Not since 1993 has Oregon seen more consistent defensive play from its players than it has this season. And it’s beginning to pay off.
In Oregon’s 3-1 victory over Portland on Tuesday — the Ducks’ first since Sept. 8 — junior Stephanie Martin became the first Duck since Alli White in 1996 to top the century mark in blocks. Her four against Portland on Tuesday gave her 104 for the season.
With 10 blocks against the Pilots, Closs joined Martin with 109 blocks of her own, and looks to better her 125 total blocks earned last season at Fresno State with five matches left to play.
The tandem’s feat marks the first time the Ducks have had two players with more than 100 blocks in a season since 1993, when Karissa Meith and Angee Henderson roamed McArthur Court.
“When you consider that total blocks translate to points, that’s huge,” head coach Carl Ferreira said.

Stepping up
Not since Heather Gilmore’s early-season injury had the Ducks been at such a loss as when Martin had to sit out against Stanford last Friday. The junior has been playing with back spasms for most of the season, and they finally caught up to her in the match against California.
“I don’t know if back spasms made her injure her knee, but she was definitely favoring it (on Thursday),” Ferreira said.
Martin returned with a vengeance against Portland, racking up 12 kills and four blocks. But Ferreira said she may find outside hitter as her destination. She normally starts as a middle blocker, but the lateral movement required by the position would put too much pressure on her already brittle knee, further exposing it to injury.
But if she isn’t ready to go in the future, the Ducks aren’t worried. Oregon has the parts to fill in, and did so against Stanford.
“I’m proud of (Amanda) Porter, who stepped in and took responsibility to fill that role,” Tobbagi said.
“I think Lauren (Westendorf) did a good job, I think Porter came in and stepped up, and so did Heather,” Ferreira said. “The culmination of those three players helped alleviate the absence of Martin.”
Westendorf, Porter and Gilmore combined for 19 kills and 16 digs against Stanford.

The place was rockin’
The Ducks couldn’t have asked for a better setting Friday. No. 4 Stanford was in town, and a season-high crowd of 1,863 showed up. The match followed a women’s basketball exhibition game, which saw more than 4,000 patrons pass through the McArthur Court turnstiles. With almost half staying to see the Ducks challenge Stanford, the total represented the ninth-highest in McArthur history for volleyball, and the most since 1996, when 3,716 witnessed Oregon upset then-No. 21 Oregon State.
“I’m all about piggybacking where you need to piggyback,” Ferreira said. “I think it’s a great idea to have a doubleheader.”
Keeping those fans in the seats may have been the biggest problem for the Ducks, with the crowd topping 1,000 at McArthur for only the second time this season. However, there was no problem getting up for the match.
“It was incredible,” Tobbagi said. “The crowd gave us a good advantage. I’m very proud to be on this team..”
The same goes for Ferreira, who said it was vital for the Ducks to impress in front of the home crowd.
“It was an opportunity to show some different fans that, ‘hey, volleyball can be an exciting sport,’” he said. “But there was also the responsibility for our players to keep fans interested by being electric in what they do.”

Doing it all
Two weeks remain in conference play, and the Ducks still have two of the three triple-doubles earned in the Pac-10 this season. Senior Julie Gerlach and junior Sydney Chute have accomplished the feat this season, with the only other member from the conference registering enough assists, digs and kills being Arizona’s Dana Burkholder.
Chute garnered the feat against Texas-Arlington on Aug. 31, posting 10 kills, 44 assists, and 11 digs. Her third career triple-double paced Oregon to a four-game win over the Mavericks.
Nine days later, Gerlach would add herself to the record books as well. In a 3-1 win over the Boise State Broncos, she posted 10 kills, 49 assists, and 12 digs, helping lead the Ducks to a 3-1 overall record in the Oregon Classic.
So far this season, Chute has started a majority of the matches, backing up Oregon’s “big three” of Tobbagi, Martin and Closs with 62 kills and 613 assists. Gerlach has filled in admirably in place of Chute in selected matches this season, hitting for 46 kills and 293 assists of her own.