The fog has shown up in Oregon, and right on cue, the Bay Area schools are paying a visit to McArthur Court this week.
Stanford and California are on the schedule this week, but Ogonna Nnamani will attempt to attract all of Oregon’s attention.
The Cardinal (17-6 overall, 9-3 Pacific-10 Conference) possess a roster that features two high-caliber outside hitters. Stanford, currently ranked No. 11 in the nation, has devastated many of its under-prepared opponents with Nnamani, a senior and an Olympian, and sophomore Kristin Richards, the 2003
Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.
“Stanford has probably the two best left-side hitters in the country,” Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said. He said Nnamani and Richards could be the most talented “one-two punch” in the history of collegiate volleyball.
Based on previous observation, Ferreira estimated that Nnamani has one of the most explosive vertical leaping abilities in women’s volleyball which has allowed her to hit over blockers and made her one of the Pac-10’s all-time kill leaders.
Oregon lost to Stanford in three games during its last matchup but managed to hold Nnamani to 14 kills on her home floor.
“It felt like we detained her and that was a pretty big feat,” senior libero Katie O’Neil said. “I hope we can do it again.”
“We’re just going to do what we can to commit (the block) on her and try to channel the balls cross-court.”
O’Neil believes she has adapted to Nnamani’s cross-court style of attack, but she said facing Nnamani can still be overwhelming with not as many powerful hitters in the league this season.
Ferreira said of Stanford: “I think they block well and they sideout extremely well. You know (an attack) is coming and it’s still very difficult to defend.”
Cal (12-9, 7-5) is coming in with a two-match losing streak that was the result of an injured libero and a missing setter. Oregon took one game from the No. 14 Golden Bears in the teams’ last meeting on Oct. 15.
Sophomore setter Samantha Carter is ranked second among Pac-10 setters, averaging 13.52 assists per game. Carter holds the school record for assists in a single season (1,555). While she served a one-match suspension against USC, sophomore setter Meredith Hasson collected 51 assists in her first career start.
Senior Camille Leffall has 402 blocks in her career, which is second on the league’s active-career list behind USC’s Emily Adams.
“They are actually a more balanced team than Stanford,” Ferreira said. “Their five attackers have the ability to get kills and they are just a very tactical team.”
The Ducks will need to record a higher kill percentage and a lower error count than their opponents, according to Ferreira.
“We need to get into a sideout rhythm,” he said. “That’s how you keep the score close and force the opponent into unforced errors.”
Seniors’ seasons near
their final moments
The 1,000 career-digs mark is in O’Neil’s reach, but achieving that goal is not embedded in her game plan. She has posted 924 digs in her four years with the Ducks.
“I don’t approach games thinking about (statistics),” O’Neil said. “Really, I just play to my best ability each night. If that ends up panning out, I would be so happy because that’s a big goal, but I don’t focus on it. This year, I have just relaxed with my defensive style, and it’s ended up benefiting me.”
O’Neil is aware this will be the last home game of her and Lauren Westendorf’s careers.
“It’s highly emotional for me,” O’Neil said. “The team has been great. We have been really conscious of this being our last home weekend. It’s all really sad, but at the same time it has amped us up this week.”

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