Watching Oregon’s home volleyball match Thursday against California made me proud to be a student at the University Of Oregon.
I must be honest; entering this year, I knew little to nothing about the history of Oregon volleyball, except that it was typically a losing, Pacific-10 Conference bottom-dwelling program.
You’d never guess that judging from the noise of the proud 726 that packed McArthur Court to watch Oregon take on the 14th-ranked Golden Bears and the season-high 1,040 that witnessed Oregon battle defending national champion Stanford.
Though the Ducks fell in both matches, it was quite a sight to see the green and yellow fanatics support this 2005 Oregon squad.
It’s a testament to the pride and loyalty of the University’s fan base when a team that has won only one of its last 22 Pac-10 games manages to draw a crowd like that.
Heck, even the Duck dragged its pasty, white, slightly deformed behind to Mac Court.
While the Ducks may not win the Pac-10, the fans and players have a chance to be a part of something special: a noble rebuilding effort.
It’s a chance to bring an atmosphere to Mac Court that parallels a packed Maples Pavilion at Stanford.
It’s been a privilege to have the opportunity to cover this Oregon team, which has been playing inspired volleyball under first-year head coach Jim Moore.
Moore is a passionate man and coach who cares greatly for his players. He brings a fiery attitude each night and you can expect great things before his career is over.
Watching him erupt off the bench with unrivaled intensity makes it difficult to maintain any sort of professionalism on press row. It’s safe to say: He’s won over many, including me, in Eugene.
His team plays hard for him, and the nucleus of players he has left over from last year’s team mixed with a crop of talented newcomers will give plenty of reasons for Oregon’s faithful to applaud this season.
Sure the Ducks have started their Pac-10 schedule 0-4, but three losses were against ranked opponents.
In last Friday’s loss to Stanford, Oregon hit 0.179. Consider that the Cardinal held six previous opponents under a 0.100 hitting percentage and it quickly becomes evident that Oregon is headed in the right direction.
Not to say that Oregon’s climb won’t be a tough one in a talented Pac-10 conference. Six of the conference’s 10 teams are ranked and three competed in last year’s final four.
If the Ducks can maintain their level of play demonstrated in the first game against the Cardinal, a narrow 30-28 loss, the Ducks can compete with the majority of the conference’s teams and eventually that winning mentality will shine through.
“If we play like we did in the last two games against Cal and first game (against Stanford), we’re frightening,” Moore said. “We can be very, very scary, and we have to play that way to be successful.”
Mac Court can be a scary place as well. It was obvious during the weekend that the Oregon players fed off the energy of their boisterous fans.
“(The Ducks) got a good thing going. They play really hard,” Cal coach Rich Feller said. “They have a great crowd. It’s wonderful. The students switching sides is pretty annoying, but they’re always pretty good, clean and fun, and never fail to congratulate our team following the match.
“(Mac Court) is a great place to play. College athletics should be like this. I love this place.”
Coach, I couldn’t agree more.

[email protected]