Hand work precedes success.
Rewards come with success.
The process of rebuilding comes after success.
The Oregon women’s club volleyball team is looking to skip the rebuilding process and get right to work on a strong showing at this year’s national tournament.
The Ducks have a hard act to follow, coming off back-to-back National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association championships, defeating Purdue in 2001 and Miami-Ohio in 2002. They’ll also have to make up for the loss of seniors Carli Halligan and Annie Pogue, who played for the varsity program from 1998 through 1999. Halligan was voted tournament MVP in 2002, while Pogue received MVP honors in 2001.
The Ducks return three players from last year’s team. Senior Jessica Mae Van Ourkerk, junior Nina Bakos and sophomore Christina Chun bring experience to a relatively young squad that features five freshmen.
“The last couple years, we’ve had a really good team,” said Van Ourkerk, who is entering her fourth year on the team. “(Nationals) were really intense.”
First-year head coach Donna Goode said the Ducks have some work in front of them if they’re going to compete for the title.
“We’ve got talent,” Goode said. “(But) compared to last year’s team, they have some room to go.”
The Ducks play in tournaments when they arise, but don’t have a regular league schedule of games. They saw action Sunday at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, where they placed 3rd in a 12-team tournament. The Ducks will receive a test in the Far Western tournament in Davis, Calif., Feb. 16 and 17, where they will face other NIRSA competition. This year’s NIRSA national tournament will be held April 10 through 12 in Columbus, Ohio.
Van Ourkerk, a 5-foot-6-inch outside hitter, said the Ducks need to focus on building team chemistry, which comes from spending as much time together on the court as possible.
“We have talent, we have experience, we just don’t have the chemistry yet,” said Van Ourkerk, a graduate of South Eugene High School. “It’s not something you can just fix.”
Women’s volleyball is one of the most competitive club sports available, and with that comes competitive tryouts. Goode said about 30 athletes showed up on the first day. Freshman Meghan Griswold described the experience as “nerve-wracking.”
“I went in with no expectations,” Griswold said. “I didn’t expect to make the team. It was exciting just to get a call back after the first day.”
Griswold, a 5-foot-10-inch right side, said she didn’t know about the Ducks’ past success until after she had tried out, but found it a pleasant surprise that expectations were high and things were taken seriously.
Freshman Kim McNally said past success was a big reason she tried out and she hopes this team can turn things in the right direction.
“I was hoping that we would be just as good or better (than past teams),” said McNally, a 5-foot-11-inch middle blocker. “In our (Gresham) tournament, we showed a lot of improvement. Now we’re working as a team instead of a lot of individuals.”
After losing as much as the Ducks did in the way of personnel, many teams would lower expectations and say it’s time to rebuild. The Ducks, on the other hand, are keeping goals high and looking to reload rather than rebuild.
“Once we get to nationals, people are going to be gunning for us,” Goode said. “Even if we’re not the same team, we’re still Oregon club, and people want to beat the champs.”