Maybe Sonja Newcombe is too young to realize the humongous, larger than life expectations placed on her shoulders.
Or maybe she acknowledges them and shrugs them off.
Newcombe plays with a calm demeanor not typical of a freshman making her debut at the Division I level. Glance over at Oregon’s freshman sensation the next time the Ducks play in McArthur Court and notice how Newcombe has made a seamless transition into Oregon’s lineup.
She never gets too high or too low – always playing somewhere in between.
“She has definitely emerged as sort of an on the court leader and off the court leader as well,” senior middle blocker Kristen Bitter said. “I’m bummed I only get to play with her this year because her potential is just enormous.”
Newcombe, the reigning California high school player of the year, had her choice of colleges and chose to join Oregon coach Jim Moore’s budding volleyball program.
“I love the school,” Newcombe said. “I love the coaching and the girls. It all worked really well. Other doors closed and this one was wide open.”
Moore, who began his second season at Oregon this fall, landed Newcombe with his player-friendly coaching style.
“I like his philosophy and his approach on things,” Newcombe said. “They are a lot different from all the coaches I’ve had before and I just respond really well to how he coaches.”
The 6-foot-1 inch middle blocker talks the same way she plays – efficiently and emphatically. Newcombe strained an abdominal muscle early in the season and despite a couple flare-ups, has managed to withstand the pain.
She continuted playing not only to help the team, but so she could play in front of family and friends on a California road trip. Oregon (7-0 as of Sept. 11) stopped in Long Beach to play the then-No. 17 49ers of Long Beach State on Aug. 30 and faced Northridge and Utah State in the Cal State Northridge Tournament that weekend.
Oregon surprised Long Beach State with a four-game win. Newcombe made an all-around contribution with nine kills, nine digs and a solo block. She managed similar stat lines in the next two matches.
Each match had a large amount of Oregon supporters who came to cheer on Newcombe and the team.
“It’s been good to have them ’cause they’ve been my support system forever so to have them has been really nice,” said Newcombe, who could be found hugging and chatting with her own personal fan club following each California match.
The week off between the road trip and two home matches against Fresno State and San Diego State allowed Moore to rest Newcombe and give her injury time to heal. More or less healthy, Newcombe eagerly awaits the start of Pacific-10
Conference play and a chance to prove Oregon can compete with the likes of Stanford and Arizona.
“That’s our plan,” Newcombe said. “We are working hard every day – in the gym (and) taking care of all the little things. We’re just taking it one play at a time.”
Newcombe fills a large void left by the graduation of outside hitter Kelly Russell, who complemented fellow outside hitter Mira Djuric last season. Newcombe has 75 kills through Sept. 11 – third on the team – and 73 digs – second behind libero
Katie Swoboda.
“We can’t just rely on Mira,” Bitter said. “Teams are going to figure that out – they already have. They camp out on her.”
Newcombe’s play has made opponents shift their attention to the precocious freshman, who became only the sixth Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 player to join Oregon and the first since teammate Heather Madison in 2003.
Newcombe and Moore share the same high school in Rim of the World. She led them to a state title in fall 2005. He started his coaching career there. Newcombe grew accustomed to success while the Oregon program has spent years saddled with losing records and unmet expectations.
Last season, Oregon secured another last-place finish in conference at 1-17. Moore brought back six players from last year’s team and molded them with six freshmen, including Newcombe, and a junior transfer.
“We all have something to bring and the chemistry together has worked really well,” Newcombe said. “We’re ready to change things.”