DuckNews.com - Volleyball



Duck Split Weekend Series Michael Konowitz With inspiring wins over Washington State and #7 Washington the previous weekend, the Duck volleyball team (15-7, 8-6) looked like it might be overcoming its youth (no seniors, more than half the roster made up by freshman) to compete with the top teams in the Pac-12, and thus some of the best in the country. But after 16^th-ranked Oregon dominated the first set with struggling Utah (9-15, 4-11) last Friday at Matt Knight Arena, the Ducks got lazy. The Utes took the next two sets and ended the match on an 11-2 run in the fifth set to upset Oregon 3-2. Duck head coach Jim Moore admitted his team had a bad week in practice and despite looking good in the first set, ".we relaxed," he said. "There was no focus and no energy, and we got what we deserved. You have to treat your opponent with respect, and when you don't do the things you're supposed to this is what happens." Simply put, the Ducks don't have that "killer instinct." At least not right now. The Ducks stepped to the brink of being an upset victim the Friday before against Washington State. Because the Ducks came back from an 0-2 deficit it was an inspiring win, no question. But the Cougars aren't a team Oregon should have trouble with and they were fortunate to escape the upset. In fact, Moore even talked to his squad about "being the aggressor" and playing with energy before that match-up, and those were the same problems Oregon had Friday evening against Utah. The Ducks just flat got caught this time, and Moore knew it: ".it was the same - we assumed they were going to roll over and die.Game one looked easy because we worked hard, but we gave up after that." The Ducks came back with more vigor on Saturday, taking out Colorado (5-18, 0-15) in three sets, but they dropped four spots to 20^th in this week's coaches' poll, and the youth of this team clearly isn't helping their ability to consistently play their best volleyball against lesser opponents. That all points to an inexperienced mixture of lack of respect and excitement for the matches that don't seem like "big deals," and Moore took a slightly different tack Saturday, saying his team needs to just stop worrying about who they're playing: "I don't care what your respect (for the opponent) is; It's about our side. Take care of our side of the net and I'll worry about the other side of the net. It doesn't matter whether it's (the elite California schools), or whether it's Utah or Colorado. We just need to take care of our side of the net." This team is learning tough lessons the hard way. Missing the post-season appears unlikely, Saturday's victory over Colorado eclipsed last season's win total, the only year in Moore's tenure Oregon didn't reach the NCAA tournament. But taking better care of their own side of the net is needed to secure an invitation, let alone to succeed if they were to get there. This weekend is another opportunity for the Ducks to focus on their side of the net and find that non-discriminating killer instinct as they visit the Arizona schools. The Wildcats are just one spot below Oregon in the Pac-12 standings at 6-8 (14-9 overall), but it's again the Friday match-up that could pose a problem for the Ducks if Oregon does get caught up with who their opponent is - Arizona State (5-18, 1-13) is right between Utah and Colorado at the bottom of the conference.



Ducks Drop Cougs, Huskies Michael Konowitz After losing four straight Pac-12 matches, with none even lasting the full five sets, the 18^th-ranked Oregon volleyball team (14-6, 7-5) determinedly got back on track this past weekend against the Washington schools at Matthew Knight Arena. First the Ducks came back from an 0-2 deficit to down Washington State 3-2 on Friday, and then they stunned the 7^th-ranked Huskies by taking Saturday's match in a 3-0 sweep. Oregon hadn't swept Washington since 1995. Without a senior on the squad and more than half the team made up of freshmen, there were questions if Oregon could compete at the upper echelon of the incredibly tough Pac-12 - though head coach Jim Moore refuses to admit he's had any doubts. Moore had told his players that they needed to "be the aggressor, serve aggressively, and play with energy," and by Moore's own account, the Ducks looked like they were taking unranked Wazzu for granted at first: The Cougs won the first two sets by commanding scores of 25-21 and 25-17, and it looked like the young players in green & yellow might be taking steps backwards. But the Ducks refocused during the intermission and stormed back with a 25-8 win in the third set. "We were determined that we weren't going to keep playing like we did early," said freshman outside hitter, Liz Brenner, who racked up a career-high 15 kills against WSU. Oregon continued that momentum with a 25-13 win in the fourth set. Washington State showed a little life in the start of the final set as the Cougs went up 4-0, but after Moore used his only two timeouts the Ducks finished on a 10-4 run to close out the fifth set 15-12 for their first five-set win in 2011. "Our focus in the final three sets was only on the next point. We knew we needed to step it up, and we did," said Brenner. Moore's goals for the Ducks the following night were clear-cut but ambitious: have four players finish with double digit kills and win in three sets. Oregon hadn't done the former once in their first 19 games this year, but they used the impetus of their final three sets on Friday to accomplish both against the highly-ranked Huskies on Saturday. Sophomore setter Lauren Plum stole the show as she posted a 3-set Pac-12 season high of 52 assists that was just two off her overall season high in Oregon's first win over Wazzu on October 1^st. The sweep was no picnic as the Ducks were forced to battle back from deficits in both the first two sets and the second set went into extra points, but final scores of 27-25, 30-28, and 25-18 sent the Matthew Knight Arena crowd home very happy. Oregon moved up two spots in Monday's AVCA Coaches Poll to 16^th. The Ducks should be able to get wins over conference new kids Utah (8-14, 3-10) and Colorado (5-16, 0-13) in Eugene this weekend and need to win on the road at the Arizona schools before facing four Top-10 foes in a row as they host UCLA and USC and then visit the Bay Area schools. Winning on the road against those top-level Pac-12 teams may still be a stretch for such a young squad that hasn't shown consistency yet, but their determination and dominance over the weekend give them the best chance they have to get there.



