The world of Pacific-10 Conference volleyball can be a fickle place sometimes.
Take former Sam Barlow High School coach Terry Folen’s case, for instance. The former mentor to Oregon freshman Jodi Bell was on the losing side when the Ducks defeated Oregon State last Friday. You see, Folen’s daughter, Nikki Neuburger, is a junior libero for the Beavers.
Kind of a touch of irony, isn’t it?
“I think (Bell) was definitely a huge part of the win,” Folen said. “She made all the difference against Oregon State.”
Without a doubt, Bell, a Boring native, has had a major impact on the Ducks this season. One of four freshmen to put on an Oregon uniform, she has contributed to the tune of a team-leading 727 assists and 25 service aces, good for second on the team.
Yet, Bell’s story is not one of finding talent when reaching the collegiate level. She has been one of the most consistent high school performers in the state of Oregon for the past four seasons, helping lead Sam Barlow to consecutive state runner-up finishes in 2000 and 2001.
On a personal level, Bell has received the recognition that naturally follows the type of talent she possesses. In 2000, as a junior, she was the 4A Player of the Year. Then, after last season, Volleyball Magazine named her one of its Fab-50 athletes in the nation.
“I thought that without my teammates, I couldn’t have gotten on that Fab-50 list,” Bell said. “There’s
no possible way I could have done it by myself.
“It was reassuring to know that I was one of the top-11 setters in the country. That’s always nice to have because I’ve worked at it for the past nine years.”
Bell’s dominance on the high school court led to a spot on the Nike NW Juniors Volleyball Club last season. While Bell was there, Jim Hartner, director of operations for the club, had a chance to watch her play.
He had nothing but good things to say about her.
“Physically, she’s just a gifted volleyball player,” he said. “When the match gets down to crunch time, she’s a gamer. During our club season, no matter who we played, Jodi’s game went up.”
It came as no surprise to Hartner that Bell has started a majority of matches for the Ducks this season, despite playing in the Pac-10, a conference not normally kind to freshmen.
“She was a starter since she first walked on to a volleyball court,” Hartner said. “I think she could’ve started at 95 percent of the schools in the country.”
For Bell, the starting spot has been welcome, although a bit of a surprise. Especially because the Pac-10 is a cut above the rest of the nation and is a definite adjustment from high school.
“I didn’t even have the first thought in my mind that I was going to start,” she said. “It’s a big-time commitment here. I practiced every day in high school, but it’s nothing like practicing here. At practice, you give your 110 percent every day, and if you don’t, then we’re not giving to our teammates what we need to be doing.”
When Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira was recruiting Bell, he saw in her a set of intangibles that he knew would carry over well to the college game.
After all, when you take your team all the way to the state championship two seasons in a row, you’re going to have that winning attitude.
“She has a tremendous feel for the game,” Ferreira said. “She walked into the front door with that. She has a great feel of how to make her hitters better.”
Actually, Folen believes that Bell could be the cornerstone of a group of Oregon freshmen — which includes Kelly Russell, Dariam Acevedo and Jaclyn Jones — that could take the Ducks to the next level.
Ferreira “needs to get more of those kinds of players,” Folen said. “She can definitely be someone who can assist in turning the program around.”
For Bell, that couldn’t come soon enough. After enjoying a winning program at Sam Barlow, she has been thrust into a program that has not had a winning season since 1990.
“I think it’s tough on everyone,” Bell said. “It’s frustrating to be working every day so hard having just the strain on your body, both mentally and physically, and then just not having the outcome you want.”
Hartner has called her a “gamer,” Ferreira believes she is “legit” and has the “intangibles” to succeed, while Folen said “she is definitely a spark for the team.”
No matter how you put it, Bell is a major Pac-10 talent. And there’s no better place for her to strut her stuff than at Oregon.
“We are so young right now, and it’s just reassuring to know how good we’re going to be,” Bell said.