Jim Moore and libero Katie Swoboda have been tied together since they arrived in Eugene three years ago.
He was the new coach and Swoboda was his first recruit. On Friday, the pair shared in two career accomplishments in the Oregon volleyball team’s win against visiting Oregon State, 30-19, 25-30, 30-16 and 30-19.
Moore earned his 400th career win, and Swoboda broke Teri Kramer’s school record of 1,481 digs. The two shared the same willingness to deflect attention from their individual accomplishments as Oregon improved to 19-9 overall and 8-8 in the Pacific-10 Conference.
“I don’t want to say it’s meaningless, but I’ve said this for a long time, ‘I have zero kills, zero blocks, no aces. I haven’t even set a ball. So I have no wins as far as I’m (concerned) – it’s all the kids,” said Moore, who is 48-39 at Oregon.
Swoboda shared the sentiment about her honor.
“I got to dig as many balls as I can for my teammates so they can put the ball away,” she said. “When I can give them that opportunity, it feels great.”
Oregon gained its third consecutive win as the Ducks head to Washington for their final two matches of the regular season, starting with Washington State on Wednesday.
The typically close rivalry was an all-Oregon affair outside of game 2. The crowd of 2,777 fans was the second-largest all-time in Oregon volleyball history. An evenly split pit crew featured the Oregon faithful and visiting Oregon State fans.
Gorana Maricic, who earned Pac-10 and National Player of the Week Honors last week, had her 11th double-double of the season with 18 kills and 15 digs. Heather Meyers had a career high 18 kills and Neticia Enesi had 12.
Senior Karen Waddington played in her final regular-season match at home. There remains a possibility Oregon could host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at McArthur Court.
Oregon State was led by Rachel Rourke with a match-high 19 kills.
Oregon jumped out to a 7-2 lead in game 1 and pushed the lead to eight, 22-14, on a kill by Enesi. The Ducks closed the game with five straight points, including three Meyers’ service aces.
Oregon State grabbed the early lead in game 2, 9-7, and the match halted momentarily to honor Swoboda’s accomplishment. Moore gave Swoboda a hug, and tucked the record-breaking ball under his seat.
“They told me that they were going to stop the game and to prepare myself,” Swoboda said. “I’m not a big fan of being the center of attention.”
Her teammates noticed Swoboda’s play as they have all season. Swoboda completed the match with 25 digs and now has 1,497 digs for her college career.
“She is amazing,” Maricic said. “She is unbelievable. She’s proving it every time more and more.”
Added Moore: “I can’t say enough about her. That kid’s a special kid. She deserves it. She is going to shatter the record. It’s just begun for her. I still think she’s one of the best liberos in the country.”
Oregon emerged from the break and won game 3 and game 4 handily, 30-16 and 30-19, respectively.
“I think we got a little ahead of ourselves and we didn’t play as focused in game 2,” Swoboda said. “We had to come out a lot more focused in game 3 and I think we did that.”
The win also marked the fourth straight time Oregon has beat their in-state rivals.
“It means a lot,” Moore said. “When we first got the job, it was ‘we can’t beat Oregon State either.’ I think this is big. It is a testament to the kids.”
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Two Ducks reach milestones in Civil War victory
Daily Emerald
November 18, 2007
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