The Oregon Trail

[maroki13]

Does anyone know what’s going on with Anaya Thrower? She was in sweats for the preseason scrimmage and didn’t play, and then was not with the team for the Friday or Sunday matches.

[c4ndlelight]

Finally watched the Pitt game, it wasn't as bad as I thought based on the scores. Set 1 was a flusher, but we competed pretty well in Sets 2 and 3. I wasn't sure about splitting time at OH2 and am glad we gave Ohwobete a chance to go six in the next match - just hard enough to get in rhythm and I think we also need to get some consistency in the passing formations to get into rhythm.

Purashaj did some things well, but the passing was rough and you can tell she just doesn't have the middle connection yet. Was disappointed to see her not dig that well as that could have been an area of comparative advantage for her. I think Cline has to be starting next week, especially with how she was able to get the middles going. Though we may need to go to Purashaj if the passing roughens up.

All in all, a decent opening weekend for the new crew. Good to get a solid victory over the Beach (they had match points against us two years ago in pukis' first match) and looking forward to seeing this team gel.

Also very glad Glover had a good outing in both matches - we will need her to balance the offense.

[JJVb]

Sept 2, 2024 10:12:22 GMT -5 c4ndlelight said:

Finally watched the Pitt game, it wasn't as bad as I thought based on the scores. Set 1 was a flusher, but we competed pretty well in Sets 2 and 3. I wasn't sure about splitting time at OH2 and am glad we gave Ohwobete a chance to go six in the next match - just hard enough to get in rhythm and I think we also need to get some consistency in the passing formations to get into rhythm.

Purashaj did some things well, but the passing was rough and you can tell she just doesn't have the middle connection yet. Was disappointed to see her not dig that well as that could have been an area of comparative advantage for her. I think Cline has to be starting next week, especially with how she was able to get the middles going. Though we may need to go to Purashaj if the passing roughens up.

All in all, a decent opening weekend for the new crew. Good to get a solid victory over the Beach (they had match points against us two years ago in pukis' first match) and looking forward to seeing this team gel.

Also very glad Glover had a good outing in both matches - we will need her to balance the offense.

Yep! Agreed.

[c4ndlelight]

Sept 2, 2024 10:12:22 GMT -5 c4ndlelight said:

Finally watched the Pitt game, it wasn't as bad as I thought based on the scores. Set 1 was a flusher, but we competed pretty well in Sets 2 and 3. I wasn't sure about splitting time at OH2 and am glad we gave Ohwobete a chance to go six in the next match - just hard enough to get in rhythm and I think we also need to get some consistency in the passing formations to get into rhythm.

Purashaj did some things well, but the passing was rough and you can tell she just doesn't have the middle connection yet. Was disappointed to see her not dig that well as that could have been an area of comparative advantage for her. I think Cline has to be starting next week, especially with how she was able to get the middles going. Though we may need to go to Purashaj if the passing roughens up.

All in all, a decent opening weekend for the new crew. Good to get a solid victory over the Beach (they had match points against us two years ago in pukis' first match) and looking forward to seeing this team gel.

Also very glad Glover had a good outing in both matches - we will need her to balance the offense.

Also I feel better and better the more I watch other top teams play. Pitt just has a lot of cohesion and is less messy than everyone else right now.

[ducksbyamillion]

Oregon following Kyndal Stowers on Instagram 👀

[vballfreak808]

Earlier Oregon got a recruiting visit from Cydnee Bryant, a 6’4” MB 2026 recruit from Riverside, CA. She is a dual sport athlete (VB & Basketball). Her brother is a freshman basketball player at Arizona which is a place she has interest in. She started getting a lot of attention over the last year in both sports but Oregon was one of the first schools to notice her over a year ago Based on this visit looks they are open to her playing both. We’ll see how many other schools are as well or she chooses just to go with one.

http://instagram.com/p/C_ns0iqPda8

[uofaGRAD]

Sept 7, 2024 12:10:01 GMT -5 vballfreak808 said:

Earlier Oregon got a recruiting visit from Cydnee Bryant, a 6’4” MB 2026 recruit from Riverside, CA. She is a dual sport athlete (VB & Basketball). Her brother is a freshman basketball player at Arizona which is a place she has interest in. She started getting a lot of attention over the last year in both sports but Oregon was one of the first schools to notice her over a year ago Based on this visit looks they are open to her playing both. We’ll see how many other schools are as well or she chooses just to go with one.

http://instagram.com/p/C_ns0iqPda8

hopefully arizona can lock her down but we aren’t known for having good opportunities for WVB/WBB players (although Sydnie Vanek is WVB/track). I just always think about Lauren Ware

