. She’s not quite sure how the Ducks — in their third year in one of the country’s emerging sports — will stack up against their 2016 schedule yet.
“I think we’ll at least be more competitive,” Metro said.
The Ducks finished last season 2-6, knocking off Cal Poly and Oregon State. But Oregon was swept by Pac-12 powers Washington and Arizona.
Last September, the NCAA changed the sport’s name from sand volleyball to beach volleyball, issuing in new rule changes and making it the newest NCAA sport.
“That makes it one of the fastest emerging sports in the history of the NCAA. That’s kind of neat,” Metro said.
Metro said the sport becoming NCAA certified means the adoption of a rule that limits changes to the opening weekend lineup.
“Our movements will be very limited, so we have to make smart decisions when we start the first weekend,” Metro said.
Oregon opens the season on April 2, when it hosts a tournament in Portland. The Ducks will welcome Stanford, Boise State, and the University of Portland.
“I think we’re better than we have been in the past,” Metro said. “We have some people coming back.”
Those returning include Liz Brenner, who will split her time with track and field, and junior Kacey Nady. Metro said she anticipates the duo will play in the No. 1 spot this season.
“She just beats you like someone who’s been out there for 20 years,” Metro said of Brenner. “She knows what she’s doing.”
The team will also add its only beach-only player, but Metro declined to name her because she has not yet been certified.
Because the program doesn’t yet have the resources to recruit student-athletes to solely play beach, much of the preseason is spent adjusting to playing on the sand on the courts at South Eugene High School.
“It’s something different and something new for them to wrap their heads around,” Metro said of the adjustment. “They like the game. We’re excited from that standpoint.”
After the opening weekend, the Ducks will head to the Bay Area for matches against Cal and Santa Clara, planned for April 8.
The Ducks will spend the remainder of the weekend in the Stanford tournament April 9-10 playing Cal, Arizona State, Saint Mary’s and Stanford. The team will play Portland again on April 12 and Washington in Seattle on April 16 before heading to Los Angeles for the inaugural Pac-12 Championships on April 28-May 1.
Metro said she’s looking forward to having freshman indoor standout Lindsey Vander Weide competing for the team.
“It’ll be great, especially for Lindsey, to learn how to communicate with a partner, because the coaches can’t talk while they’re playing,” Metro said. “It’ll be learning the game on a different level.”
Frankie Shebby, who played primarily in the No. 4 spot last season, will not compete for the Ducks this season. Metro declined to elaborate, directing the question to indoor volleyball coach Jim Moore.
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