LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the first time in program history, the University of Oregon volleyball team has recorded a thirty-win season and is headed to the national championship. In addition to the Ducks recording this accomplishment, the same can be said for head coach Jim Moore, who in his 23 years of coaching, has never recorded a thirty-win season himself.
When Moore took over the program in 2005, the Ducks were perennial cellar dwellers in the the Pac-10 and were unable to consistently compete in the deepest volleyball conference in the nation.
However that is no longer case, as Oregon is the last Pac-12 team alive in the 64-team field and is now within three sets of taking home a national title.
When you look at all the accomplishments Moore has garnered for the program since his initial arrival, it is surprising to think that the team has never before netted thirty wins in a campaign.
A year after he started in Eugene, he helped lead Oregon to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 17 years and was awarded the Pac-10 Coach of the Year Award.
Since Moore took over the reigns, the level of talent consistently in the program has grown dramatically as well.
Of the seven All-America awards the program has had in history, six have come under the watchful eye of Moore. Talented players like Neticia Enesi, Heather Meyers and now Alaina Bergsma have put Oregon on the national volleyball map and as a result, Oregon is now among top destinations for volleyball prep stars. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=542077@@
Prior to this year, the most wins the Ducks have had in a season under Moore was 25 in 2008. It was a mark they eclipsed at the end of the regular season this year.
Tomorrow evening, Jim Moore and the Ducks will take their thirty wins and put them on the line against Texas hoping to end the night with 31 victories and a national title to boot.