Oregon daily emerald., October 08, 2004, Image 7

Oregon Daily Emerald
Friday, October 8, 2004
“I dunno. I never smoked
any Astroturf. ”
Tlig McGraw when asked whether he preferred grass or Astroturf
O'Neil brings a touch of 'Podunk' to Eugene
Senior libero Katie O'Neil has brought both leadership and unity
to a volleyball squad that was looking for good-hearted chemistry
BY STEPHEN MILLER
SPORTS REPORTER
A concrete jungle is frightening to some peo
ple who have lived among suburban prairies
and rolling hills in the past. The bustling city of
Eugene encompasses the University of Oregon,
but not to the point that it scares Duck’s volley
ball player Katie O’Neil.
The senior libero describes herself as “a
white girl from Podunk” who was compelled to
move from the small town of Corbett to fulfill
her desire for self-diversification.
O’Neil has always known where she’s need
ed to be in life, especially in a volleyball sense.
“There were about 150 kids in my high
school,” she said. “It was pretty apparent at
that point that if I was going to be serious about
volleyball, I needed to go to a bigger school.
“Me and my parents made the decision that I
would go to Gresham, and it ended up really
benefiting me,” she continued. “I accredit that
to me being here, because had I not (trans
ferred), there’s no way I would have got the
maturity and the experience. It’s a 4A school,
so I could keep excelling.”
Transplanting to Gresham High School after
her freshman year allowed O’Neil to constantly
improve her skills and technique. She accrued
more repetitions throughout the school year
and was not limited to the off-season with the
Nike Northwest Junior Volleyball Club.
Once O’Neil devoted more of her schedule to
volleyball, her agenda for other activities shrunk.
“Volleyball was a year-round thing for me,”
O’Neil said, “but I also played basketball and soft
ball. At Corbett, it was feasible.” She explained
that Gresham’s athletic programs were more in
tense and time consuming. O’Neil was unable to
sustain such a busy schedule, so she decided to
solely focus on volleyball, her favorite sport.
Family matters
O’Neil comes from an athletic background.
Her parents were active in high school athlet
ics, and her siblings have all played sports.
The small town atmosphere is still evident
in O’Neil’s current living situation, particularly
because she resides under the same roof as
her younger brother, Kevin, who is a part-time
student at Oregon.
“I have found that my family is so incredibly
supportive of me and everything I’m trying to
do,” O’Neil said. “It helps me to have him here
because it gives me a slice of home, and 1 am con
stantly reminded that I am loved and supported. ”
Her family makes the two-hour trek from
Corbett to watch every home match and pro
vide additional support. They also try to attend
every road match in the Northwest.
Within Oregon’s volleyball program, a rela
tionship has formed between O’Neil and the
three defensive specialists on the team. They
have created a family within the family that
they call Katie Incorporated, she said.
“We have a special little bond, as do probably
the middles and the outsides with each of their
groups,” O’Neil said. “It’s fun. We fire each other
up and have a good time in practice. We laugh
and make sure we’re supporting each other. It’s
empowering to have a support system like this
and people who care about you this much.”
Coach Carl Ferreira is aware of this unity and
encourages it in every way.
“Katie has made our other three DS’s better,
and they have made Katie better,” he said.
“They push each other daily. They have seen
Katie perform at a high level and provide our
point scoring system with opportunities.”
O’Neil helped renovate Oregon’s goals and
overall approach after her sophomore year. She
said there was a lack of team chemistry during
her first two years with the program, which
made it an unenjoyable experience.
“(We brought) in new people who were still
fresh and positive about what was going on,”
O’Neil said. “We outlined what we wanted to
do, we made that commitment and held our
selves accountable.”
The result was a family dynamic that changed
the atmosphere of the team, she said. Ferreira ap
preciates O’Neil’s contribution as a leader and ac
knowledges her as the team’s unsung hero.
“Katie is one of those behind-the-scenes
players,” Ferreira said. “She is the backbone
of what we do as a program. Katie is very re
sponsible for how our system operates via
what she does emotionally for us. She has ex
ceptional instincts for the game, and she is al
O'NEIL, page 9A
Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer
Senior libero Katie O’Neil is Oregon’s “unsung hero” in coach Carl Ferreira's opinion. In 2004, she has 4.23
digs per game, nearly doubling her 2.25 career average.
Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer
Freshman Dylann Tharp (22) has started in nine of the Ducks’ matches this season
and looks for a win in Oregon’s conference opener today against Southern Cal.
USC win tops Oregon's wish list
Ducks will take on USC and UCLA in Los Angeles
this weekend to commence Pac-10 conference play
BY BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
The second part of the season for the
Oregon women’s soccer team gets under
way today as the Ducks take on the TYo
jans at McAlister Field in Los Angeles.
The 3 p.m. match is the Pacific-10
Conference opener for both teams.
The Ducks are coming off back-to
back victories for the first time this sea
son, with wins over Wyoming (3-1)
and Gonzaga (1-0, OT) last weekend at
Pape Field. The last time the Ducks
won three in a row was when they
went 5-0 to open the 2003 season.
The two home victories gave the
Ducks a much-needed lift after coming
off a month-long road trip where they
went 0-5 and managed only two goals.
“We knew we needed to get some
wins,” senior defender Katie Abraham
son said. “It was a confidence builder
going into the Pac-lOs. So it was good
for us.”
Critical to the Ducks’ Pac-10 success
will be the continued maturation and
consistency of the offense.
I think our patience is getting a little
better,” Oregon head coach Bill Steffen
said. “But again, it’s been clearer and
clearer that when we’re playing with a
lot of energy and enthusiasm, we are a
very different club.”
Oregon (3-6-1 overall, 0-0
Pac-10) vs. USC (6-3-1
overall, 0-0 Pac-10)
The Ducks are in search of their first
victory ever against USC, and their first
road victory of the year. Oregon is 0-8
in the all-time series against the TVo
jans, including last year’s 3-1 defeat at
Pape Field.
Oregon will look to slow down the
reigning Pac-10 Freshman of the Year,
USC’s Rosa Anna Tantillo. The sopho
more from San Diego leads the team in
goals (8) and points (19). She has al
ready eclipsed her freshman totals in
both categories (7 goals, 16 points).
“They are a good team,” Steffen said.
“They have some very exciting players,
and we just have to be up to the task. If
we show up ready to play, we’ll be fine.
But if we don’t have a very high energy
level, it’s going to be a long afternoon.”
Oregon’s defense will be busy with
Tantillo, but the return of senior defend
er Christine Mintz will greatly bolster
the Duck back four.
“I think we just need to come and
play with the focus and energy that we
know we can (play with), rather than
play for a half and then go to sleep,”
Mintz said.
Tantillo will most likely hold Mintz’s
attention the entire match, so the onus
will be on some of the other Ducks —
senior Kelly Baird, freshman Dylann
Tharp and junior Katie Abrahamson, for
example — to keep a productive USC
front line at bay.
Tharp, whose aggressive and ath
letic play has translated into nine
starts and 614 minutes, is ranked
third among the Oregon freshmen in
minutes played.
Oregon (3-6-1, 0-0)
vs. UCLA (7-3, 0-0)
Eighth-ranked UCLA brings in a sol
id 4-1 record against teams ranked in
the NSCAA/adidas Top-25. The Bru
ins’ only loss came against No. 9 Vir
ginia. Since that loss, UCLA has
SOCCER, page 8A