Erik R. Bishoff 124 Photographer
With the loss of senior Lauren Westendorf, junior outside hitter Kelly Russell, along with her 144 kills, will set the pace for Oregon’s attack this season.
With the loss of senior Lauren Westendorf, junior outside hitter Kelly Russell, along with her 144 kills, will set the pace for Oregon’s attack this season.
There are currently six Pacific-10 Conference volleyball teams listed in the top 20 of the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. Eight Pac-10 squads have winning records, which isn’t surprising considering many collegiate coaches view this league as the toughest conference in the nation.
for Ducks
Senior outside hitter Lauren Westendorf’s promising season — 182 kills and 29 service aces in 36 games — came to an end when she tore the anterior cruciate ligament of her right knee in the second game. Westendorf will have the opportunity to petition the Pac-10 and NCAA committee for a medical redshirt, but that result is unlikely because the former Pac-10 Player of the Week has played in more than 20 percent of the games this season.
The Ducks had four outside hitters finish with double-digits in kills against the Beavers: Sarah Mason, 19; Erin Little, 13; Kelly Russell, 11; and Westendorf, 11. It’s the first time that has occurred this season.
As the team MVP in 2003, Russell played in all 91 games for Oregon and posted the team-high in kills with 278. She is expected to be the Ducks’ leading attacker once again.
Mason earned Pac-10 All-Freshman honors last season. The 6-foot-3 sophomore is third in total kills (138). Little, also a sophomore, will see more consistent play and her responsibilities will increase with the loss of Westendorf.
The undefeated Huskies are ranked No. 2 in the nation, behind the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They sit atop the Pac-10 conference standings after a successful road trip that included a five-game upset of defending national champion USC. In the process, Washington has held its opponents to a .116 hitting percentage.
The Huskies’ streak of consecutive games won was broken at 24 by UCLA.
Outside hitter Sanja Tomasevic was selected as the Pac-10 Player of the Week for the second time in her career. She posted a combined 45 kills (5.00 kills per game), 26 digs and nine blocks against the Bruins and the Trojans last weekend. As a senior, she leads her team in kills (149).
Washington (10-0, 2-0 Pac-10) hosts Oregon for its home-opener on Friday, followed by Oregon State on Saturday.
Stanford (9-2, 2-0 Pac-10) has won its last six matches prior to Tuesday’s showdown at Saint Mary’s .
Senior Ogonna Nnamani leads the league with 216 kills this year. Nnamani and sophomore Kristen Richards combine for 9.27 kills per game, the most by any pair of outside hitters in the Pac-10.
At the front, Stanford’s blockers have posted a Pac-10-leading 55 solo blocks and 150 total blocks.
Washington was ranked second in the nation after receiving 23 first-place votes. No. 3 USC (6-2, 1-1 Pac-10) received none, but still wound up gnawing at the Huskies’ heels . UCLA (8-3, 1-1 Pac-10), Stanford and California (7-3, 2-0 Pac-10) lined up in the most recent poll, filling the No. 10, No. 11 and No. 12 spots, respectively. Arizona (8-4, 0-2 Pac-10) is the final Pac-10 team to appear on the Top 25 at No. 17, despite lacking a conference win this season.
