EUGENE, Ore. ? The McArthur Court crowd told the story. The collective gasps throughout the historic arena made it clear that Oregon's volleyball culture has changed, and a pair of wins by the Ducks hammered the point home.
UO (2-0) opened Friday's play at the Oregon Kickoff Classic with an impressive sweep of Gonzaga (0-2), 30-23, 30-26 and 30-24. They capped the day by beating Big Sky Conference power Eastern Washington (0-1) in four games ? 30-19, 30-26, 29-31 and 30-26.
“It was important that we won today,” said first-year head coach Jim Moore, who was recruited to Eugene due to his reputation and ability to rebuild programs. “I know it sounds silly, but our team proved to themselves that they could win under stress and that's crucial for success.”
Moore was pointing specifically at the final two games against the Eagles, when Oregon let leads slip away but battled through adversity and closed out the match. Not only did the Ducks win in the end, but they setback a team coming off four straight 20-win seasons and three consecutive conference titles.
The fans at Mac Court came to life early and often, with the debut of freshmen Mira Djuric and Katie Swoboda. Djuric, an outside hitter, put on a serving and spiking display rarely seen before at UO. She registered four aces in the win over Gonzaga and 15 kills against Eastern Washington.
Swoboda, who manned the libero position for the Ducks, made diving digs all over the floor, totaling 21 in the first match and 20 in the second.
Senior hitter Kelly Russell set the tone on the attack, hitting .613 with 19 kills against the Bulldogs, and .441 with 18 kills against EWU.
Overall, Oregon out-hit its opponent in six of seven games
The Ducks return to action on Saturday, hosting South Dakota State (1-1) at 7 p.m. Prior to the featured match, Portland State faces Gonzaga (1 p.m.) and Eastern Washington plays SDSU (4 p.m.)
TOURNAMENT NOTES: Portland State (1-0) defeated South Dakota State 3-0 (30-26, 30-28, 30-19) and SDSU beat Gonzaga (30-26, 30-27, 30-26) in Friday's other matches.
