If a team fails to win a Pacific-10 Conference match for two straight seasons, can the latter squad be better than the first?
Bets are that the Oregon volleyball team will win at least one conference match this season, but it’s already evident, records be forgotten, that the Ducks are a vastly improved team than the one that graced the McArthur Court floor last season.
Just forget the Stanford match.
With 10 players left from last season’s team that lost every Pac-10 match — a first for the program — common belief would be that the current group wouldn’t change its attitude much. But maybe, just maybe, it’s who the Ducks lost that has propelled them to newfound confidence and cohesiveness.
Oregon lost three main players from last season — Monique Tobbagi, Julie Gerlach and Stephanie Martin — to either graduation or for academic reasons. Tobbagi and Martin provided much of the spark from last season’s team, at least offensively, and grabbed most of the headlines from each match.
The Ducks returned just one
offensive stalwart from last season — senior Lindsay Closs. Closs essentially remained in the background last season as a quiet but productive middle blocker.
This season, she has already assumed the top leadership role, and coupled with a pair of youngsters, freshman Kelly Russell and sophomore Lauren Westendorf, Closs has keyed the Oregon offense to a height that was unequaled last season.
But the key word in that sentence was “coupled.” The offense last season never seemed to click as a group, but now the three have grouped together to form a trio that has talent, and is using it on the court.
Now, to say that Tobbagi and Martin were at the heart of the problem would be a gross misstatement. Tobbagi has returned as an assistant coach, so out goes the possibility that her influence is the problem.
Instead, the absence of Tobbagi and Martin has allowed the younger players a better opportunity to show what they have on the court. Westendorf, for one, showed some signs of serious talent last season but never really had a consistent chance to prove herself. Now, handed the role as a starter, she has blossomed.
The same goes for the Oregon freshmen, specifically Russell and setter Jodi Bell. Russell has been the wild-card that the Ducks have desperately looked for in the past. Not only is she a dominating presence on the offensive side of the ball, but her defense — specifically blocking — has been a surprising part of her game. That’s for a player who, entering the season, didn’t even figure to have a big role.
Now, Kelly, don’t let that go to your head. You’re still a freshman. Imagine where you can go from here in the three seasons after this one.
Then there’s Bell. Seemingly everyone in the volleyball world knew what she was capable of coming into the season. She was a Volleyball Magazine Fab-50 selection entering this season.
But just because you’ve heard what somebody is capable of doesn’t mean you can actually believe something before you see it. Aside from the Stanford match where every Oregon player was off, Bell has been on target with her sets. Better yet, she’s second on the team in service aces. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Same goes for you, Jodi. You’ve got time. Keep it consistent.
Finally, the word is still not out on fellow freshman Dariam Acevedo, the young one from Puerto Rico. She’s only played in six matches after playing for her National Team, but she could be good.
Better yet, they could all be good.
Time will tell.