The No. 6 Oregon volleyball team (14-3 overall, 3-2 Pacific-10 Conference) takes its show on the road this weekend, traveling to the state of Washington to take on conference opponents Washington (13-3, 4-2) and Washington State (7-10, 0-6).
It’s a big weekend for the Ducks, who play Washington tonight in Seattle. The Huskies, who at No. 7 are the slight underdogs in the rankings, haven’t lost to Oregon in seven years. The last time Oregon defeated them was Nov. 9, 2000, in Eugene, and Oregon won in four sets.
“They’re a great team,” head coach Jim Moore said. “We’re No. 6, they’re No. 7. They’re at home, and if someone (were) to put money on the game it wouldn’t be on us, and that makes sense when you consider tradition.”

None of the players or coaches will say it, but there is a lot of pressure on them to beat the Huskies. The stigma of not having beat them in seven seasons is enough to get under their skins, but after last year’s heartbreaking loss to them in five sets in Eugene, these Ducks want another crack at them.
Oregon will face a stiff challenge from the Huskies’ talented lineup, including 2007 All-Pac-10 Freshman setter Jenna Hagglund. In last week’s sweep of No. 8 UCLA and No. 11 USC, Hagglund had two double-doubles, recording 56 assists and 25 digs against UCLA and 57 assists and 11 digs against USC. For her efforts, Hagglund was named Pac-10 Player of the Week and AVCA National Player of the Week.
Joining Hagglund are 2007 AVCA All-Americans Jessica Swarbrick and Tamari Miyashiro. Swarbrick, a middle blocker, was chosen as a second-team All-American, and setter Miyashiro was a third-team All-American.
“Washington has always been good,” junior Sonja Newcombe said. “But if we take care of our side of the net we will be fine.”
After losing to Washington in early November of 2006, the Ducks went on an eight-game slide that included a one-and-done in the NCAA tournament against Hawaii. Last season’s match against the Huskies saw Oregon win the first two sets 30-28 and 30-26 before dropping the final three. The loss was immediately followed by a three-match winning streak and a Sweet 16 appearance.
This year’s squad is a completely different one, not because they have different players, but rather in terms of experience. They are no longer the Oregon Ducks who haven’t been to the tournament in 24 years, nor are they the Ducks who fly under the radar.
These Ducks are ranked No. 6. That alone means no one will take them lightly.
“The Pac-10 coaches are too good to do that,” says coach Moore. “We aren’t going to show up and play them and have them go, ‘Oh, you’re good.’ They know, and that’s the challenge.”
Some might even consider the No. 6 ranking more a curse than a blessing. With the media and national attention, the team now has to work with the pressure of being the team everyone is gunning to beat. But in reality, it’s just a number, Moore says. All but a few of the coaches who vote haven’t even seen Oregon play.
“Sometimes you just have to work on your side,” Moore says. “You have to focus on the play that’s in front of you and just let the other stuff go.”
The Ducks will have an off-day before travelling to Pullman to play the Cougars on Sunday. Coach Moore is 5-1 against Washington State, and outside of Oregon State, Washington State is the only school that Oregon has more wins than losses against in the history of the Pac-10 at 36-32-1.
The second matchup against the Cougars poses less of a problem for the Ducks, but Moore doesn’t want to take anyone in the Pac-10 for granted. He says they’ve been focused on preparation.
“That’s why football has the saying ‘win the day,’” he says. “You just have to get yourself as prepared as possible and go out and play hard, and if we can score more points then we’ll be happy.”
The match against Washington starts at 7 p.m. tonight, and first serve against Washington State is 1 p.m. Sunday.
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