The Oregon men’s club volleyball team is looking to improve its record from last year, when it was an inconsistent and inexperienced team that finished with a sub-.500 record.
Many of the players on last year’s squad were freshmen, some of whom had never played competitive volleyball at any level.
This year, the team consists of 10 members and returns most of its starters, all of whom have improved since last year and are now more experienced and carry themselves with more confidence.
The team already has reasons for optimism in the upcoming season. Oregon finished second overall in the Columbia Empire Volleyball Association tournament in Portland by winning three matches before losing in the championship game. There will be another CEVA tournament on Jan. 28.
CEVA is a men’s adult league whose members range from 25 to 40 years old. Oregon’s team plays in these tournaments because competition in the Northwest is scarce and the league provides a good challenge for the team, according to club coordinator Judson Mead.
Because of the lack of active Northwest collegiate teams, there is barely a functional league that allows Oregon to play nearby teams on a consistent basis.
“There’s a league that encompasses the Oregon, Washington and northern California teams, but the teams are so year-to-year that it’s hard to keep the league intact,” Mead said.
In order to face stiffer competition from other universities, the team has to travel to tournaments in California.
This year, Oregon will travel to the SoCal Classic in San Diego on Feb. 11. It is a two-day tournament that also brings teams from Nevada and Arizona.
Also in February, the team will travel to UC Davis to compete in the Far Westerns Tournament. The tournament is considered the nation’s second most prominent of the year. Three out of the last four years, the Far Westerns Tournament winner has gone on to win the National Championship at the end of the season. Oregon placed 19th last year.
“It’s hard to compete against those California squads,” Mead said. “We definitely expect to do better this year.”
Oregon will host its own tournament, The Fourth Annual Northwest Collegiate Classic, which is expected to draw six to eight teams. The date for the tournament has not yet been set but is likely sometime in March. Oregon finished second to Boise State in the tournament last year.
The team will also look to do better in the National Tournament, where it won five games and lost six last year.
In order to have a more successful season, the team will mainly rely on Mead, setter and opposite hitter, and senior Derek Olson, outside hitter.
Olson is a “good team leader with a strong will and is a solid hitter,” Mead said.
The team also consists of graduate student Justin Denham, who played Division I volleyball at Harvard.
The team plays in a 6-2 formation, in which there are two different setters and always three hitters in the front row. Mead says the formation “gives us more options up front all the time.”
Mead hopes the team will be able to win its home tournament and make it into the winner’s bracket in each of the tournaments it plays in.
“We’d like to win nationals in our division. I think we’ve got the guys to do it. We’re experienced, we’re tall,” Mead said. “We need improve upon taking that extra step.”