It has been a difficult week of practice for the Oregon volleyball team.
While the Ducks have been preparing for their final matches of the season against Stanford and California, Oregon players have had to battle the frustration stemming from Friday’s loss to Arizona State. The Ducks played their most competitive match of the season against the Sun Devils, but Oregon’s inability to finish strong led to a 3-1 (30-28, 27-30, 30-28, 30-28) loss.
Head coach Carl Ferreira said the team started its final week of practice in a little bit of a funk, but he and the rest of the coaching staff have continued to motivate players and keep them focused on the upcoming matches.
“The team is a little frustrated that they let (the Arizona State match) get away,” Ferreira said. “They started the week off a little slow in practice, but there’s nothing that they’re going to do to give me an opportunity to stop supporting them.”
Oregon will close out its season with matches against the No. 7 Cardinal on Thursday and the No. 9 Golden Bears on Friday. The Ducks were swept by both teams Sept. 18 and 19.

Setting the table
Freshman Heather Madison proved last week that she belongs as a setter in the Pacific-10 Conference. Filling in for injured sophomore Jodi Bell, Madison finished with 28 assists Thursday against Arizona in her first-ever collegiate start. The following night against Arizona State, Madison set an Oregon season-high with 53 assists, while playing with the poise of a veteran.
Madison said after getting her first collegiate start out of the way against the Wildcats, she was able to just relax and play against the Sun Devils.
There was “a lot less (pressure),” the former Gresham High School All-American said. “There’s still pressure but I changed my perspective and just went out there and played. I simplified it. It’s just a game and it’s the same thing I’ve done a million times.”

Looking ahead
Along with focusing on the season’s final two matches, junior libero Katie O’Neil said she has thought about next season on occasion and feels Oregon has a bright future. She added that the Ducks will eliminate many of the youthful errors that plagued the team this season.
“I’m guilty of looking ahead,” O’Neil said. “We’re still young but it’s a good way to be optimistic. It’s hard not to think that next season we’ll be one more year experienced and we’ll not make the same mistakes.”

Winning mentality
Ferreira has been patient as the season has progressed, choosing to focus on how Oregon has improved rather than dwell on its record. He wanted to reiterate, however, how important winning is to him as a coach and former player. While Ferreira understands it will take time to win with such a young team in the Pac-10, he never enters a match looking for moral victories.
“Winning is very, very important,” Ferreira said. “I’m never going into a match for brownie points. I coach to win every single match. There’s a lot of valuable lessons that you can learn from athletics, but first and foremost we’re going to try and compete because you can’t work on winning by (just) talking about winning.”
In his 10th season as a head coach, Ferreira has a record of 181-139, including a 100-13 record in three seasons at Cal State Bakersfield and a 48-43 record in three seasons at Idaho.