Thursday
Best Bet
World Series Game 5
New York vs. New York
5p.m., Fox
SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
Natural Born Killer
Erin Swanson-Davies Emerald
Junior Monique Tobbagi sixth in the Pac-10 with nearly four kills per game. She is relishing the role as one of Oregon’s key leaders this season.
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
Bump, set, spike.
That's how it typically goes in volley
ball.
When Monique Tobbagi is on the
floor, however, the scenario is a little
different.
It’s more like: Bump, set, hide.
At times, opposing players probably
wish they could sneak under the hard
wood floor to avoid a fierce blow from
the lethal right arm of the junior outside
hitter. As one of the most aggressive at
tackers in the Pacific-10 Conference, To
bbagi has been known to intimidate a
few opponents by bouncing balls off
their foreheads.
“It’s great to see Monique ricochet
those balls off peoples’ bodies,” Oregon
head coach Carl Ferreira said. “I don’t
mind a little arcade pin ball action. It
stimulates Mo and the rest of us.
“She can definitely bring the heat.”
The 20-year-old from San Jose, Calif.,
has revealed signs of a pure killing ma
chine at times this season. In a five
game match against California earlier
this year, Tobbagi tallied a career-high
27 kills, 15 digs and four blocks. Mo, as
her teammates call her, has recorded a
double-double in seven matches this
season, and nearly had another in the
Ducks’ first Pac-10 win of the season at
Oregon State last Friday.
“When I’m going up to the net, I’m
just looking to terminate a rally or get us
a point,” said Tobbagi, who is sixth in
the Pac-10 with 3.89 kills per game.
“But whatever happens, we don’t want
the ball back.”
All this recent success comes after
Tobbagi sat out much of the 1999 cam
paign with a leg injury.
“That was one of the most difficult
things I’ve ever gone through,” she said.
“I hated not being able to contribute.”
Tobbagi also sat out much of spring
training earlier this year, and Ferreira
said he considered having her redshirt
this season because the injury was still
hampering her.
But, almost magically, the injury dis
appeared. However, in a preseason tour
nament match in Texas, Tobbagi suf
fered another set-back. After diving for a
Tu rn to Tobbagi, page 9A
After missing
much of 1999
with an injury,
junior attacker
Monique
Tobbagi has
put together a
stellar season
— and is ready
to prove to the
world that
she’s capable
of much “Mo”
VOLLEYBALL
raiu tne latest duck to be honored as player of week
Oregon players
continue
to rack up
awards as their
team continues
to impress on a
nationwide
scale
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
It has turned into a routine
for the Oregon football team.
The Ducks play a good
game, win and then receive
individual awards a few
days later.
“Winning all of these
awards is just a testament to
what kind of a football team
we have,” linebacker Matt
Smith said.
The latest to receive an
award is defensive end Saul
Patu, who became the fifth
Duck this season to be
named Pacific-10 Confer
ence player of the week. Patu
was named the top defensive
player after his dominating
performance in Oregon’s 14
10 victory over Arizona.
In the game, the senior
from Seattle punished the
Wildcat offense with seven
tackles, four of which went
for lost yardage. Patu agrees
with Smith in that the honor
is a credit to the entire de
fense, but still feels proud to
be singled out.
“It was awesome that I got
it since it was my first one,”
Patu said. “And it was excit
ing not just for me, but for
my family and the rest of the
defensive players, who are
also like my family.”
Head coach Mike Bellotti
mentioned how it was a long
time coming for Patu to re
ceive the honor.
“He deserves that com
pletely,” Bellotti said. “He’s
had many memorable games
but that certainly was one of
his best. He's such a good
leader and hard worker, and
Turn to Football, page 9A
Catharine Kendall Emerald
Senior defensive end Saul Patu (48) goes all out to bring down Arizona quarterback Ortege Jenkins (16) last Saturday. Patu
recorded seven tackles against the Wildcats and was named the Pacific-10 Conference defensive player of the week.