Post by bigfan on Nov 21, 2006 14:13:00 GMT -5
USC women's volleyball knows it can't let up against Oregon and Oregon State.
Alex Lebow
It would be an overstatement to label this weekend's matches against Oregon and Oregon State as two must-wins for the No. 6 USC women's volleyball team, but this weekend will be significant to the team's overall success leading up to the NCAA tournament.
Friday's loss to No. 4 UCLA showcased a USC (23-4, 12-4 Pacific-10 Conference) that lacked the energy of the previous five-game winning streak. Although Oregon (17-9, 7-9) and Oregon State (3-22, 0-16) did not make the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, they present specific challenges for USC as two competitive Pac-10 opponents.
"I'm not worried about our skills, but more about our mental preparation, our intensity and knowing how to fight through things," USC coach Mick Haley said.
Both matches this weekend present the Women of Troy with the opportunity to regain momentum leading up to opening of the postseason tournament. In mid-September, Oregon and Oregon State hosted USC, and the Women of Troy emerged victorious after a five game scare at McArthur Court. USC swept Oregon State in a lopsided match where it defeated the Beavers, 3-0.
"I don't see us being distraught or pointing fingers, but I just see us being numb from all the competition,"[/size] Haley said. "We seem to have lost some of our energy because every match is a big match. As a team, we have to learn to keep up that enthusiasm."
Oregon has spiraled out of control in recent weeks as they arrive in Los Angeles on a five-game losing streak. The Ducks cracked the top 25 in late October, as No. 24, but soon lost momentum.
"This is another team that's going to come in with their back to the wall, they know they went five games with us (on Sept. 22), so they're going to play as good as they can play," Haley said. "They need to win from us or UCLA, they can't come into the tournament having lost six in a row."
Oregon State sits at the bottom of the Pac-10, victims of 16 three-game sweeps in 2006, including one from USC on Sept. 21. The Beavers will go up against No. 4 UCLA on Friday night and then crosstown to be at the Galen Center for a 1 p.m. match Saturday.
"We know we have the skills to do well, it wasn't the volleyball it was our intensity our team unity our sense of pride," senior libero Debora Seilhamer said. "After watching the film we looked at each other and we thought we didn't want to win, we didn't have that sense of urgency that we've been having the past five matches."
Alex Lebow
It would be an overstatement to label this weekend's matches against Oregon and Oregon State as two must-wins for the No. 6 USC women's volleyball team, but this weekend will be significant to the team's overall success leading up to the NCAA tournament.
Friday's loss to No. 4 UCLA showcased a USC (23-4, 12-4 Pacific-10 Conference) that lacked the energy of the previous five-game winning streak. Although Oregon (17-9, 7-9) and Oregon State (3-22, 0-16) did not make the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, they present specific challenges for USC as two competitive Pac-10 opponents.
"I'm not worried about our skills, but more about our mental preparation, our intensity and knowing how to fight through things," USC coach Mick Haley said.
Both matches this weekend present the Women of Troy with the opportunity to regain momentum leading up to opening of the postseason tournament. In mid-September, Oregon and Oregon State hosted USC, and the Women of Troy emerged victorious after a five game scare at McArthur Court. USC swept Oregon State in a lopsided match where it defeated the Beavers, 3-0.
"I don't see us being distraught or pointing fingers, but I just see us being numb from all the competition,"[/size] Haley said. "We seem to have lost some of our energy because every match is a big match. As a team, we have to learn to keep up that enthusiasm."
Oregon has spiraled out of control in recent weeks as they arrive in Los Angeles on a five-game losing streak. The Ducks cracked the top 25 in late October, as No. 24, but soon lost momentum.
"This is another team that's going to come in with their back to the wall, they know they went five games with us (on Sept. 22), so they're going to play as good as they can play," Haley said. "They need to win from us or UCLA, they can't come into the tournament having lost six in a row."
Oregon State sits at the bottom of the Pac-10, victims of 16 three-game sweeps in 2006, including one from USC on Sept. 21. The Beavers will go up against No. 4 UCLA on Friday night and then crosstown to be at the Galen Center for a 1 p.m. match Saturday.
"We know we have the skills to do well, it wasn't the volleyball it was our intensity our team unity our sense of pride," senior libero Debora Seilhamer said. "After watching the film we looked at each other and we thought we didn't want to win, we didn't have that sense of urgency that we've been having the past five matches."