The first half of the Pacific-10 Conference volleyball season is over, and the Ducks are staring at a goose-egg for the fourth time in the last five years. At 8-12 overall and 0-9 in conference play, Oregon has a dismal record, but is not necessarily a dismal team.
“If you eliminate the outcomes and look at it, I still think we’re one of the top 50 programs in the country,” head coach Carl Ferreira said.
There have been positives, such as the emergence of Lindsay Closs and Stephanie Martin in their first year with the program, but there have also been the negatives. Because this team is young, more mental mistakes are made than most would like.
As a group, this team has talent. But what has been most important is its ability to forget about the last match and deal with the current opponent. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been done.
“It’s kind of defining in terms of the character of the kids on this team,” Ferreira said. “To be emotionally down, it’s very easy to have a fragmented emotion after some of the outcomes that have happened.”
After 20 matches, here is the mid-season review of the Oregon Ducks.
Offense: Senior Monique Tobbagi and juniors Closs and Martin have been the soul of the team and have accounted for most of the Oregon offense. Tobbagi leads the team with 249 kills, and Martin is close behind at 236. But more importantly, Closs and Martin have been the sparkplug of the offense, which has been dismal in recent years. It hasn’t been good enough to get an Oregon conference win, but it is on the rise. Grade: B+
Defense: All hail Lindsay Murphy! The sophomore has been stellar for the Ducks, recording 178 digs on the year, good for almost 2.5 per game. Tobbagi, proving she is an all-around excellent player, is second on the team in digs, and has backed up Murphy in virtually every game. As a team, though, Oregon often looks confused when attempting to stop the opponent, and with the exception of a loss to Gonzaga on Tuesday, has looked worse in recent matches. Grade: C-
Coaching: Ferreira’s second year as Oregon taskmaster has not been how he would have envisioned it, but by all means, it is not completely his fault. His players love playing for him, and believe in the system he has set forth. One major change he has implemented this season is the move back to the one-setter offense. Last season, senior Julie Gerlach and junior Sydney Chute shared the floor but were unable to make the offense move. This season, Chute has been the primary setter, opening up an additional spot that has been well-used in the team’s offense. Grade: B-
Mental Approach: A young team is one that is hard to control when it comes to thinking about the match and not just playing in it. Two mental errors that have plagued the Ducks involve net errors and service errors. Often, when on a major run, the Ducks have a net violation, taking their momentum away. The same is true for service errors, which often keep the Ducks from establishing their offense. Grade: C
Overall: Again, this year’s squad is a young team, but there is often no excuse for a winless first half. However, in the stacked Pac-10, any squad not currently in a volleyball hotbed (e.g. Washington, Oregon, Cal) will have trouble competing with the Stanfords and USCs. But the Ducks have let some wins slip out of their hands, especially in non-conference matches against Idaho State and Gonzaga. Instead, they should be 10-10 overall. Grade: C