■ 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
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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
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“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
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