Riding a fresh wave of momentum after winning its last three Pacific-10 Conference matches, the 14th-seeded women’s volleyball team heads to Lexington, Ky., on Friday to face off with Clemson (23-9, 13-7) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
“We had some great wins over Thanksgiving weekend,” senior middle blocker Neticia Enesi said. “I think that gives us a little confidence … so we can work on the things that we need to progress forward.”
Clemson’s 13-7 Atlantic Coast Conference record earned it a fourth-place finish, and the team will not provide an easy first-round matchup for the Ducks. The Tigers rank No. 12 in the nation with 2.75 blocks per set, and freshman middle blocker Alexa Rand leads the team in blocks per set (1.29). Rand is also No. 11 in the nation in hitting percentage (.398), while senior outside hitter Lia Proctor leads the team with 3.80 kills per set.
“Clemson has two hitters that they go to quite a bit,” head coach Jim Moore said. “(The Tigers) run a (few) different things offensively so we have to be prepared for that.”
Clemson has yet to defeat a ranked team this year, but does enter the tournament having won eight of its last 10 matches. Without a doubt, they will be hungry for an upset to open the tournament.
Still, as they often have this season, the Ducks are focusing primarily upon their own play. Though Oregon has won its last three matches, two were five-set comebacks in which the team had to overcome a 0-2 deficit. In the tournament, they will have play better in the earlier sets.
“The biggest thing that we have to do is start better,” Moore said. “We can’t be down 0-2 and come back and win these.”
Moore will rely upon his senior leaders to jump-start the team, and they are ready for the challenge. Enesi, outside hitter Sonja Newcombe, setter Nevena Djordjevic, and libero Amanda Westrick have each played the NCAA Tournament three times, and know what it takes to succeed. It will be up to them to show some of the younger players how to approach the postseason.
“I approach it like any other game,” Newcombe said. “I know for the freshman that haven’t been there, there’s a lot more formalities … it’s a lot stricter, there’s different rules and that type of thing. But it’s still volleyball.”
Should the Ducks win on Friday, they will play either Kentucky (27-4, 17-3) or Michigan State (17-15, 5-15) in the second round the next day. Kentucky will be heavily favored, as Michigan State finished 10th in the Big Ten Conference and likely snuck into the tournament based solely upon wins against USC and North Carolina earlier in the year.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, will serve as hosts of the first and second rounds and are not to be underestimated. The team finished first in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division and second in the conference overall. They have won eight of their last 10 matches, but did drop the last two of the season to Florida and Tennessee.
“They’re a very good team,” Moore said. “They’re a good ball-control team, they pass well, they receive serves very well, they’re big in the middle and on the right side. They’re a very solid all-around team.”
As a team, the Wildcats rank seventh in the nation with 14.73 kills per set and tenth in hitting percentage (.281). Junior outside hitter Sarah Mendoza leads the team with 4.11 kills per set, while senior setter Sarah Rumely is 10th in the nation with 11.82 assists per set.
Should the Ducks advance to the third round, they will likely face third-seeded Florida State (28-2, 18-1). The Ducks have seen their season end in the third round for two years straight, and hope to advance further this year.
[email protected]