Bump, set, spike. This trio of verbs is synonymous with volleyball, and hints at the ball-control system that the Oregon volleyball team plans to effectively execute this season.
“It starts with ball control first,” fifth-year head coach Carl Ferreira said. “Having an efficient ball-control system leads into offensive and defensive point scoring opportunities. We spent the winter training just purely on fundamentals, trying to lay down as powerful of a foundation as we could.
“I feel very good about how we’re executing our system and our players feel very comfortable operating under it.”
After winning their first four games this season, the Ducks have already accumulated more victories than they did in all of 2003.

Ferreira said he believes his resurging team is prepared to compete in the Pacific-10 Conference after finishing without a conference win in 18 matches and a disappointing overall record of 3-24 last year.
“I’m ecstatic about where the program is currently at,” Ferreira said. “We have fulfilled the short-term goals that were previously set and now our program is ready to succeed.”
The team goals for this season include: having an overall winning record, finishing in the top seven in the Pac-10, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and then advancing in the tournament, Ferreira said.
The Ducks have seniors Lauren Westendorf and Katie O’Neill to anchor the team in its pursuit of improvement.
“I call them the bookends — they are on both sides of the program,” Ferreira said. “They are the standard by which we function, and all the players embrace that.”
Westendorf became the first Oregon player since 1995 to be named Pac-10 Volleyball Player of the Week for Aug. 30 through Sept. 6. This season, she has already set a career high in kills (21) and earned Tournament MVP honors for the Oregon Classic in front of a home crowd.
“As a senior, my role is to lead this very young team to unprecedented territories,” Westendorf said. “My leadership style is much more of a ‘lead by example’ style. I feel like if I am playing well then I have every right as ask my teammates to do the same and to hold them to a high standard.”
Through the first four games, Westendorf recorded a team-high 70 kills and is on pace to shatter her total of 219 kills from last year. She said that the team is excited about its performance so far.
“We’re not even focusing on last year, we’re focusing on this year,” she said. “The four wins that we got are huge and it just shows us the potential that we have and everything that we have ahead of us this season.”

The two junior outside hitters, Kelly Russell and Jaclyn Jones, will carry leadership roles as well.
“In years past, we have had freshmen walk in and instantaneously change our program,” Ferreira said. “The program is at a higher level now.”
Westendorf, Kristen Bitter and Heather Madison brought some international flavor and a new dimension to the Oregon volleyball program after the three traveled to Italy this past summer to compete for U.S. teams in the Sibillini Tournament.
“The top players in our conference all seem to have international experience,” Ferreira said. “So we needed that element in order for us to succeed.”
Ferreira pledged that his team’s strongest quality is toughness.
“What you’ll see out of our program is a very high level of execution with superior toughness. You need this on the court. You can’t afford to worry about injuries or other personal issues,” he said.

Along with toughness and team chemistry, Ferreira said that his team finally has some depth. The two freshman acquisitions are the building blocks of a “farm system,” and unlike last year, the Ducks have a pair of seniors to lead the team.
Madison, who played in 75 percent of the games last year, will be the starting setter. She has already recorded a new career best in assists with 57.
A skillful group of outside hitters, led by Westendorf, will be laying the spikes down. Like in 2003, Russell will again have her eyes on leading the Ducks in kills. Sarah Mason, who earned Pac-10 All-Freshman Honors last year, will also return to the front lines with high expectations.
“I really like our attacking depth,” Ferreira said. “We were always looking for a higher level of point scoring and we now have the highest amount of depth since I’ve been here.”
Last season, Oregon had only nine home matches and began the season with three consecutive tournaments out of state. This year, the Ducks will play 17 matches in the state, 13 will be at McArthur Court.
“We wanted to spend as much time as we could in the state of Oregon,” Ferreira said. “For a young team that is a great thing to have. We want to play without fatigue; near our friends and family. Playing at home gives us a really good opportunity to generate momentum.”
The Ducks will play its first conference match at home when they host Oregon State on Sept. 24. Top-ranked USC visits McArthur Court on Oct. 22.

Steve Miller is a freelancer writer
for the Emerald.