For the first time in at least a season, the Oregon volleyball team is in a position where each player feels she controls her own destiny.
That wasn’t the case against Stanford last weekend, but against California — a weaker but still quality opponent — the Ducks’ talent carried them to the end.
Against Oregon State tonight at McArthur Court, the Oregon players truly feel that if they can play up to their potential, they will gain their first Pacific-10 Conference victory since 2000.
“Oregon is going to be key,” senior Lindsay Closs said. “As long as we run our system we’ll be the better team on the night.”
The Ducks (10-8 overall, 0-4 Pac-10) ended a five-match losing streak with a victory over Portland on Monday, a win that not only boosted Oregon’s confidence, but put them at the 10-win plateau for the first time since the 2000 season and just the third time in the last seven years. Oregon has not achieved 11 wins since 1996, a year in which it finished 11-20 overall and 3-15 in Pac-10 play.
The Ducks have an uphill battle to gain back the respectability that they have not enjoyed since making the NCAA tournament in 1989.
Oregon has won just once in the last five Civil War contests, but overall the Ducks have dominated the all-time series, 52-32-1.
Last season, the Beavers dominated on the McArthur Court floor for a three-game sweep, but in the next match at Gill Coliseum, the Ducks clawed their way to a 3-1 loss.
But history be darned, Oregon is looking at the match as just another contest.
“We’ve talked about each week, how it’s a separate entity in and of itself,” Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said. “You take one match separate from the other. We use that as we grow for the next opportunity.”
The Beavers, also winless in Pac-10 play, are looking to compete in the same manner as Oregon. A record of 5-3 in non-conference play has been dulled by Oregon State’s (5-7, 0-4) slow start in conference play and just getting a win could be a big boost.
“As a competitor, the only time you can truly get down on yourself is when you don’t compete well,” Oregon State head coach Nancy Somera said. “Our challenge is to stay focused on the process, not the outcome. It’s hard when you’re not winning, but it’s what will give us opportunities to win points, games and matches.”
Oregon State, which competed in the NCAA Tournament last season, does not have the same firepower as a year ago. Yet senior Nikki Neuburger, junior Laura Collins and sophomore Allison Lawrence return and comprise a potent offensive trio.
The Ducks know of Oregon State’s dominance in previous Civil Wars, but are in a position to compete on a more personal basis. Ferreira has focused in the past on playing Oregon volleyball and not worrying about an opponents’ style of play.
Now, after a hard loss to Stanford and a convincing win over Portland, the Ducks have an opponent that could be at the mercy of their talent. Oregon and Oregon State match up well, and like Ferreira knows, the team that wins will be the one that plays to its own strength.
“We’ve truly got to dictate the tempo of the match by winning the serving and passing game,” he said. “That’s the key. We’ve got to play defense to create point scoring opportunities. We’ve got to side-out to score points and minimize our unforced errors. If we do that, we’ll win the match.
“Emotionally, it’s pretty simple to get up for this match.”
The battle of the winless begins
at 7 p.m.
Contact sports reporter Hank Hager at [email protected].