The Oregon volleyball team visits the City of Angels this weekend focused on improvement as they face No. 21 UCLA and No. 17 USC.
Oregon plays UCLA Friday at 7 p.m. and USC 5 p.m. on Sunday. Saturday’s original 6 p.m. start time was moved to 5 p.m. due to the 12:30 p.m. start of the USC-Arizona football game.
Oregon head coach Jim Moore’s main message is that Oregon’s performance will determine the outcome of the games. What Oregon does, more so than the actions of USC or UCLA, will determine whether they will earn their first and possibly second Pacific-10 Conference win this season, he said.
“If we take care of our side and we do the things we’re capable of doing, then we’ll be fine,” Moore added.
Oregon had its positive moments against California and Stanford last weekend, pushing the Golden Bears to a fourth game and barely losing game one of its match against the Cardinal, 30-28. Oregon (10-5 overall, 0-4 conference) must play strong throughout the match, something Moore has been emphasizing since the season started.
“That is what discipline is all about – doing something every single time,” Moore said.
Senior Kelly Russell agrees, adding, “In practice, we really worked on defense and siding out – everything you need to do to keep in rhythm. And I think that’s huge for us.”
UCLA and USC are familiar to Moore, who graduated from Long Beach State in 1980. When he coached at the high school level, Moore said he would take his players to matches at both schools.
Moore played UCLA twice during his three-year tenure at Texas. Stacy Metro, assistant coach and Moore’s wife, idolized a UCLA player in high school, Moore said. UCLA coach Andy Banachowski is currently nine wins away from being the first collegiate women’s volleyball coach with 1,000 career wins.
USC coach Mick Haley is a good friend of Moore’s and offered him the chance to be the top assistant for the women’s U.S. National Team. Moore chose to remain in the college game.
History aside, Moore is focused on his current team’s performance and its ability to gain valuable road wins.
“We need to be successful on the road,” Moore said.
Oregon is facing the Los Angeles-based schools during down years by their high standards. USC is 5-6 with only one win in the conference after beating UCLA last week. UCLA (7-5, 0-3) has lost to three ranked teams in Cal, Stanford and USC.
UCLA and USC maintain 35- and 29-game winning streaks against Oregon, respectively, and have Russell thinking Oregon can steal a match or two if either team takes the Ducks for granted.
“The second you think you’re going to win, you get on your heels, you relax a little bit – maybe relax a little too much, which can work to our advantage,” Russell said.
Freshman outside hitter Kaitlin Sather has made an immediate impact at UCLA, averaging 4.08 kills per game, 10th in the Pac-10. Setter Nellie Spicer is fourth in assists with 12.07 per game. Nana Meriwether is the conference leader in blocks with a 1.73 average.
USC’s Bibiana Candelas earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors after guiding the Trojans past UCLA with 26 kills, seven blocks and a .389 hitting percentage. Setter Nena Siljegovic ranks fifth in conference in assists, averaging 11.41 per game.
Away from the court, this weekend’s matches are a family reunion of sorts.
Originally playing at the University of San Francisco, Tasha Demkiw transferred to Oregon last year and became eligible this season. The San Marcos native will be playing within two hours of home, with her family expected to be in attendance.
“I’m very excited,” Demkiw said.

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