Stanford Stops Ducks 3-1 Rick Morgan The seventh ranked Stanford Cardinal defeated the Oregon Ducks 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-23) Saturday night at Matthew Knight Arena. In the opening game Oregon jumped to an early advantage, building a 13-9 advantage as Alaina Bergsma and Katherine Fischer avoided the Stanford block and found open angles to attack. Stanford rallied to take a brief lead 16-15, but a string of attack errors gave Oregon an opportunity to fashion a lead of four at 20-16 and the Ducks held on to win the first set 25-22.. The Cardinal composed themselves in the second set, breaking a 9-9 tie to build a 21-16 margin and never let Oregon get any closer, squaring the match at 1-1. The final two sets were hard fought affairs with Stanford only gaining the upper hand in the latter stages of each. But close it out they did, sending Oregon to a second consecutive defeat. "We played better," said head coach Jim Moore when comparing Saturday's result with Friday's 3-0 loss to #5 California. "This is a match you can look at and go ?OK, we are right there'. The biggest thing for us is we just have to know that you are right there with them. "Alaina (Bergsma) was pretty good, Kat (Katherine Fischer) was good - Kat had a good match, I'm happy for Kat. Lauren (Plum) set very well Those three kids, I thought played very well tonight." Plum posted 47 assists, sending Bergsma to the net for 64 swings and a team high 26 kills and setting up Fischer for another 10. "You got to remember," Moore continued, "they (Stanford and Cal) are really good. We are going to struggle with those teams because they are really good. Right now we just have to get over the hump. And that's all it is, just get over the hump. A little bit of it is a confidence thing. A little bit of it is just execution." "They were more disciplined than we were tonight and that was the difference. They were much more disciplined on defense than we were. They were calmer too, on defense. When they dug balls they didn't go backwards, they went up so somebody could play them." "We just have to know that we are right there. I hope for them they are going to feel a little better about life than they did last night." The task doesn't get any easier for the Ducks, #2 UCLA and #5 USC are next on the docket, in Los Angeles. Oregon will return home to host Washington State (Oct 21) and Washington (Oct 22). Both matches are set for a 7:00 start.



Bears Overpower Oregon Rick Morgan The fourth ranked California Bears swept the Oregon Ducks 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-12) Friday night at Matthew Knight Arena, spoiling the night for a record setting crowd of 6210. The largest crowd in program history witnessed two games of top-notch volleyball before the Ducks wilted in game three. The loss drops Oregon to 12-3 overall and to 6-2 in Pac-12 play. Cal is now 16-2, 6-2. Throughout the match, California's block overwhelmed Oregon's attack, holding the Ducks to a miniscule .042 hitting average. The Bears on the other hand hit for .269 and would have hit for more if it weren't for Haley Jacob's often spectacular digs that kept Oregon alive in points. In each of the first two sets any number of attack attempts were kept alive by the width of a diving hand flattened to the floor, then set to the net so someone else could take a big swing the other way. Points were played crisply, there were few extended rallies and both games were played even into the high teens with Cal taking control in the final points. But at the end of the night, the Bears dug ten more balls than Oregon, out-blocked the Ducks 18 to 5 and as a direct consequence held a 2-0 game advantage at the break. Faced with the prospect of having to win three straight games, the Ducks fell short of head coach Jim Moore's expectations in the third. "I hope we did enough in the first two games to bring some people back," said Moore. "Disappointing to not compete at the end." "But the atmosphere was just spectacular," he continued. "(the crowd) . did everything they could to pull us into this." The new attendance mark best the old record of 3817 that was set against Washington in 2008. "I thought they (Cal) played very well, (Tara) Murray lit it up," he said. Murray posted 19 kills, hitting for .340 against Oregon's block. "We knew we were going to get dug, but we didn't keep swinging, we didn't change our shots. We kept telling them to change their shots, we just have to be better at it." "We have got to move on. It's over. There is nothing we can do about it, you better learn from it or we are going to continue to struggle. Alaina Bergsa led the Ducks with 13 kills and Lauren Plum's 26 was best in assists.

