In a season filled with promise, the club girls’ volleyball team looked to start tournament play with a bang last weekend in the Desert Thunder Classic, hosted by the University of Arizona.
The tournament consisted of 10 teams, including Oregon State and the University of Arizona. While most schools sent an “A” and “B” team, the Ducks split their players evenly into “green” and “yellow” teams. The yellow team finished in a strong third place, behind only the Arizona alumni team and “A” team. The green team fell to Arizona’s “B” team in the final round, and ended the tournament tied for fifth place.
“It was definitely a building tournament for us,” said team coordinator Katelyn Frank.
Indeed, the fact that Oregon was able to send more than one team to the tournament proved to be an exciting development.
“We’ve actually doubled the size of our program this year,” said Frank. “We went from having one team of nine to two teams of 10.”
With new faces come new challenges, as both the green and yellow teams continue to work on their skills and chemistry. With tournaments coming up in Corvallis, Washington, Las Vegas and Davis, Calif., that improvement will have to come quickly. In particular, Frank feels the team needs to work on its chemistry on the court. Still, the team seems more than up for the challenge.
“We have a lot of new girls and we are just trying to figure out the chemistry on the court,” said Frank. “I believe we are going to do very well this season, and hopefully both teams will be able to build upon their performances at the Desert Thunder Classic and do well throughout the rest of our season.”
Building off of their showing at the Desert Thunder Classic should go smoothly, with players showing far more dedication to the program this season than in previous years.
“Everyone is much more committed this year to the program,” explained Frank. “Practices are much more intense and people rarely skip.”
With two teams committed to excellence and a strong showing already under their belts, the horizon looks bright for the Ducks as they head for a tournament at Oregon State this weekend.
“Everyone is really competitive and wants to win,” said Frank. “We all have excellent skills and it’s just a matter of making it all click.”
Club volleyball finishes third, fifth in Arizona
Daily Emerald
February 3, 2009
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