When Oregon lost back-to-back matches in straight sets to USC on the road and Washington at home in the third week of Big Ten play, head coach Trent Kersten echoed his comments from the week before, when his team beat Iowa and Ohio State at home. 

“At the end of the day, we’re in the arena that we want to be in. We’re in the arena of the Big Ten, playing really quality teams and we have so much to grow,” Kersten said after the loss to Washington. “We’ve got to be careful not to want it before we give them enough time to get there.”

Kersten was able to do so because he has preached patience and growth at every turn for his team that features eight true freshmen and 14 new players total.

Several of the freshmen have shouldered heavier workloads six matches into Big Ten play, with opposite hitter Alanah Clemente leading the team in total attacks in three straight matches, middle blocker Holley McFadden leading in blocks in three of the six Big Ten matches and libero/defensive specialist Reese Sheppard garnering praise from Kersten for her serving after both the Iowa and Washington matches.

It is an excellent development for the future of the program, but a reason for Kersten to expect growing pains that can be enough to lose a match.

Although the losses showed that the team still has a long way to go in building cohesion and consistency, several of the freshmen maintained their breakout performances from the weekend before.

Clemente, amid the team’s struggles, recently moved into the team lead in hitting percentage with a .317, ahead of previous leader, Valentina Vaulet’s .292. 

In the fifth set against Iowa, Clemente followed her own kill and fought off a match point with an excellent three-serve run. When he was inevitably asked about her development after the game, Kersten credited the experience she gained in the first weekend of Big Ten play.

“That moment was huge for her career, not just this year. Having the confidence to go back down by one after the performance she had at Illinois, like she didn’t serve well against Illinois, and we let her keep going to try and grow through it, and tonight she was more ready for that moment,” Kersten said.

Even in a down offensive match against Washington, in which Clemente hit .156, she found other ways to make an impact, recording four service aces and four blocks.

Kersten had similar rave reviews for McFadden and her work ethic after the Ohio State game. 

“She’s the first person to text me each week like, ‘Hey, when can I come in for 10 minutes of video with you?’ You know, ‘how can I maximize my 20 hours that I get this week?’” Kersten said. “For a freshman, she is taking such ownership of her own development right now, and I’m so proud of her for that.”

McFadden has led the team in blocks three times in Big Ten play. She also demonstrated flashes of higher offensive potential, posting eight kills on 12 attacks against Northwestern and seven on 12 against Iowa. 

Sheppard has fallen into a complementary role behind fellow freshman Natalie Fukumoto, who has held the starting libero/defensive specialist spot since the beginning of the season.

Sheppard is coming off a career match from the service line against Washington, sparking 8-0 and 5-0 runs in the first set alone. 

“The first set was so much about Reese from the service line. She went on two huge service runs for us and forced them out of system a lot, and then we were able to execute,” Kersten said after the match.

Fukumoto has earned a massive opportunity to gain experience as a freshman, playing in 59 out of 62 sets and sitting 20th in the Big Ten with 140 digs. Following the Ohio State game, she credited the other freshmen with motivating each other as their roles increased.

“We really push each other every single day. We all know that we’re young, and we all know that maybe on paper we’re not supposed to win a couple games, but we are showing up every single day, pushing each other, and just seeing how far we can go,” Fukumoto said.

Oregon will host its two highest-ranked opponents of the season in the fourth week of Big Ten play, with No. 18 Minnesota visiting on Oct. 17, followed by No. 17 Penn State on Oct. 18. 

It will be a new test for the eight Ducks who were facing high school players a few months ago, but it will be valuable experience for Kersten’s continued focus on building his Oregon program.