The 2003 Oregon volleyball team has taken the term “youth movement” to an astronomical level.
With a roster that includes nine freshmen and no seniors, the Ducks will battle the powers of the Pacific-10 Conference as one of the youngest, most inexperienced squads in the nation.
Fourth-year head coach Carl Ferreira said Oregon may take its lumps, but the Ducks’ young group of athletes has unlimited potential.
“(Nine) is the largest number of freshmen I’ve had on any roster,” Ferreira said. “With that comes a lot of new players from a lot of the quality areas of recruiting, but at the same time poses a lot of opportunistic opportunities for what we want to accomplish as a program.”
The Ducks are coming off an 11-21 season, including a 1-17 conference record. The low point of 2002 came after the season ended and six players either transferred or left for personal reasons. With only five players returning, the importance of recruiting has magnified.
The coaching staff didn’t have to look far, as six of the nine incoming freshmen are from in-state. Heading the group is fab-50 setter Heather Madison, who led Gresham High School to two consecutive state titles and was named first team All-American and Oregon player of the year as a senior.

Madison will have the benefit of learning from fab-50 sophomore setter Jodi Bell, who was Oregon’s Newcomer of the Year last season.
“Being a setter with Heather is an amazing experience,” Bell said. “She’s a scrappy player. She gets to balls that you shouldn’t be able to get to.”
Other freshmen include defensive specialists Stephanie Alleman, Kandice Feola and Allyson Leavitt and middle blockers Kristen Bitter and Kim McNally.
Hawaii native Sarah Mason, outside hitter Erin Little of Victoria, B.C., and setter Callan Janowiec, who was named the 2002 Alaska Gatorade player of the year, complete the talented group of freshmen.
Along with Bell, several players form a solid nucleus of returning athletes, including junior outside hitter Lauren Westendorf, junior libero Katie O’Neil, sophomore middle blocker Kelly Russell and sophomore offensive hitter Jaclyn Jones.
Ferreira said it’s up to the coaching staff and returning players to assume a leadership role on the young team.
Westendorf, who has been one of the Ducks’ strongest athletes, said she has improved each season through a tireless work ethic and is looking to better her 1.9 kills per game last season.
“Lauren’s progress has been exceptional,” Ferreira said. “We expect another big jump.”
O’Neil, who was also a fab-50 player at Gresham, has been an “anchor on the whole situation,” Ferreira said. Playing the libero position, O’Neil isn’t noticed statistically, but her leadership on and off the court has helped the Ducks immensely.
Though the future looks bright, the Ducks are looking to the present and trying to improve on a 3-51 Pac-10 record over the past three seasons.
“We are focusing on the here and now,” Westendorf said. “We’re taking what we have now and running with it.”