Volleyball
Continued from Page 7
become. In her first collegiate
competition, the University
Park/Holiday Inn Classic, she
recorded 23 kills and 23 digs to
earn all-tournament honors.
The following season was just as
bright for each, as White led the
squad with 120 blocks and was
second with 284 kills and 246 digs,
and Ernst was tops among return
ing players with 14 double-figure
kill matches and had three double
doubles (double-digit kills plus
double-digit blocks and digs).
It seemed as though no matter
how di fferent the two were, together
they would turn the Oregon volley
ball program intoa winning entity.
Unfortunately, 1997 had an un
expected twist.
White suffered a knee injury
during the preseason, causing her
to miss the first nine matches. Af
ter playing sparingly, she reaggra
vated a shoulder injury and
missed the last five matches. Co
incidentally, White chose Oregon
because she felt it was a school
that she would enjoy even if she
wasn't playing volleyball.
“I was always told to pick the
school you want to go to instead of
picking it for sports,” White says.
“Because if something were to
happen and you get injured and
never play again, you’ve got to like
the school."
Fortunately, White’s injuries
were not career-ending, and she
joined Ernst this year as co-cap
tain. Both are back to their old
ways — leading the team in kills
in almost every match — and have
found a common ground.
“Things have just changed over
the years,” Ernst said. “You grow
up and you mature and you learn
more about the person. I look back
and laugh because that was ridicu
lous. I didn’t even know her.”
As the season’s end nears, and
Oregon plays its last home match
this weekend, both will be re
membered by their peers for their
perseverance. And no matter what
the Ducks’ final record might be,
their stats indicate they have nev
er given up on this team.
“I remember feeling my first
year like halfway through the sea
son that some of the team had giv
en up,” White says. “I always told
the coaches never ever let me be
that way.”
White and Ernst are the backbone
of a young team this year, and they
are setting an example. They have
matured, overcome differences and
have survived consecutive losing
seasons. Ernst has emerged as an all
American candidate, and White has
dealt with the injuries that inter
rupted her stellar career.
“They are obvious leaders,”
Oregon head coach Cathy Nelson
says. “The team voted them as
captains, so clearly the team feels
they are leaders.”
And clearly they accept the
challenge.
“I was thinking,” White says,
pondering her early clashes with
Ernst. “Here you have this college
volleyball team. It’s not like a high
school team where everyone
comes from the same place. Here,
it’s everyone coming together
from different places with differ
ent personalities. You're here to
be a family. Once you accept and
respect people for those differ
ences, I think it’s easier.”
Soon these parallel forces will
stand alone. But if they truly are
family, both White and Ernst will
be mentioned in the same breath
for years to come.
Spoils briefs
Matt Hankins/Emerald
Oregon seniors Madeline Ernst and Alii
White overcame differences to become
powerful leaders and potent forces for
the Oregon volleyball team.
Oregon crew
The Oregon men's and
women's Club Sports crew teams
travel to Seattle to compete in the
Head of the Lake Regatta. The
three-mile timed event will take
place on Sunday, Nov. 8, and fea
ture national powers Washing
ton, Puget Sound, and Seattle Pa
cific.
According to team coordina
tor Ruth Golar, Washington is
among the teams to beat. The
Huskies “are at the top of the
competition,” Golar said. "They
have typically won all of the
big races across the country
every year for the last five or six
years.”
Coach Phil Holmes feels the
Ducks are ready for the chal
lenge.
“The Seattle Pacific men won
it last year, and we beat them in
the spring, blew them away,”
Holmes said.
Golar also feels the teams have
great potential for the regatta.
“There is a lot of potential for
the team,” Golar said. “We did
really well last year, and we have
a lot of returning varsity this
year.”
Ice Hockey
Was it justifiable or injustice?
This was the topic of conver
sation that would not evaporate
this off-season throughout
Washington’s ice hockey team.
The Huskies had finished tied
for fifth in the Pacific-8 Confer
ence with UCLA because one of
their non-conference games had
been canceled. The Pac-8 chose
UCLA to participate in the tour
nament regardless, creating a
bitterness that almost induced
the Huskies to drop from the
conference.
Their participation in the Pac
8 this season was by no means
challenged by the Ducks, who
swept their Northwest foe last
season and look to do the same
this weekend in a three-game
road trip. Oregon will take on the
Huskies on Friday and Saturday
in Seattle and wrap up the trip at
Western Washington in a non
league game Sunday.
The Ducks are familiar with
ORTHODONTICS
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the Huskies’ game plan, but the
same can’t be said for Western
Washington. “We know how
Washington plays, and we put
them away last year, but we re
ally don’t know what to expect
from Western Washington,”
said Oregon forward Thomas
Mele.
As far as the wear and tear of a
strenuous three-game road trip,
Mele said, “It may be a factor if
playing
USC or
Stanford,
but not
this week
end. No
one wants
to play three games in a week
end, but we’ll be all right.”
Rugby
Oregon successfully tested the
waters at the Division I-A level
last weekend with convincing
victories over Washington and
Western Washington. The next
step is more like a leap, with in
ternational competitor Trinity
College coming to Eugene on Sat
urday at 11a.m.
The contest at South Bank
Field (next to the Autzen foot
bridge) will be the Ducks’ only
home match of the fall. Trinity
travels from Abbotsford, B.C.,
Canada, to attempt to contain the
Ducks’ offense. That offense is
propelled by Cal Taylor, who
was clutch for the Ducks last
weekend with two tries, includ
ing a game-winning penalty kick
against the Huskies.
Other stellar performances last
weekend included the play of
Avery Jeffers, who also recorded
two tries, and Darren Haynes,
who scored one. Oregon’s prac
tice this week will be accompa
nied by intense film sessions
where the Ducks will try to ex
pand their knowledge of Trinity's
unfamiliar squad.
Ultimate
The Oregon men’s and
women’s Club Sports ultimate
frisbee teams will begin their
quest to reach the national cham
pionships in spring when they
play their first tournament of the
season this weekend in Santa
Clara, Calif.
The regional tournament is
one of the most important of the
season, and will feature some of
the best teams on the West Coast
and in the country.
Both teams expect to have a
successful tournament.
“We have a great bunch of
women out this year,” said
women’s team member Tiana
Grzebik. "And we have a strong
group of returners. Things are
looking good.”
Oregon soccer
The men's club soccer im
proved their season record to 6
1-2 with a weekend sweep. Its
three victories were over Uni
versity of Portland, Central Ore
gon and Umpqua Community
College. Leading the Ducks in
scoring were Chad Wright, with
three goals, and Nick Sorich,
with two.
The team's next game will be
today at 3:30 pm at South Bank
Field against Lane Community
College.
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