If Oregon’s bi-annual meetings with Oregon State are referred to as the ‘Civil War,’ this weekend’s home series with the L.A. schools are like World War I, World War II and Vietnam all rolled into one.
Yes, there are that many storylines at play.
First and foremost, with only four games left in the regular season, Oregon’s volleyball team (18-8, 6-8 Pacific-10 Conference) is fighting to pick up a few more wins to bolster its candidacy for a bid in the NCAA tournament.
At the same time, many in the Oregon volleyball community will mourn the loss of two Duck institutions — McArthur Court and senior Heather Meyers.
After 33 years of volleyball action (according to the Oregon Sports Information Department, the first volleyball match at Mac Court was played in 1977), the Ducks will play their last match at Mac Court on Saturday against USC. Oregon volleyball alumni will be honored in between the second and third sets to commemorate the occasion.
Meyers will be honored at Saturday’s game. During her four-year Oregon career, the Southern California native has cemented her status as one of the best players in program history. She’s currently ranked second in Oregon history in service aces and points, third in career hitting percentage and sixth in kills.
But Meyers, like the rest of her teammates, hopes to keep her focus on the floor and not get distracted by all the hoopla.
“I’m just trying to think of it as another game,” Meyers said. “I think when they start announcing my name for senior night it will hit me, but I’m trying to keep that out of the way right now and focus on the game.”
The weekend’s first match against No. 10 UCLA starts Friday at 7 p.m.
Picked to finish seventh in the pre-season coaches poll, the Bruins have surpassed all reasonable expectations this year. While not a dynamic offensive squad, the Bruins (19-7, 9-6 Pac-10) possess an air-tight floor defense that frustrates opponents.
Although they don’t block particularly well, the Bruins lead the Pac-10 in digs per set and are fifth in opponent hitting percentage. According to Oregon coach Jim Moore, UCLA exemplifies the team concept better than any other Pac-10 squad.
“Everybody knows where they were picked in the (pre-season poll), but they’re the best team in terms of definition of team in the conference right now,” Moore said.
When Oregon visited Pauley Pavilion in late October, the Ducks were shut out 3-0. UCLA hit .330 as a team and held Oregon to a putrid .191 hitting percentage. It wasn’t Oregon’s best performance by any means.
“We played horrible down there,” freshman setter Lauren Plum said.
To achieve a more desirable result this weekend, Oregon will need to bring a high energy level and limit mistakes.
“We have to play hard every second, and it will be a dog fight to stay with them because they play hard,” Moore said. “They’re not doing anything special but they dig balls, they pass balls, they serve well and keep the ball in play. They wait for you to screw it up.”
On Saturday at 7 p.m., Oregon will host USC. At 22-4 (11-4 Pac-10), the Women of Troy are a load for any opponent to handle. They’ve won eight of their past nine matches and have jumped up to No. 6 in the latest national rankings.
While solid defensively (USC is third in the conference in opponent’s hitting percentage), the Women of Troy are more highly-regarded for their offensive prowess. USC ranks third in the Pac-10 in hitting percentage (.291), second in assists, and third in kills.
The Women of Troy are paced by a trio of talented offensive players. All-American Alex Jupiter leads the team in kills (4.47 per set), freshman sensation Falyn Fonoimoana averages 3.17 kills per set and middle blocker Lauren Williams hits a gaudy .419.
“They’re incredibly physically gifted,” Moore said. “They’re huge. We have to serve as tough as we possibly can.”
When the Women of Troy and Ducks met earlier this season in Los Angeles, USC eked out a five-set win. The Ducks had trouble stopping the Women of Troy’s attack all night — USC hit .392 as a team and notched 77 kills — but did put forth an exemplary effort to extend the match to five sets. Oregon hopes to replicate that type of effort and shore up its defense this time around.
“USC is very good offensively,” Meyers said. “They beat us in the middle a lot when we were down there, so we’re going to really have to work on that.
“Down there we fought, and I think that was a huge thing.”
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