Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2004)
■ Women's volleyball Oregon plunges below .500 after loss to No. 6 USC Ducks fall in straight sets to the Women of Troy, despite valiant comeback effort in game three BY STEPHEN MILLER SPORTS REPORTER A wall of middle blockers shielded Oregon’s view of a possible victory against No. 6 USC on Friday at McArthur Court. The Ducks departed from their winning record and received their sixth-straight Pacific-10 Confer ence loss to the Women of TYoy, 3-0 (30-19,30-12,30-27). Oregon’s defensive presence van ished in the middle of the first game, and USC showed no mercy. In the sec ond game, the Ducks were held to their lowest point total of the season (12). In the third game, the Women of TVoy muscled through Oregon’s re vived attack. “Oregon kept getting better,” USC head coach Mick Haley said. “The sec ond game was a downer for them, but they came back and fought in that third game ... so we feel real fortunate to come away with a 3-0 win. ” The Ducks (9-10 overall, 1-8 Pac-10) saw USC compile a .406 hitting per centage and an 11-0 scoring run in the second game. They responded in the third game with 27 points — the most they have scored since Oct. 15 in a match against California. “In game three we didn’t let our selves get stuck so it was really easy to keep that momentum,” Oregon attack er Allyson Leavitt said. “We weren’t feeling very good after UCLA so this was very reassuring to come off the court with a good feeling that we laid it all out there. ” Leavitt recently moved from defen sive specialist to outside hitter. The sophomore was a helpful component in Oregon’s starting lineup as she recorded a career-best 11 digs. Her pre vious career mark was 10. The Spring field native landed five kills and a match-high three service aces. Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said Leavitt provides team chemistry and adaptability to the roster. “She’s one of our better all-around players,” Ferreira said. “1 thought the energy and the chemistry she played with was real significant. She served well, and I thought she attacked well against a very dominant block. ” USC (11-3,6-2 Pac-10) utilized a pair of towering middle blockers to restrain Oregon’s offensive attack and fuel its own. Senior Emily Adams (6-foot-6) and junior Bibiana Candelas (6-foot-5) each posted a match-high 15 kills. “They’re not just big, they’re ex tremely talented,” Ferreira said. “It’s arguably one of the best middle blocking tandems in the history of collegiate volleyball.” Candelas committed two attack er rors on 19 attempts and hit at a .684 percentage. On defense, she recorded match-highs in solo blocks (two) and block assists (five). All together, the Women of Tfoy posted a .294 hitting percentage. “I think our middles dominated — they were high percentage for us,” Ha ley said. “We had a few too many hit ting errors (17), but I really think Ore gon caused those. Oregon played real well against us, their block was real good on the right front.” Oregon finished with six team Lauren Wimer | Photographer Oregon’s Karen Waddington (5) forces a block against UCLA, assisting in the Ducks' defense at the net against USC on Friday. blocks, and USC posted 11. Kim Mc Nally and Kristen Bitter each acquired four block assists for the Ducks. Senior libero Katie O’Neil tallied a match-high 18 digs, nine in the third game. USC used three setters into its rota tion who each finished with double digits in assists. Allison Dillon led the setting trio and the match with 22. stephenmiller@ dailyemerald, com Jones: Duck defense gets ten sacks Continued from page 11 “1 didn’t even think about it when I went in,” Allen said. “1 changed after that play.” A little too gutsy on that one, Keith. Terrence Whitehead punched the ball into the end zone on the next play with his usual it’s-go ing-to-take-a-mac-truck-to-bring me-down style of running, and the Ducks took the lead for good. Did I mention Oregon’s defen sive line tore through the Stan ford line like a wet paper sack and accumulated a ridiculous 10 sacks? The defense stepped up as a whole when it needed a stop and punished the Stanford quarter backs all day long. Ask TYent Edwards. Edwards was flattened by Rob by Valenzuela during Stanford’s first play from scrimmage in the second quarter. Edwards then left, Stanford citing a bruised shoulder and hand as the cause, but I think his ego was bruised the most, and he didn’t return. The defense dominated. The offense did enough to get the victory. Winning on the road in this fashion once is a nice surprise, but doing it twice really says something. Another tough road win says this Oregon squad has IT right now. The IT is the swagger of a team that knows it can win in the Pac 10 anywhere, anytime. Will this continue? Who knows. Are the Ducks a serious a con tender in the Pac-10? You bet. claytonjones@dailyemerald.com ■ Men's golf Ducks to host inaugural Big Ten/ Pac-10 Challenge Fourteen teams will compete against Oregon in the challenge, including five ranked in the top 25 BY BRIAN SMITH SPORTS REPORTER The Oregon men’s golf team will open a two-day tournament on one of the best courses in the country today. The Ducks will play dual roles as r ~x host and competitor in the inaugural Big Ten/Pacific-10 Challenge, held at the par-72 6,980-yard Bandon Dunes Golf Course in Bandon, Ore. Oregon will tee off today for the first 36 holes against seven teams each from the Pac-10 and Big Ten conferences. An impressive field that includes defending NCAA champion California, 2002 NCAA champion Minnesota and 2004 Pac-10 champi on Arizona will be awaiting the Ducks. Five of the 14 teams in the field are ranked among the top 25 in the recent Golfweek poll. “We are a little nervous but happy to have opportunities like this to play against other talented schools,” Ore gon junior Justin St. Clair said. “I’m eager to go out there and play. ” Oregon’s squad will consist of jun iors St. Clair and Gregg LaVoie, sopho mores Eric Hastings and Matt Ma and freshman Joey Benedetti. Teams will play 36 holes starting at 020451 MANIC Monday 686-5808 • 824 Charnelton Eugene, OR • 97401 IV 1 topping pizza and 2 24 oz. drinks Sun-Wed 11 am - I am Exp. 10/18/04 Thurs-Sat llam-2am .... -1 \ 1 . > » » »—.I,.,-. ,? y \ 8 a.m. today and 18 on Tuesday. “This is a unique event that has a chance to develop into something re ally special,” Oregon head coach Steve Nosier said. “1 hope we as a team can focus and go out and play solid golf to help represent our conference. ” briansmith@dailyemerald.com Cultural V Forum Now Hiring Regional Music Coordinator Bring your favorite bands to campus! Application due 10/28 noon Apps in Cultural Forum EMU suite 2 OR email cultural@uoregon.edu i UNIVERSITY OF OREGON V.VAVAWy AW
