Sixth player leaves UO volleyball squad
Dariam Acevedo leaves
the program because
of financial reasons and
will go back to Puerto Rico
Volleyball
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
Yet another Oregon volleyball play
er has announced her departure from
head coach Carl Ferreira’s squad.
Freshman Dariam Acevedo, a key
component of Oregon’s offense last
season, said Friday she is leaving the
team because of financial reasons.
“This was a great experience,” the
Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico- native
said. “This was the first time playing
for a team outside my country. The
Pac-10 is one of the best places to
play volleyball.”
Acevedo paced the Ducks last sea
son, playing in 19 matches after sit
ting out the first part of the season,
after playing with the Puerto Rico
National Team. When she came to
Oregon, Acevedo stood out, averag
ing 3.31 kills per game and posting
24 service aces.
Acevedo posted the team’s season
high of 23 kills Oct. 18 against Ari
zona State, a match Oregon narrow
ly lost in five sets.
She also was instrumental in Ore
gon’s only win of the Pacific-10 Con
ference season. She had 11 kills in
Oregon’s four-game victory against
Oregon State.
“I think it’s unfortunate,” Ferreira
said. “She’s a great human being and
a talented player. She meant a lot to
the recruiting efforts we put in, so it’s
always disappointing in that regard.
So you’re losing a talented athlete
and a family member.”
Acevedo made it clear that her de
cision had nothing to do with the
loss of five players from last season
in January. The group left the team
after Oregon’s 1-17 conference sea
son, and two — Lindsay Murphy and
Heather Gilmore — have since
transferred to other schools.
“(Ferreira) is always trying to make
the best decisions for the team,”
Acevedo said. “You, as a player, have
to respect your head coach because
he is like the captain of the boat. You
have to do what he says because it’s al
ways with the best intentions.”
Acevedo said she originally came
to Oregon because of the school’s ar
chitecture program, but decided
during the year to change her major.
But because of her family’s econom
ic difficulties, she said, they asked
her to come home.
Because she respects her family’s
decision and understands the situa
tion, there was no other decision that
she could make even though she val
ued her season with the Ducks.
Acevedo said she plans on com
peting for the Puerto Rico National
Team again and most likely for the
University of Puerto Rico.
“It is for the good of my family,”
she said.
Jaclyn Jones, Acevedo’s room
mate and closest friend on the team,
said she will miss seeing her on the
McArthur Court floor and off it as
well. Jones is from Fort St. John,
British Columbia, and the duo con
stituted Oregon’s foreign contingent.
Jones said she has known of
Acevedo’s decision for three weeks.
“It’s only setting in right now,
though,” Jones said. “She was a key
player because she knows so much
about the game. Me, being her room
mate, it means a lot to me.
“I expect her to do great things. I
expect her to make a huge impact
because she’s a great player.”
With the loss of Acevedo, Oregon
now has five returning players —
two juniors-to-be and three sopho
mores-to-be. Ferreira said there will
be seven newcomers to the team
next season, four of which have
signed national letters of intent.
He added that Oregon’s five re
turners next season all are under
scholarship, which means that of the
12 players expected to wear a Duck
uniform next season, three will be
walk-ons.
“We’re right where we’ve always
planned to be in terms of the
progress we’re making,” Ferreira
said. “Attrition is probably a natural
component of collegiate athletics,
and really you play today, and pre
Adam Amato Emerald
Dariam Acevedo averaged 331 kills per game for the Ducks last season.
pare for tomorrow. You say that easi
er than you accept it sometimes, but
that’s the way we try to approach it.”
The Ducks begin their 2003 sea
son on Aug. 29 at the North Carolina
Tournament before beginning their
Pac-10 season Sept. 18 against Cali
fornia at McArthur Court.
Contact the sports reporter
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
Kellen Taylor can't hold on to the ball as Sam Hughes defends him Friday at Oregon's third scrimmage.
Adam Amato Emerald
Football
continued from page 11
play, and they have taken some
major steps in the last couple
of practices.
“There were two halves today.
The offense came back in the sec
ond half and obviously took advan
tage of the field position.”
Kevin Mitchell, participating in
his first scrimmage of the spring, re
turned a tipped pass for a 7-yard
touchdown early on. Justin Phinisee
downed quarterback Johnny
DuRocher for an 8-yard sack, the
team’s only sack of the day. And
Demetrius Spates came through
with the big play of the afternoon,
returning a fumble 79 yards for a
touchdown.
“I dropped one pick, and I was
kicking myself for that,” Mitchell
said. “But I got the second one and
scored. It’s just good to get back into
the swing of things again.”
After a sluggish and scoreless first
half for the offense, Jason Fife, Chris
Vincent, and the rest of the group
picked up the pace.
Fife finished the afternoon 4-for
8 for 23 yards but ran for a 5-yard
touchdown. He also threw a 4-yard
touchdown strike to tight end Nate
LiaBraaten.
“I haven’t really felt like I could
get into a rhythm the last couple of
scrimmages,” Fife said. “How the
reps turned out, or the fact that that
it was a running scrimmage last
scrimmage, it’s been really hard for
me to get a groove. I think I was able
to find it there.”
Vincent ended the afternoon
with 63 yards on 11 carries, break
ing out on a 22-yard run late in the
second half.
“I think Chris Vincent started
off very slowly,” Bellotti said. “It
looked like he wasn’t ready, and I
heard the defense sort of getting af
ter him saying he wasn’t running
against the (third string) anymore.
I think that probably challenged
him a little bit and might have got
him going.”
The Ducks are coming up on
their last week of spring practices.
They practice Tuesday and Thurs
day before holding their annual
spring game Saturday at Autzen Sta
dium. The game is set to begin at 1
p.m. and is free to all who attend.
However, Oregon is asking for dona
tions of three non-perishable food
items for admission. The food will
be donated to the Lane County
Food Bank.
Gates open Saturday at 10 a.m.
Contact the sports reporter
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.