While the final results have been disappointing, the Oregon volleyball team (7-4 overall, 0-3 Pacific-10) is still accomplishing some of its main goals.
Progress is being made. Competition is strong. And confidence is high.
Three consecutive losses to conference foes Stanford, California and Oregon State could have devastated the Ducks, who took each opponent into the fifth game, including No. 15 Stanford.
“An inexperienced team would have folded after the Stanford loss,” first-year head coach Carl Ferreira said. “But we’ve continued to put ourselves in a situation to win.”
And win they did.
After the heart-wrenching loss to the Beavers on Sept. 19, the Ducks took out their aggression on the Portland Pilots on Sunday, winning convincingly, 3-0. It was Oregon’s first home win of the season, and first sweep at McArthur Court in two years.
“I think we’ve done exceptional so far,” outside hitter Monique Tobbagi said. “Although we lost some of those matches, we showed what we are capable of and that we can get teams in trouble.”
The Ducks are now in an all-too-familiar position as they jump into the middle of their Pac-10 schedule. Last season’s 6-0 pre-season resulted in a dismal 7-20 overall campaign in the nation’s toughest volleyball conference. This year’s squad is not expecting the same outcome.
“This is a very, very different program than it was last year,” said sophomore setter Sydney Chute, who recorded her first career triple double against Cal (14 kills, 12 digs, 39 assists). “We’re not going to stop at seven wins.”
In roughly one-third of the time, Oregon has won as many matches this year as it did throughout all of the 1999 campaign.
“We need to keep progressing on the things we’re focused on,” Ferreira said. “We’re just trying to take it one game at a time and compete like crazy and put ourselves in a position to compete.”
When Ferreira took over this program, he inherited a system that won just eight games — not matches — during its conference play last year (when the team was 1-17 in the Pac-10.) Under the former Idaho coach, however, the players have a new-found desire to compete, and have already won six conference games in the first three matches.

“He’s done wonders in building this program and set the foundation for the future,” Tobbagi said.
But the team knows that the fight is just beginning. With 19 matches remaining, the Ducks hope they can improve enough to earn a postseason berth for the first time since 1989.
“The chemistry is very good and our commitment has made us even stronger,” Chute said. “But there’s definitely room for improvement and we have a lot to work on.”

Will the real team leader please stand up
Despite a 2-0 lead on the Beavers, the Ducks could not knock out their Civil War foe. Following the match, Ferreira said his team needs someone to fill the role as the team leader and step up in key situations.
“Someone needs to step up into that role and carry this team on her back,” he said. “It’s observable that we’re missing somebody. We need a go-to person. You rarely find a successful team without one.”
The team’s four upper-division veterans — juniors Tobbagi and Julie Gerlach, and seniors Halie Mazza and Amy Banducci — are the most obvious candidates for the leadership role. So far this season, Mazza and Tobbagi have poised the Ducks on the court. Mazza leads the team in kills, blocks and attack percentage, and Tobbagi’s aggressiveness — at its peak — cannot be matched.
“Finger-pointing is wrong,” Ferreira said. “We need to join forces… to be a competitive program.”
Tobbagi said she knows her role on this squad and along with the other veterans, is going to help the Ducks be a threat in the Pac-10.
“I feel I’m in a position to be one of those leaders,” said the 6-footer, who is second on the team in kills average. “He looks to us (the four veterans) to be leaders, and we’re committed to doing better. We have to step up and show that we can play at a higher level and instill confidence in the younger players. We can’t slip up again. We must refuse to lose.”
“The veterans are learning how to become better leaders and they’re working really hard,” Chute said.

Ducks lose key blocker off bench
After suffering a knee injury against California Sept. 15, sophomore middle blocker Nicole Allen is not expected to return to the lineup this season.
Allen was to be a key contributor off the bench for the Ducks. She was fourth on the team last season with 1.36 kills per game and tallied 24 total blocks, fifth best on the team.