Quest For Consistency Takes Ducks to Bay Area This Week
11/02/17 | Women's Volleyball, @GoDucksMoseley
Things were clicking for Oregon until a loss to Colorado, and the Ducks will try to get back on track beginning Friday at Cal.
In a landscape as competitive as the Pac-12, even the best teams can't afford to get complacent – a lesson Oregon was reminded of last week, and has a chance to deliver to an opponent this weekend.
All season long, the Ducks have been striving for a consistently dominant level of play. Finally, this past weekend, the UO women seemed to have found it, when they extended their winning streak to four with an upset of No. 12 Utah in Matthew Knight Arena. But two days later, Colorado provided a rude awakening, winning the first two sets and also the tiebreaking fifth to put Oregon on the other side of an upset.
This week, the Ducks are in the Bay Area, to play at California on Friday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Live Stream) and then at No. 2 Stanford on Saturday (1 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The first trip in a four-match road swing provides a chance for Oregon to regain its momentum, and try to avenge a three-set loss to the Cardinal last month.
"We have everything we want in place," UO coach Matt Ulmer said. "We have the right personnel. We have the right opponents. Now it's, what are we going to do with it?"
The stars seemed to be aligning for No. 16 Oregon over the past couple of weeks. Sophomore Jolie Rasmussen returned from injury, stabilizing a rotation that had been thrown into flux. While playing without Rasmussen and fellow sophomore Brooke Van Sickle, who is lost for the season, Taylor Agost and Ronika Stone expanded their roles, providing added versatility for Ulmer. And the Ducks had two straights weeks at home, which they opened by sweeping the Arizona schools.
But then came the split with Utah and Colorado, ending in the dispiriting start against the Buffaloes. Earlier in the season, Oregon's M.O. had been to start well, endure a lull and then regroup for the finish. Even that hasn't been sustained consistently, after the slow start and then final-set loss to the Buffaloes.
"Once we get a little heat put on us, then we're ready to go," junior hitter Lindsey Vander Weide said. "We need to come in ready from the very beginning, first set, and then keep that going."
To instill that mentality, Stone said, Ulmer tweaked the practice format this week, putting the Ducks in competitive situations right off the bat. He also used some tough talk in the locker room to get the team going and inspire the third- and fourth-set wins over Colorado. But that tough talk only carried Oregon so far – which is to say, not all the way to victory.
"Matt can motivate us as much as he wants," Stone said. "But at the end of the day it comes down to us."
As Ulmer pointed out, the Ducks are still in prime position to accomplish their goals, most notably a Final Four run. On Wednesday, the NCAA Tournament selection committee put out a preliminary ranking that included Oregon at No. 9, in prime position to host the early rounds of the tournament. And the Ducks (14-6, 7-5 Pac-12) are just a game out of second place in the Pac-12 standings, rare air for the program in the nation's toughest conference.
But the margin of error both nationally and in the conference is now extremely small. The Ducks can't afford to slip up Friday at Cal (13-10, 4-8). And the match Sunday at Stanford (19-2, 12-0) provides the chance to earn a little breathing room again.
"The chances are starting to go away as the season goes on," Ulmer said. "We have four weeks to go before playoffs, and we want to be at home for those. … I believe our best volleyball is still ahead of us. Everything I've done this year is trying to get us to peak at the right time. And I believe that's what's happening."
