Members of the Oregon volleyball team dressed up for the occasion. They gathered in the Stadium Club at Autzen Stadium. Food and drinks lined one side of the room.
The televisions were tuned to ESPNU for the official announcement of the teams receiving bids to the NCAA Tournament. When Oregon’s name appeared across the screen, the celebration was subdued and rightfully so.
Expectations have changed.
Excitement last season came from breaking through and making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1989. This season, Oregon expected to make the NCAA Tournament, leaving where the Ducks would play as the only surprise.
And it was a mild one.
Oregon had submitted a bid to host the first two rounds, but when it was official, the Ducks were headed for Manhattan, Kan., and a meeting with Missouri State in the first round.
“I think you worry more about the opponents than anything else,” coach Jim Moore said. “I’m not surprised. I knew we could go just about anywhere.”
Toward the end of Pacific-10 Conference play, there was a feeling the season could have gone in separate directions. Oregon was 16-9 overall and 5-8 in the conference following a three-game loss at California. Oregon returned home to Eugene and welcomed the Los Angeles schools to McArthur Court – both USC and UCLA were ranked in the Top 10.
The demanding schedule – always tough within the Pac-10 – could have led to another avalanche similar to last year’s seven-match losing streak and slid into the NCAA Tournament.
But Oregon surprised people. They upset then-No. 6 USC in four games and followed that with a three-game sweep of then-No. 9 UCLA. Oregon beat top-10 teams on back-to-back nights for the first time in program history.
Upsets have a way of creating momentum and giving a team a healthy dose of confidence. It fits Oregon’s belief that it can make an extended run through the NCAA Tournament.
“That was two big wins,” said freshman Heather Meyers, who was experiencing the selection process for the first time. “I think we made history.”
That they did. It led to a strong finish with four wins in the team’s final five matches. It gives the Ducks the momentum they lacked going into last season’s NCAA Tournament – the result was a three-game sweep at the hands of Hawaii.
The closing stretch captured the spirit of this volleyball team. The mentality has changed. Losing consecutive matches in past years had the potential of stretching into lengthy streaks that would ruin a season. This group, with a more relaxed approach, has been able to shake off a bad loss and focus on the next match.
Moore talked last season during that final stretch about a team worn down by a long season. That group mixed seniors from former coach Carl Ferreira and players brought in by Moore. This group remains fresh in a season that has gone by quickly.
“We have such high expectations and there’s been so many close setbacks, including Friday night,” said Moore, referring to Oregon’s four-game loss at Washington. “We’re so close and I think we just keep trying to find a way and we’re going to keep searching as long as they let us keep playing. We’re going to keep coming after that.
“I think that’s the only thing that’s made (the season) longer. Actually it’s seemed much much shorter this year than it did last year. I think it was with the seniors last year that I went 900 miles an hour and ran a little bit out of gas and it made it really hard. This year, it was like bang – all of a sudden we’re in November.”
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