The Oregon State volleyball team’s last visit to McArthur Court is more than just a historic occasion.
When the Beavers and Ducks meet at 7 p.m. Friday, both teams will look to establish themselves in Pacific-10 Conference play and improve positioning for a postseason berth.
After a 14-0 start to the season, Oregon (15-3, 3-3 Pac-10) has slumped lately, dropping three of its past four matches. The Ducks will need to stay at, or close to the .500 mark in conference to ensure a trip to the NCAA tournament.
Oregon State is in dire need of a victory. The Beavers are 8-12 overall and have only won one of their six Pac-10 games.
Still, Oregon knows better than to take Oregon State lightly. The Beavers are always at the top of their game when they visit McArthur Court.
“OSU always plays their best game when they’re here so it’s going to be tough for sure,” Oregon senior outside hitter Heather Meyers said. “I just hope as a team we bring our energy to the game.” It goes without saying that Friday’s match will have special meaning to both teams. Although Oregon and Oregon State will battle one more time this season in Corvallis, Friday marks the last time the two teams will meet at Mac Court.
Despite the temptation, the Ducks don’t want to get sentimental about the occasion.
“I don’t want to think about it too much because I don’t want it to have any effect on my play,” Meyers said. “I don’t want it to stress me out or get too anxious about it. I just want to stay calm, it’s just another match.”
Oregon head coach Jim Moore shares Meyers’ beliefs the team should treat the Civil War as any other game.
“We don’t want to create something that isn’t there. It’s the Civil War and I know that, but we don’t need to create something that isn’t there,” Moore added.
Instead, Oregon will focus on more tangible issues such as how to get off to a solid start. The Ducks have lost the first set in each of their past four matches, and are determined to end that streak against the Beavers.
“We’ve talked a lot about that this week,” Moore said. “We have to come out better.”
Containing Oregon State’s dynamic outside hitter Jill Sawatzky would be a good start. A senior, Sawatzky has double the kills of any other players on the Beavers’ roster.
On the other hand, Oregon doesn’t want to get too caught up on one player. The Ducks are convinced if they follow their game plan, the rest will take care of itself.
“We have to focus on her but we can’t just focus on her,” Meyers said. “We have to just play our game. We don’t really want to focus on them too much.”
Last weekend’s disappointing split with the Arizona schools highlighted another area of concern for the Ducks. Instead of brushing off mistakes and focusing on winning the next point, Oregon has a nasty habit of looking in the rearview mirror.
“(We need to) not worry too much about he last play that went wrong, focus more on the next one,” Meyers said.
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Civil War volleyball critical for Ducks, Beavers
Daily Emerald
October 13, 2010
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