Oregon libero Katie O’Neil, seen here against Arizona, posted the third-best Pacific-10 Conference performance for total digs in a match with 43 in a losing effort to Washington State last week.
In 41 of the last 45 weeks, a Pacific-10 Conference team has occupied the top spot in the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 poll. Washington has been at No. 1 for the last five weeks.
During a televised match last week, the Huskies (19-0 overall, 11-0 Pac-10) were forced into a five-game contest and were nearly upset by Oregon State. The Beavers (9-11, 3-8) won the first game 30-20 and then overthrew the Huskies again in the second, 39-37, marking the first time Washington has lost two consecutive games since Dec. 13 of last year, when they dropped games against Minnesota in the NCAA Regional Tournament.
Washington was still without senior Sanja Tomasevic — a 2003 second-team All-American — during last week’s road trip but managed to stay undefeated.
A core of outside hitters picked up the slack and kept the Huskies two games ahead of their nearest Pac-10 foe. Brie Hagerty is averaging 4.81 kills per game through the last six matches, and she recorded 40 kills against the Oregon teams. The junior’s season average in kills is 4.10, which is third in the conference.
Senior Kaitlin Leck recorded a team-high 27 kills against Oregon State and added 12 against Oregon.
Fellow outside hitter Christal Morrison continues to post substantial numbers for the Huskies and is second in the conference in kills per game, averaging 4.32. The true-freshman phenom is the team-leader with 268 kills.
With one more victory Washington will reach its third consecutive 20-win season. The Huskies have recorded the most league wins since 1997, when they finished 13-5 in the Pac-10.
O’Neil digs into history
Oregon’s Katie O’Neil posted the third-highest dig total in Pac-10 history with 43 against Washington State at McArthur Court. The senior libero has 266 digs this season, which equals her 2003 season total. O’Neil needs 116 digs to break into Oregon’s top five list for digs in a season. She is fourth in the league in digs, averaging 4.93 per game, and has recorded 94 in her last four matches.
The Ducks (9-12, 1-10) recorded 242 attack attempts against the Cougars, which is the most this season by a Pac-10 team. In the match, Oregon’s Kelly Russell took 80 swings, the most taken by a Pac-10 player this year.
California dreamin’
California faces off against a team it has not defeated in 37 tries — UCLA — after it plays No. 4 USC. Coming into the second contest of the season against the Bruins, the Golden Bears hold an advantage in terms of national rank. California (12-7, 7-3) is No. 11 in the country, while UCLA (14-7, 7-4) has slipped to its lowest position of the season at No. 16.
Cal outside hitter Angie Pressey is only the second freshman to earn Pac-10 Player of the Week honors. The Heathrow, Fla., native contributed to the Golden Bears’ second five-game match and first victory against Stanford this season with 25 kills. She hit at a .327 clip against the Cardinal, took 52 attempts and committed eight errors. She collected 13 digs and three blocks as well.
Pressey leads the team with 4.09 kills per game, ranking fourth in the conference. Her 225 kills are second-best for Cal behind senior Gabrielle Abernathy’s 236.
On a negative note, Cal lost sophomore libero Jillian Davis after she suffered an ACL injury to her left knee during practice. The injury is expected to be season-ending. Davis’ average of 5.43 digs per game led the conference going into last weekend.
