Women's Volleyball Opens Pac-10 Play
September 18, 1998
EUGENE, Ore. - The opening battle in the Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State for the 1998-99 sports season opened in a big way for the Ducks, as they downed the Beavers in three- straight games, 15-12, 15-13, 15-11, to capture their Pac-10 opener in front of 1,176 fans at Mac Court tonight.
The Ducks, who even their record at 5-5 and are 1-0 in the Pac-10, opened with a Pac-10 Swin for the first time since 1990, when Oregon swept Cal.
"I was really proud of my team," said Head Coach Cathy Nelson. "For the first time this year, when it came down to crunch time we finally made the plays we needed to make. It is something we have been talking about and focusing on and it is a huge confidence boost for us right now."
Offensively All-American candidate Madeline Ernst, who leads the Pac-10 in kills per game (5.82), led all attackers with 26 kills. Classmate Alli White was right behind Ernst with a career-high 21 kills, hitting .459, the sixth time this year that she has .400 or better in a match.
"This win is huge for us, we are better team than what were showing in the pre-conference season," said senior Alli White. "Our confidence was high tonight and that helps. We were very focused tonight for our task on hand."
Defensively, sophomore Amy Banducci came up big with a career-high 22 digs to go along with her 9 kills.
"I think as a team we came together," said Amy Banducci. "We actually could see what we could do and what we will continue to do. I think for us this is a huge confidence builder. Madeline and Alli came up big tonight for us and showed a lot of leadership. Today, for the first time, we completely clicked as a team"
"I'm not going to deny how important this win was for us," continued Nelson. "It is important for us to get off on the right foot in the Pac-10. I have never been 1-0 in the Pac-10 since I have been here and it helps us generate some momentum for the rest of the season."
The Ducks will hit the road next week, stopping off to face Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday (Sept. 23, 7:00 p.m.) before heading to Los Angeles for a pair of Pac-10 games against UCLA (Sept. 25, 7:00 p.m.) and USC (Sept. 27, 11:00 a.m.).
