Spring Break
Volleyball heads into a Civil War at McArthur Court
Oregon State women are set to meet with in-state
Casey Grogan
Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: Sports
It is time for war as the No. 24 OSU volleyball team heads to Eugene to meet up with their bitter rivals, the No. 7 Oregon Ducks.
The Beavers are heading into the Civil War match riding on a wave of momentum after knocking off then-No. 4 USC and taking then-No. 5 UCLA to five sets. While Oregon State is playing well early in the season, the team they meet across the net on Sunday is playing just as well as Oregon (13-3, 2-2) beat both USC and UCLA over the past weekend.
"We have to work hard in the gym and make sure to instill confidence in each other like we have the past couple of weeks," senior libero Ashley Evans said. "This is the Civil War and there is a lot behind this game."
In addition to a strong season prior to their Civil War meeting with OSU, the University of Oregon is coming off a strong 2007 season in which the team reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in the 64-team tournament.
The Ducks are led by outside hitter Gorana Maricic and her 178 kills. Joining the senior from Serbia on the attack is junior outside Sonja Newcombe and sophomore Heather Meyers, who have terminated 137 and 134 balls, respectively. Meyers, from Temecula, Calif., leads the Ducks with 15 service aces.
Providing the hitters with a majority of their sets is junior setter Nevena Djordjevic, another of the three Serbians on the Ducks roster. Djordjevic has totaled 527 assists on the season while playing in all 16 of Oregon's matches. The junior also has 32 kills to go along with her 13 service aces thus far on the season.
"We have some confidence after playing with two really good teams," sophomore outside hitter Bree Knitter said. "We need to worry about what we do and not what we do."
On defense, the backcourt is led by senior libero Katie Swoboda, who has dug 257 balls on the season, while Newcombe follows with 142 of her own. Swoboda had a career high 37 digs in the match against UCLA last Friday.
At the net, the junior and senior middle blocking pair of Neticia Enesi and Kristen Forristall have set back 68 total blocks apiece. Enesi has also posted 114 kills on the year.
The Beavers are heading into the Civil War match riding on a wave of momentum after knocking off then-No. 4 USC and taking then-No. 5 UCLA to five sets. While Oregon State is playing well early in the season, the team they meet across the net on Sunday is playing just as well as Oregon (13-3, 2-2) beat both USC and UCLA over the past weekend.
"We have to work hard in the gym and make sure to instill confidence in each other like we have the past couple of weeks," senior libero Ashley Evans said. "This is the Civil War and there is a lot behind this game."
In addition to a strong season prior to their Civil War meeting with OSU, the University of Oregon is coming off a strong 2007 season in which the team reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in the 64-team tournament.
The Ducks are led by outside hitter Gorana Maricic and her 178 kills. Joining the senior from Serbia on the attack is junior outside Sonja Newcombe and sophomore Heather Meyers, who have terminated 137 and 134 balls, respectively. Meyers, from Temecula, Calif., leads the Ducks with 15 service aces.
Providing the hitters with a majority of their sets is junior setter Nevena Djordjevic, another of the three Serbians on the Ducks roster. Djordjevic has totaled 527 assists on the season while playing in all 16 of Oregon's matches. The junior also has 32 kills to go along with her 13 service aces thus far on the season.
"We have some confidence after playing with two really good teams," sophomore outside hitter Bree Knitter said. "We need to worry about what we do and not what we do."
On defense, the backcourt is led by senior libero Katie Swoboda, who has dug 257 balls on the season, while Newcombe follows with 142 of her own. Swoboda had a career high 37 digs in the match against UCLA last Friday.
At the net, the junior and senior middle blocking pair of Neticia Enesi and Kristen Forristall have set back 68 total blocks apiece. Enesi has also posted 114 kills on the year.
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