Oregon sand volleyball coach Stacy Metro didn’t flinch when she had to add Marine Hall-Poirier and Roni LaPierre to the Ducks’ lineup at the Stanford Tournament at the last minute, April 10.
Though the duo hadn’t practiced together, Metro felt confident in them. It paid off. Hall-Poirier and LaPierre took down their opponents from Cal Poly, Stanford and St. Mary’s, while losing to Cal’s duo in the No. 5 position. Their performance against Cal Poly helped the Ducks to a 3-2 win, their first of the season.

“Our chemistry helped,” Hall-Poirier said. “We’re kind of the same type of player. Neither of us are super offensive. We actually compliment each other really well.”
Hall-Poirier and LaPierre sat down and talked before the tournament began to assure each other that they were on the same page, even if tensions were to run high.

“Even when we got in slumps, neither of us got mad with each other,” Hall-Poirier said. “We’re supportive even when we’re in down streaks.”

The duo, new to sand volleyball like the rest of the team, takes tips from their fellow Ducks to improve. They’re both excited for the future of the sport, as sand volleyball will be a NCAA championship sport next season.

“We’re learning from everyone else,” LaPierre said. “Each group of girls is different with their game. We’re taking parts of their game and adding it to ours.”

Oregon’s other pair that had success at Stanford was Frankie Shebby and Natalie Bookout Gonzalez. They went 4-0 on the weekend.

“We kind of went out there like we need to win all these matches,” Shebby said. “It doesn’t matter how we do it. We needed to get it done.”

Shebby said she can rely on Bookout Gonzalez’s speediness to dig out any balls she might miss while she’s defending the net. Shebby doesn’t have to worry about getting back, as they cover a large court in sand that can be hard to maneuver.

Shebby said that playing a sand volleyball match is more strenuous than indoor volleyball.

“It’s a lot easier on your body for jumping, so there’s pros and cons of both,” Shebby said. “I think having sand is a break from indoor and all of that activity. I think this is very helpful.”

The Ducks will return to the sand tonight against Oregon State in Corvallis in hopes of another win.

“Some of them are a little frustrated, those that haven’t won,” Metro said. “For those that have won, each time they play, they learn the game a little bit more.”

Metro hopes to motivate her team and help them from getting discouraged, because everyone is in the process together.

“They really find a sense of relief when they go back indoors and start playing,” Metro said.

Going forward, Metro believes the sport will continue to change. Pac-12 schools Arizona, USC and California have begun recruiting players specifically for their sand volleyball teams, though Metro said Oregon is not quite there. She says it’s a one-step-at-a-time process.

“I think the kids we have coming in for the next couple of years will learn sand,” Metro said. “They have the talent.”

 Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne