Women's Volleyball: Oregon, Hawaii Meet Friday

Hawaii was 15-1 in WAC play.

Oregon last NCAA appearance was 1989 vs. Arizona. Photo: goducks.com

EUGENE - The Ducks (17-11, 7-11 Pac-10) are on their way to the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship for the first time in 17 years and fifth time in school history.

Oregon faces No. 12 Hawaii from the Western Athletic Conference at 5:00 PM on Friday at the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State.

THE WEEK THAT WAS:

Oregon suffered a pair of road setbacks, falling to No. 6 USC, 1-3, on Friday and No. 4 UCLA, 0-3, on Saturday.

ABOUT THE DUCKS:

The Oregon volleyball team has clinched its first winning season since 1990 and finished tied for sixth in the Pac-10 Conference, its highest place in the standings since a tie for fourth in 1989.

Of the 14 players on the roster, eight are new to the program this year including FR MB Sonja Newcombe, who received All-Pac-10 honorable mention and Pac-10 All-Freshman team honors this season.

Two other rookies - FR S Nevena Djordjevic and FR OH Neticia Enesi - earned Pac-10 All-Freshman honorable mention.

NCAA FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS:

Long Beach State is one of 16 schools playing host to NCAA first and second round matches.

Hawaii, the WAC champion and 12th overall seed in the 64-team field, is the top team in the Long Beach State bracket and will play Oregon in the first round’s opening match-up on Friday, at 5:00 PM.

The host 49ers (25-5, 12-2 Big West - 2nd) face Pepperdine (16-11, 11-3 WCC - 2nd) at 7:00 PM.

The first round winners will play Saturday at 7:00 PM for the chance to advance to the Sweet 16 in Honolulu.

SCOUTING HAWAII:

The Rainbow Wahine enter the NCAA Tournament ranked 12th in the latest AVCA/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll after completing the regular season with a 26-5 overall mark, 15-1 in conference play, highlighted by a WAC Championship.

SO Jamie Houston, a 6-2 left side hitter, leads Hawai’i with an average of 5.50 kills per game. SR Sarah Mason, who played two years at Oregon under former coach Carl Ferreira, averages 4.00 kills and nearly 3.00 digs per game while hitting .261.

The 6-3 Mason, a two-time first team All-WAC choice, experienced one win in 36 Pac-10 matches as a Duck. 6-3 JR MB Kari Gregory hits .310 with 2.15 kills and 1.56 blocks per game.

The Match-up:

Hawaii is 0-2 against the Pac-10 this season while Oregon is 3-0 vs. the WAC ... Hawaii is 11-4 in non-conference action and Oregon is 10-0 ...Hawaii is 0-3 against Top 10 teams compared to Oregon’s 1-8 mark ... The highest ranked team Hawai’i defeated was No. 19 Pepperdine on Aug. 25th and Aug. 26th - both in five sets ... Oregon’s highest ranked win was Oct. 19th at No. 8 Cal in four games.

The Series:

Hawaii leads the all-time series with Oregon, 6-1, but UO’s lone win came in the NCAA Tournament in 1984. That loss by UH is one of only two NCAA first round defeats in Hawaii’s storied history. The most recent meeting between the two teams came in 2000 with the Rainbow Wahine thumping the Ducks, 15-6, 15-4 and 15-2. The two sides have not faced each other in the rally scoring era.

OREGON IN THE NCAA TOURNEY:

The Ducks have a 1-4 record in five NCAA Tournament matches. Overall, Oregon has made 13 postseason appearances (the AIWA preceded the NCAA in women’s volleyball) and has a record of 43-31 (.581).

CONFERENCE OF CHAMPIONS:

The Ducks may be heading into Friday’s match against Hawaii as decided underdogs, but they hope the to have the power of the Pac-10 Conference on their side.

The Pac-10 has won the last five NCAA titles with defending champion Washington in 2005, Stanford winning titles in 2001 and 2004, while USC captured titles in 2002 and 2003. Over the last five years of the NCAA Tournament, the Pac-10 has compiled an impressive 86-27 (.761) record.

Toss out the seven postseason matches in which Pac-10 teams faced each other and the league’s NCAA Tournament record against non-conference foes stands at 79-20 (.798) ...

Overall, the Pac-10 has won 13 NCAA titles - that’s over half of the 25 titles presented by the NCAA. The league’s overall record against non-conference opponents in NCAA Tournament play is 216-85 (.718) ... Over the last four years, the Pac-10 is 25-1 (.962) in the first round, and 77-10 (.885) in opening round matches since 1990.

THE LAST TIME THE DUCKS WERE AT THE DANCE (1989):

•Head coach Jim Moore was in his first season as a college coach.

•Moore’s alma mater, Long Beach State, won the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship.

•George H. W. Bush was the President of the United States.

•The Simpsons premiered on the FOX TV Network

•Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture at the Academy Awards

•Paula Abdul, New Kids on the Block and infamous pop music duo Milli Vanilli all had No. 1 hits.

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports