Oregon spikers seek Pepsi spirit
Ducks host tourney,
boast improved play
By MIKE RIPLINGER
Ot tha Enwratd
When you're the defending champion of your
own tournament, you should be fairly confident of
triumphing once again But when a new team is
entered that beat you earlier in the year, and has
currently lost only one match this season, you have
reason to have your confidence shaken a little
This is the case for the Oregon volleyball team
as they host the Diet Pepsi Classic. Friday and
Saturday in MacArthur Court Sacramento State,the
new team to the tournament has caused Oregon
coach, Chris Voelz, to quaver a little when talking
about this weekend
"This year's field is much stronger than ever
before, especially with the addition of Sac State
They are a very strong team, and we'll have to be
ready for them," said Voelz
Voelz has reason to be concerned Sacramento
State won the Division III national title last year, and
swept the Ducks in three matches earlier this sea
son After moving up to Division II this year, the
Hornets have reached the number one ranKing
Unlike most Division II teams, they haven’t just
stayed in their division, but have beaten a number of
Division I teams in the process
Oregon, 9-22-2 on the season, will also have to
face Santa Clara (10-6) and Cal State Fullerton
(8-10)
’ All three teams are stong,” Voelz said, "So it's
not like we can just concentrate on Sac State and
forget about the others It should prove to be a very
competitive tournament "
Oregon appears to be ready for the tourney
They are playing their best ball of the year, according
to Voelz, with their improved defense primarily
responsible for this surge
"Our coverage is much better We are reacting
and moving toward the ball quicker than ever before
If we continue to improve like this, it should give us
two to three more points a game, something we can
really use.”
Voelz pointed out that such a margin would have
made a difference in Oregon’s loss to 15th-ranked
Washington last weekend, where the Ducks lost
each game by two points
Middle hitter, Karen Beamer, leads the Ducks'
charge on defense Her recovery from a knee injury
coincides with the resurgence of the Duck's play of
late She is second to Cathy Hill in the team blocking
department, 97 to 106, despite being out for three
weeks
Hill, the workhorse on the team according to
Voelz, has an exceptional hitting average of 315
Together with Cathy Lubahn, who is hitting at a
258-clip, they give Oregon a front line that can play
with anybody
Also, setters Therese Cooper and Tamara
Chambers have been playing "much, much better
and enable us to play more cohesive as a unit," Voelz
said
"We have progressed a lot in the last month Our
last two weeks of play have been looking very good,
and we want to keep building on that "
"We've had some good individual matches in
the past, but they were always surrounded by not
so-good efforts We want to continue to improve
each time out. and this weekend gives us an excel
lent opportunity to do so We are trying to get away
from the yo-yo effect, and this weekend should be a
start "
LA cheered
NY berated
NEW YORK (AP) - The Los
Angeles Dodgers returned
home to a heroes' welcome
Thursday, while New York
Yankees owner George Stein
brenner considered a World
Series he couldn't afford to for
get
About 10,000 exuberant fans
greeted the Dodgers at Los
Angeles International Airport
Thursday morning The
Dodgers had beaten the
Yankees 9-2 Wednesday night
to claim their first World Series
title since 1965 four games to
two
Several hours afterward and
some 3,000 miles to the east,
Steinbrenner held court in his
office at Yankee Stadium His
purpose was to make clear that
he alone, took responsibility for
the Yankees defeat, and he
apologized
“The only way failure can be
acceptable is if you learn from it
You can sit and say, ‘We ll get
them next time,’ but that's not
good enough," the owner said
“You have to replace words
with deeds ”
The Dodgers won the Series
after losing the first two games
at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday
and Wednesday of last week by
scores of 5-3 and 3-0 Los
Angeles won the next three at
home — 5-4, 8-7 and 2-1 — and
the Dodgers trounced the
Yankees Wednesday behind the
hitting of Pedro Guerrero
Afterward, Steinbrenner is
sued a public apology that read,
in part: “I want to sincerely
apologize to the people of New
York and to fans of the New
York Yankees everywhere for
the performance of the Yankee
team in the World Series I also
want to assure you that we will
be at work immediately to
prepare tor 1982 "
When he heard about the
printed statement, Yankee
slugger Reggie Jackson re
sponded angrily: “I apologize, I
apologize, I apologize Well, I
don't apologize for anything I'm
sorry we didn't win, but we tried
our best.”
Steinbrenner took exception
“I made the apology to the
fans, that I was genuinely sorry
we didn’t do better in the World