Oregon daily emerald., October 28, 2004, Image 13

“I think Tim Wakefield would even
say tonight that Tim Wakefield got
to Tim Wakefield tonight. ”
Tim Carver during Game 1 of the 2004 World Series
■ Women's volleyball
Anatomy of a serve
In order to keep Oregon at the top of the Pac-10
in aces per game, players use serving variations
BY STEPHEN MILLER
SPORTS REPORTER
Serving is to volleyball as
pitching is to baseball. It is vi
tal to the game and a neces
sary ingredient for the winning
recipe. In baseball, it’s all about
pitching and defense. In volleyball,
a similar combination of skills de
termines success.
Oregon head coach Carl Fer
reira said the service quality and
passing ability “affects the flow of
the game” for both teams. Even
though service aces only account
ed for eight percent of a teams’
total scoring in the Pacific-10
Conference last season, they still
impact how a team earns its
points, he said.
“Serving and passing controls
the tempo of the game,” Ferreira
said. “If we are serving well, we af
fect their serve-receive (efficiency),
and if we are passing well, then we
affect our serve-receive.”
Service-receiving, in a nutshell,
is the ability to control the ball off
of the opposing team’s serve and
effectively execute a series of pass
es that could lead to a scoring op
portunity. A server’s objective is to
make an accurate serve and target
the weakest passer on the court,
which could likely result in a re
ceiving error and an ace for the
serving team.
“Serving is pretty much strate
gy,” sophomore outside hitter
Sarah Mason said. “Your goal is to
disrupt their offense and not go for
an ace every time. ”
Mason said that a good serving
strategy will pinpoint the opposing
team’s dominant players and ex
clude them from the attack. Fun
neling a serve to the weaker play
ers makes it less likely for the
attacking team to sideout.
“One of the ways you look at
serving is you observe the oppo
nent and see who is their worst
passer,” Ferreira said. “You can
serve to eliminate the primary
hitter or you can serve for tempo
and pressure. ”
Ferreira explained that once an
opposing team adapts to the serv
ing strategy, the serving team must
take a different approach. Assis
tant coach Rhonda Rust said that a
team has trouble adapting if the
server offers variations.
“As a program you want to have
different types of servers so that
the opposing team doesn’t get
used to seeing the same thing over
and over again,” she said.
The next level
If a short serve is called for, the
players use a level one float to drop
the ball between the attack line
and the net.
“Level one is just standing on
the ground,” sophomore setter
Heather Madison said. “There is no
excuse for you to make an error.”
The second level consists of a
deeper float serve that is also hit
with the player’s feet on the
ground. It is used to get into a
rhythm or a “groove” as the players
call it.
“If you really don’t feel like
you’re in rhythm, you should go
down to a level one or two and
serve with no risk,” Ferreira said.
“As your confidence and your
rhythm rises, then you elevate your
own serving to a (higher) level.”
Level three is a controlled jump
serve with more speed than a level
one or two.
A level four serve is the most dif
ficult to execute because it requires
good timing between the toss, the
jump and contact.
“The fourth level is the most
threatening level,” Mason said.
“It’s the top spin jump-serve
which is the toughest serve
to pass.”
VOLLEYBALL, page 14
Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer
Oregon junior outside hitter Jaclyn Jones goes through the motions of a jump serve.
■ Women's soccer
Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer
Oregon junior Mele French was forced to end her
career due to ongoing concussions she has suffered
since high school.
Ducks' number two scorer
forced to end soccer career
After a long battle with multiple concussions, junior forward French
will no longer pose a scoring threat to opponents in the Pac-10
BY BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
Earlier this month, the Oregon women’s soc
cer team lost one of its top goal scorers not only
for the season, but for the rest of her career.
Junior forward Mele French was forced to
end her soccer career after a long battle with
concussions and migraines, according to head
coach Bill Steffen.
“It was a decision between the doctors, her
family and her,” Steffen said. “It’s obviously
unfortunate, but we will try to keep her on the
team in some aspect.”
French has been battling concussions since
high school and had taken to wearing a pad on
her forehead to try and limit the impact of the
ball. However, taking headers wasn’t the entire
problem for French.
She has suffered at least three concussions in
the past year. The most recent one was the re
sult of a hit in back of the head with a shot.
French also reportedly had a problem with mi
graine headaches.
“She had been thinking about it for a
while,” senior defender Christine Mintz said,
“and before the Oregon State game she ended
up talking with her family about it, and they
decided that it was best for her health if she
stopped playing.”
French was second in points (5), goals (2),
assists (1) and shots on goal (10) for the Ducks
this season. Her presence at forward with Kami
SOCCER, page 14
■ Women's basketball
Women's
scrimmage
kicks off
preseason
Though the first half started
out slowly, the intrasquad
scrimmage ended with zeal
BY STEPHEN MILLER
SPORTS REPORTER
With only a week of practice under their
belt, the Ducks were not afraid to take the
deep shot during a preseason intrasquad
scrimmage on Thursday at McArthur Court.
Junior Chelsea Wagner started the show
by hitting a three-pointer just after tip-off.
The Ducks took 30 shots from behind the
arc, but sank only nine during four eight
minute quarters.
“I think we’re at a very good spot,” Ore
gon head coach Bev Smith said. “We're not
ready for a real game yet, but we have some
structure and we have some background.
Practices have gone very well. I think that
we have been working very hard. 1 think our
players are really hungry this year. They
want to make sure we are ready to go.
“Hopefully everyone saw a little maturity
in the team with some (players) stepping up
into their sophomore year and creating some
plays. Offensively, I thought we made some
great choices and executed and found the
best shot rather than just the first thing that
came to us.”
Wagner made her first attempt from be
hind the arc and went 4 for 8 from three
point range. Overall, the shooting guard fin
ished 4 for 9 and was the leading scorer with
16 points.
“She’s in great form coming back from an
injury last year,” Smith said. “When we have
good rhythm and establish that inside game,
everything is going to open up for her.”
Sophomore Cicely Oaks and redshirt
freshman Kaela Chapdelaine provided no of
fensive production in the first half but heat
ed up in the second with 10 points each.
“Our team did a great job executing,”
Chapdelaine said. “We obviously have some
glitches and some things to clean up, but
overall we played hard, and it was a good ef
fort by everybody.
“We were a little rusty, but as we got into
the flow of things we just felt more comfort
able in the second half. ”
Oregon as a whole made 34 of 82 shots
from the field but struggled in the paint. The
Ducks shot 48.7 percent (19 for 39) from the
field in the second half, compared with 34.9
percent in the first half (15 for 43).
Both practice squads combined for 57 re
bounds but committed 26 turnovers, 19 of
which were steals.
“I thought we did a good job on the
boards tonight overall,” Smith said. “We did
play some zone and some man (defense),
and sometimes that rebounding cover is still
difficult when you’re still learning it. I was
really happy but not satisfied in those areas.
“We’re still turning the ball over too
much, and 1 think that’s a real focus for us
because when you turn the ball over that
leads to transition scores and easy scores for
the other opponents, and at times we just
forced things or took an off-balanced shot.”
Both sides showed consistent ball move
ment, but at times, things got sloppy. The
players immediately recognized where
improvements need to be made.
SCRIMMAGE, page 14