Volleyball
With weekend losses to conference foes California and Stanford, Oregon volleyball’s Pacific-10 Conference losing streak reached 25 games.
The Ducks’ last conference win came on Nov. 9, 2000 — against Washington — as Oregon failed to win a Pac-10 match for the first time in program history last year.
Oregon was impressive against California in what was ultimately a loss for the Ducks. Oregon sported a 2-1 lead entering the fourth game but was outlasted in the end by the Golden Bears.
“We’re very close,” senior Lindsay Closs said. “There was a lot of anticipation and a lot of excitement. We did put ourselves in a position to the win the match.”
Closs, a transfer from Fresno State last season, has yet to win a Pac-10 match as a member of the Ducks. Lauren Westendorf and Katie O’Neil, both sophomores, also haven’t beaten a conference opponent.
In what may be a silver lining to the cloud of Oregon’s loss to California was the confidence the Ducks showed.
“When I was serving, I was thinking ‘you’ve got to be confident,’” Westendorf said. “You can’t go out there and say, ‘I hope it goes our way, I hope they make a mistake.’ You have to be confident and say, ‘This will go our way, this will be our first Pac-10 win.’”

Not your average

freshman
When Jodi Bell entered the Oregon program at the beginning of the season, she brought her winning bloodlines and accolades.
Not only did the freshman lead Sam Barlow High School in Boring, Ore., to state runner-up crowns in 2000 and 2001, she was named the Oregon Division 4A Player of the Year in 2000. In 2002, Volleyball Magazine named her as one of its Fab-50 athletes.
Expected to come off the bench early in the season, Bell has assumed the starting-setter spot and has sparkled at the position.
She already leads the team in assists this season with 539, and has contributed with 23 service aces, good enough for second on the Oregon squad.
“I just go out there and represent Oregon,” she said. “It’s a great feeling just being able to represent a school like this.”

Serving to win
While Bell is second on the team in aces, the Ducks as a whole have improved on the serve. After recording just 137 aces in 2001, Oregon has already posted 129 this year.
Closs leads the team with 24, while junior Lindsay Murphy and freshman Kelly Russell both have 16.
At its current rate of seven aces per match, Oregon would finish with 229 this season. The Ducks still have far to go before setting the program record as the 1984 squad finished with 279.
Nevertheless, an improvement is an improvement, and for Oregon, that just might be enough for it to get a win and break its 25-match Pac-10 slump.

Next up
Oregon takes on perennial rival Oregon State Thursday at McArthur Court. First serve is set for 7 p.m.