The Oregon volleyball team, after dropping consecutive Pacific-10 Conference games, looks to rebound tonight at McArthur Court against the 14th-ranked California Golden Bears.
The Ducks, coming off a 10-1 preseason record and the school’s best start in 32 years, lost 3-0 to both Arizona and Arizona State in its conference openers.
Oregon (10-3 overall, 0-2 Pacific-10 Conference) hit a season low .070 against the Sun Devil, including 29 attack errors.
“It was not the same team that everyone has seen all year long that showed up Friday night against Arizona State,” first-year Oregon head coach Jim Moore said. “We were focused completely on something other than ourselves. We just need to play our game.”
Oregon turned its play around in the finale against Arizona, particularly in the third game, but the 15th-ranked Wildcats were too much for the Ducks.
“It was a tough weekend, obviously,” freshman libero Katie Swoboda said. “All we want to do is improve each day and we’ve come in this week and worked really hard on just improving ourselves and working on the things we know we need to work on.”
Both Swoboda and fellow freshman Mira Djuric have been positive surprises this season for Moore and his staff. Djuric is the Pac-10 leader in points per game with a 5.48 average and holds the conference season-high for kills (28) and points (35.5) in a match. The Serbian native is also second in aces (0.65) and fourth in kills per game (4.35). Swoboda leads the Ducks and ranks third in the Pac-10 in digs per game, averaging 4.62.
The two have proved to be critically linked to Oregon’s success thus far. In the loss at Arizona State, Djuric had a dismal 0.120 hitting percentage and only eight kills, while Swoboda dug only seven balls in three games.
Getting both players involved early and often is one area of focus for the Ducks at the games tonight and Friday.
“(Freshmen) have played hard and that’s all you can ask of them,” senior Kelly Russell said. “They will be more adjusted now (to Pac-10 opponents).”
The characteristically solid play of Russell this season has been unsurprising to Moore, who looked to Russell, fellow senior Jaclyn Jones and junior Heather Madison to be consistent performers in the Oregon lineup.
Russell is second on the team in total kills with 199 and second in percentage, hitting 0.350. Madison is 10th in the conference in assists, averaging 7.07 per game.
Both will be relied upon to have another strong match tonight against California, which enters the game as winners of two straight on the road.
The Golden Bears had dropped back to 25th in the national rankings, when the Bears knocked off both No. 12 USC and No. 13 UCLA on the road.
“They are scrappy, swinging hard and playing really hard and obviously when you win at SC and UCLA, you are doing some pretty good things,” Moore said. “They are playing very well.”
California is led by sophomore outside hitter Angie Pressey, who garnered Pac-10 Player of the Week honors after averaging five kills and 2.63 digs per game in two matches against the Trojans and Bruins. The Golden Bears have won the last 12 matches against the Ducks.
“We’re really excited to play Cal,” Russell said. “We think that’s a game that we can take. It can be an upset.”
Win or lose, the Ducks won’t have much time to dwell on the result of the California game because one night later, defending national champion Stanford comes to Eugene.
The Cardinal, ranked third in the nation, boast one of the conferences best lineups led by freshman outside hitter and Pac-10 kills leader, Cynthia Barboza. Stanford, winners of 12 straight Pac-10 matches and 27 of its last 28 dating back to 2004, have won the last 31 meetings against Oregon.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Swoboda said. “It’s always fun to play the best teams. I am excited to dig against the best hitters. I think it will be a really good weekend.”
A victory over either California or Stanford would help erase the painful memory and constant reminder of last season’s disappointing 1-17 Pac-10 record. Similar to this season, the Ducks coasted in the preseason with a 9-3 record before struggling in conference play a year ago.
“It’s a new year and such a different feeling,” Russell said. “This could be the year that we turn it around. We’re not going to let Arizona State and Arizona get us down. We expected to win those matches just like we are expecting to win these matches at home.”
The Ducks are returning home after eight games on the road and are optimistic about picking up its first Pac-10 victory inside the friendly confines of McArthur Court.
“I hope that (playing at home) is going to be an advantage for us,” Moore said. “The crowd can give you a little extra push and hopefully they can do that for us this weekend. We just have to learn to control our emotion, that’s literally all it is.”

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