The Oregon volleyball team enters Maples Pavilion tonight to take on No. 7 Stanford during the team’s final road trip of the season.
The Ducks are in the midst of a 17-match losing streak and haven’t won since defeating Villanova, 3-0, on Sept. 13.
Oregon’s search for a win won’t be any easier tonight as it faces a Stanford team that stands second in the Pacific-10 Conference and holds a 9-2 overall record at home.
Junior libero Katie O’Neil said Oregon (3-22 overall, 0-16 Pac-10) knows it is up against one of the nation’s top teams, but the Ducks are looking to improve in any way possible.
“I think we’re going into it pretty open, like every other match,” O’Neil said of tonight’s contest against Stanford. “Just staying consistent with our small improvements every time.”
The Cardinal (19-6, 12-4) are led by outside hitter Ogonna Nnamani. The junior is third in the Pac-10 in kills (486), fourth in kills per game (5.28) and fourth in points per game (5.85). Nnamani was a second team AVCA All-American during her sophomore season.
Middle blocker Jennifer Harvey is also a force to be reckoned with. The senior leads the conference in blocks per game (1.51) and is seventh in hitting percentage (.348). Freshman outside hitter Kristin Richards is second on the team in kills (292) and kills per game (3.14).
The trio torched Oregon for a combined 54 points, including 44 kills, during the season’s earlier meeting on Sept. 19 at McArthur Court.
“They have real, premier individual players,” Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said of Stanford. “Those kind of players make other people around them better.”
Oregon received great individual efforts from sophomore middle blocker Kelly Russell and freshman outside hitter Sarah Mason during the Ducks’ last meeting with Stanford. Russell finished with a team high of 17 kills and contributed five digs. Mason added 13 kills and hit at a .370 clip.
Oregon has of late come to rely on the freshman duo of Mason and middle blocker Kristen Bitter for a good chunk of its point scoring. Mason leads the team in kills (267) and kills per game (3.14) and has emerged as the Ducks’ go-to attacker. Bitter has already proved she belongs with the Pac-10’s top net players, standing eighth in the conference with 1.13 blocks per game.
Freshman setter Heather Madison will get her first-ever start against a top-10 team after starting in place of injured sophomore Jodi Bell last week in home losses to Arizona and Arizona State.
Madison, who finished with an Oregon season high of 53 assists against the Sun Devils, said losses in her first two collegiate starts won’t cause a drop in confidence.
“What’s done is done,” Madison said. “We have to move on. It doesn’t really affect us right now.”

Season finale
Oregon will battle No. 9 California in the season’s final match on Friday after the match against Stanford tonight. The Golden Bears (19-6, 10-6) are fourth in the Pac-10 and have an 8-3 overall record at Haas Pavilion.
California is led by outside hitter Mia Jerkov. The junior has been named Pac-10 Player of the Week four times this season and leads the Pac-10 with 5.59 kills per game.
Ferreira said if the Ducks are to succeed in their final two matches, they must contain Nnamani and Jerkov.
“I’m not necessarily sure you can stop them, but you have to try and slow them down,” Ferreira said. “Then you try to focus your attention on other people.”