Big Opportunity At Hand For Ducks
10/05/17 | Women's Volleyball, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon will host a huge crowd and No. 2 Stanford in Matthew Knight Arena on Friday (8 p.m. PT, ESPNU).
A big-time opponent and big-time atmosphere will greet the Oregon volleyball team when the Ducks take the court Friday night in Matthew Knight Arena. UO coach Matt Ulmer will be looking for a big-time response from his team under the circumstances.
The No. 16 Ducks (9-3, 2-2 Pac-12) host No. 2 Stanford in an 8 p.m. match to be televised by ESPNU. Efforts are being made to draw a crowd exceeding the UO record of 6,210, and Ulmer is interested to see how his team reacts to those conditions.
"I would love to see us just come out and go for it, be fearless and use the crowd to our advantage," Ulmer said. "We'll see how we respond."
Oregon has split each of the first two weekends of Pac-12 play, after riding a streak of six straight wins to end nonconference play. The Ducks lost at UCLA on Sept. 22 and at Colorado on Saturday, falling to the Buffaloes one night after winning at No. 15 Utah.
Ulmer has worked hard to foster a culture of positivity within his players. But that can go too far; Ulmer said the Ducks "get overly confident when things go well for us," such as when they opened the UCLA match by winning the first set, or rallied to win set two at Colorado.
The Ducks also haven't generally played well before big home crowds the last few years. So Friday's showcase against Stanford will test both Oregon's ability to thrive in the spotlight, and the team's desire to contend with the best teams the nation has to offer.
"We just have to understand that we are good, and play like we're good," Ulmer said. "Understand we just have to do our responsibilities well to be successful."
The Ducks played at Utah and Colorado without sophomore hitter Jolie Rasmussen, who suffered a concussion at UCLA. She's hopeful of returning this week, but Oregon will definitely be without sophomore Brooke Van Sickle, who underwent season-ending surgery to correct a knee problem that first flared up when she was in high school and was aggravated earlier this season.
Between the injuries, the start of fall quarter at the university last week and consecutive road trips, the Ducks have had a lot on their plate the last two weeks. Once Rasmussen returns, Ulmer hopes to settle into a set lineup and enjoy some continuity.
"One of my philosophies is, the team that's gonna be most successful has the least amount of distractions," Ulmer said. "And we've had quite a few distractions. … We just need to stabilize a bit, and I hope we're doing that right now."
Like a matchup between the football teams from Oregon and Stanford over the last decade, Friday's match will be a contrast in styles. The big, physical Cardinal boast four players standing at least 6-foot-4, including reigning AVCA freshman of the year Kathryn Plummer, who averages 4.73 kills per set.
UO setter Maggie Scott said she'll have to adjust her sets to help Oregon's hitters avoid hitting into the Stanford block.
"We're fast, we're speedy," Scott said. "We're just gonna try to beat them with speed the best we can."
