Oregon’s first two-match home stand against Pacific-10 Conference
opponents this season was flooded by the Arizona schools during the weekend. The Ducks also witnessed the
intentions of back-to-back league
victories and overall offensive
production collapse.
Two young volleyball squads invaded McArthur Court, and Oregon could only claim one game in two matches.
The Arizona Wildcats were victorious in their second straight league match as they swept the Ducks 30-26, 30-16, 30-14.
On Friday night, Arizona State earned its first league win of the season in a 3-1 match against Oregon, 30-19, 30-21, 28-30, 30-25.
Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said he and his players were surprised with the lack of focus and the excessive amount of miscues this weekend.
“Our effort was great and our preparation was great,” Ferreira said. “There was no indication in practice that
said we were going to have an off
weekend.”
Arizona (10-6, 2-4 Pac-10) — ranked No. 21 in the nation — held the Ducks to a .000 hitting percentage and a total of 56points through three games on Saturday, both season lows.
Oregon (9-6, 1-4 Pac-10) showed intensity in its attack, but hit at a .067 clip. Oregon’s attackers hit more attack errors (18) than kills (15) in the second and third games, resulting in a negative .042 average.
“Our hitters were trying, so it was not a lack of effort,” Ferreira said after Saturday’s loss. “I didn’t think we played like we have been playing earlier in the year.
“The players that have been scoring points on a consistent basis somewhat struggled this weekend. I think we got impatient, and when you can’t score points, it’s a frustrating thing.”
Outside hitter Sarah Mason
tallied 12 kills for Oregon and has hit double-digits in kills in all five
Pac-10 matches.
Arizona’s Meghan Cumpston led all attackers with 18 kills, the 18th ending the match. Junior Kim Glass posted her fourth double-double in six matches with 15 kills and 11 digs.
“If you go from arena to arena, you’ll never see another Kim Glass,” Ferreira said. “She’s as good of an athlete as there is. Their opposite player Megan Cumpston played significantly better than we had anticipated.”
“(Arizona’s) conference record is not reflective of the caliber of program they have. They came out very
balanced.”
Senior libero Kelli Mulvany posted a game-high 18 digs. Arizona’s net players had 14 block assists on the night.
Arizona State (7-7, 2-4 Pac-10) started the downhill trend this weekend for the Ducks with a small roster and a big win on Friday.
“Our team is so interesting right now,” Arizona State head coach Brad Saindon said. “We only had 11 players on this trip — seven of them are freshman — so it’s a really young team.
“Both teams were playing hard and we were fortunate to get out of there with a win.”
The Sun Devils had three players record double-digits in kills and digs. Four attackers had at least 10 kills.
Mason had a team-high 14 kills for the Ducks, and junior Kelly Russell followed up with 13. Freshman middle blocker Karen Waddington posted a personal-best 11 kills. Oregon had 35 attack errors compared to the Sun
Devils’ 20.
Senior libero Katie O’Neil set a new career-best in digs with a match-
high 27.
Arizona State fed its attack down Oregon’s throat. Nina Reeves focused on hitting down the center of the court and led the Sun Devil attack with
16 kills.
Libero Sydney Donahue led Arizona State’s defense with a team-high
24 digs.
Russell revived the faith of the crowd and displayed Oregon’s all-or-nothing attitude with a monstrous kill to win the third game.
Each team had 12 service errors, but Arizona State earned an 8-5 advantage in aces.
O’Neil said this weekend was one the Ducks need to forget and
learn from.
“You could definitely see some lack of mental focus,” O’Neil said. “I think it was an off weekend in general.”

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