Volleyball notes

The Oregon volleyball team’s 3-1 victory over Oregon State on Friday night in Corvallis not only supplied the Ducks with their first Pacific-10 Conference victory of the 2002 season, it also provided a shot of confidence.
Not to say the Ducks don’t have confidence when they enter each match, but only wins can truly provide redemption on a regular basis, the Ducks say.
“I can’t imagine a sweeter victory and I can’t imagine it coming at a better time,” sophomore Lauren Westendorf said. “We’ve been working so hard for so long and its been frustrating, but we bounced back and pushed every day and this is awesome. This really is amazing.”
The win also afforded Oregon its first 11-win season since the 1996 campaign, when former head coach Cathy Nelson was in her second season at the helm.
Add another victory to the table this season and the Ducks will have won at least 12 matches for the first time since 1991, when they were 14-16 under Gerry Gregory.
The win is also sweet for current head coach Carl Ferreira. It is the most wins in a single season for the former Idaho head coach since coming to Oregon in 2000, and is win No. 30 in his short tenure with the Ducks.
Now comes the time to focus on the final six matches of the season, Ferreira said.
“We’ve got a legitimate chance of winning five of our last six matches,” Ferreira said. “USC is the one that is the trump card in the process, because they’re so phenomenal, but we we’re in there with every other team and I think we have a chance to beat all of them.
“There’s nothing that your philosophy and motivational tactics can do that winning doesn’t solve. With that being said, that’s where I’m just so proud of how they’ve allowed themselves to stay mentally tough week in and week out and believe in the things we’ve been talking about.”
A look back
A close look at statistics from Friday’s match against Oregon State proves that the Ducks were not only the better team, but also that the team that wanted the
win more.
While the Beavers won the kills battle, 65-64, they also had more errors than the Ducks, 40-32. In addition, the Ducks outhit — percentage-wise — their in-state rivals, .177 to .134.
“Oregon played really well. They took care of the ball and did some nice things defensively,” Oregon State head coach Nancy Somera said.
Oregon also received general output from every player who stepped on to the court, ranging from junior Diana Blank’s timely block in the end for the win to junior Heather Gilmore’s single solo block and four block assists.
As a team, the Ducks totaled 13 total blocks, highlighted by senior Lindsay Closs’ seven block assists.
According to Ferreira, Oregon’s talent had been showing through in recent matches. The win was the Ducks coming together as a whole.
“I think we’ve been playing well for a lot of weeks,” he said. “I think we are a very, very good volleyball team that maximizes its potential, and that’s the ultimate compliment that I could ask of any team. We’ve done that in a week in, week out basis. I’m really impressed with the character of our athletes.”
On the radar
Oregon’s schedule doesn’t get easy after its victory over Oregon State. On Friday, the Ducks return to
McArthur Court for a match against No. 1 USC, slated to begin at 7 p.m. No. 18 UCLA visits Saturday, with the match set to begin after the women’s basketball contest, which begins at 5 p.m.
Contact the sports reporter
at [email protected].