Ducks Down Desert Schools

The Pac-12 era got off to a good start for the 16^th ranked Oregon Ducks when the volleyball team hosted - and defeated Arizona and Arizona State at Matthew Knight Arena over the weekend.

Oregon swept the Wildcats 3-0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-20) on Friday, improving their season mark to 8-1. Arizona had won the last five meetings.

Alaina Bergsma led the Oregon attack with 16 kills. As a team the Ducks hit for .299 while holding the visitors to a .143 mark.

The Ducks dropped their first set in seven matches on Sunday against the Sun Devils.

Oregon did show a more balanced attack against the ASU with four players reaching the double figure level in kills; Bergsma was at the head of the pack with 22. Lauren Plum and Katherine Fischer each added a dozen, Ariana Williams knocked down 10.

Oregon out hit ASU .279 to .161 and held a 63-42 advantage in kills. Despite the lopsided advantage on the stat sheet, the Sun Devils weren't willing to go quietly back to the desert after the Ducks won the first set handily, 25-12.

ASU took an early led in the second set and although Oregon rallied late to tie the match at 19, the Sun Devils escaped with the set on a pair of Oregon attack errors.

"We came out well," said head coach Jim Moore of Sunday's first set. "We jumped on them in the beginning and you could just see us thinking . ?oh, we're fine'. And they (ASU) got hot, then they got all excited and started yelling and screaming and they get in it. And you let somebody in it and you're going to have to fight."

In the third session ASU battled Oregon tough to 13-13, but wilted under a barrage of Bergsma and Lauren Gross attacks. The Ducks claimed the set 25-20.

Oregon built a comfortable 20-15 margin in the fourth set and appeared to be set to close out the match, but again was victimized by untimely attack errors, and ASU fought their way back to a tie at 23.

Bergsma and Williams ended the suspense and the match 25-23 with a pair of kills.

"That was the frustrating part to be on them so well in the beginning and then just kind of relax and think that it's over. We haven't done that in a while," said Moore.

"To come out and take care of Arizona . because we were pretty nervous . so it was good that they handled that."

The Ducks are the road for their next four matches, first facing conference newcomers Colorado (Sep 23) and Utah (Sep 24). Then they cross the Columbia to tangle with Washington (Sep 30) and Washington State (Oct 1).

Oregon will return to Matthew Knight Arena to host the Bay Area pair, California on Friday, October 7^th, and then Stanford on Saturday, the 8^th. Both matches are set to begin at 7:00 pm.

Ducks Drop Mustangs
Rick Morgan

The 16^th ranked Oregon volleyball team closed out their non-conference schedule with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-17) sweep of the Cal Poly Mustangs Tuesday evening at Matthew Knight Arena.

But in the last tune-up before the Arizona schools arrive over the weekend to open Pac-12 play, head coach Jim Moore was most pleased with his defense.

"Our blocking got better," said Moore. "Our blocking hasn't been as bad as it has looked prior to tonight. We just sort of got in a funk that wasn't very good."

The Ducks held Cal Poly to a miserly .071 hitting average, while Oregon's attack posted a .173 average.

"Serving was a little better," said Moore. "We had more aces (4) but we missed way too many serves (7)."

Alaina Bergsma and Katherine Fischer let the way with 14 and 13 kill respectively. Lauren Plum sparkled as the quarterback the Oregon attack, posting 38 of the 39 assists credited.

The Mustangs proved to be a tenacious bunch, staying within striking distance most of the way in game one, then taking the Ducks to the wire in the game two.

"Between the first and second games," Moore said. ". I said we need to be the aggressor but we can't be reckless."

"We gave them 13 points - they scored 23 and we gave them 13. That wasn't good. My frustration with them is we made too many errors in game one but we played well. All of a sudden we stopped playing well and still gave them a bunch of errors in game two."

"(In the second game) I finally just said ?enough' - this is not intelligent. We need to be intelligent."

"We did turn it around and that was good that they were able to do that. They got through it and that's a good thing for us to learn to overcome that."

"I thought Kat (Fischer) sparked as at the end of game two. She took five or six really good swings that sort of propelled us into the end of that set."

The Ducks finish the pre-season with a record of 7-1 and will face Arizona at 7:00 pm Friday at Matthew Knight Arena to open the conference schedule. Arizona State follows with a 1:00 pm date on Sunday.

After a preseason that opened a win over the then top-ranked and four-time defending national champion Penn State Nittany Lions and concluded with six straight 3-0 sweeps, are the Ducks ready for the powerhouse that is the Pac-12?

"Yeah," said Moore, "I think we are as ready as we can be."