[maroki13]

Sept 7, 2024 12:10:01 GMT -5 vballfreak808 said:

Earlier Oregon got a recruiting visit from Cydnee Bryant, a 6’4” MB 2026 recruit from Riverside, CA. She is a dual sport athlete (VB & Basketball). Her brother is a freshman basketball player at Arizona which is a place she has interest in. She started getting a lot of attention over the last year in both sports but Oregon was one of the first schools to notice her over a year ago Based on this visit looks they are open to her playing both. We’ll see how many other schools are as well or she chooses just to go with one.

http://instagram.com/p/C_ns0iqPda8

I saw her at the match against LBSU and figured she was a recruit. Ducks will be light in the MB position after this year, correct? How many ‘25s coming in are MBs?

[JJVb]

Sept 7, 2024 12:29:45 GMT -5 maroki13 said:

Sept 7, 2024 12:10:01 GMT -5 vballfreak808 said:

Earlier Oregon got a recruiting visit from Cydnee Bryant, a 6’4” MB 2026 recruit from Riverside, CA. She is a dual sport athlete (VB & Basketball). Her brother is a freshman basketball player at Arizona which is a place she has interest in. She started getting a lot of attention over the last year in both sports but Oregon was one of the first schools to notice her over a year ago Based on this visit looks they are open to her playing both. We’ll see how many other schools are as well or she chooses just to go with one.

http://instagram.com/p/C_ns0iqPda8

I saw her at the match against LBSU and figured she was a recruit. Ducks will be light in the MB position after this year, correct? How many ‘25s coming in are MBs?

1-Cogill. So in 2025 should have 4, Neal, Tvrdy, and Thrower too (assuming shes still on the team. Havent seen her at matches).

[maroki13]

Sept 7, 2024 14:12:33 GMT -5 JJVb said:

Sept 7, 2024 12:29:45 GMT -5 maroki13 said:

I saw her at the match against LBSU and figured she was a recruit. Ducks will be light in the MB position after this year, correct? How many ‘25s coming in are MBs?

1-Cogill. So in 2025 should have 4, Neal, Tvrdy, and Thrower too (assuming shes still on the team. Havent seen her at matches).

For some reason I had in my head Neal was done after this year. I’m glad she has another year! And yeah, I haven’t seen Thrower at any matches, home or away, since the green/yellow scrimmage (and she was in sweats then and didn’t warm up or play).

[c4ndlelight]

We survived the trip to the mountains! It wasn't always pretty, but we did have a lot of good highlights, and the team is fighting through it and banking wins even when not playing well, which is what we need to do.

Next up is BYU/San Diego. BYU is our last chance to get a Top 25 win in the non-conference, so a big match. BYU is a very scary offensive team, but they struggle passing. That match could go either way depending on how aggressively we serve. We have a tendency to back off against weak passing teams and get ourselves into trouble historically, and that seems to carry over this year.

The lineup seems to have settled in except for L2. I can't imagine moving on from Cline right now - we are hitting .298 over the four games she's started. Her consistency has improved a ton, and her resilience helps keep mistakes from turning into slumps. Having a real battle seems to have made her better. She hasn't even really shown off her offensive/on-2 game yet either. Still some things to work on, and maybe a lot of decisions are not the ones I would have made, but her play has been good overall, and I think her confidence is really important. In the gap years between Plum and Pukis, I do feel that confidence/swagger was the biggest missing piece for that position.

Neal seems to have the M2 battle won - though her offense is hot or cold right now I'd say she's doing a consistently good job on the block. Also, when she does block a ball, she really roofs it. It's so aesthetically pleasing and a bit soul-crushing for the opposition.

I do think McClellan should be wearing the libero uniform for now. She's passing better than Morris, and more importantly, the passing unit just seems a little more cohesive when she's in. That may change as we get into conference play. I also imagine it's tough on her defensively to switch between left and right back so much, but hopefully that settles in too.

The only spot that's up for grabs is L2 (well, it's actually lined up as L1 technically, but we know Mimi's the "real" L1 and they don't hit on the right in Ro1 anyways). I imagine Gregoire and Ohwobete will continue to switch off for who the hot hand is. Sophie came in as a walk-on and has just been taking people down left and right climbing the depth chart over last year and this. What a gamer!

[c4ndlelight]

Sept 7, 2024 14:12:33 GMT -5 JJVb said:

Sept 7, 2024 12:29:45 GMT -5 maroki13 said:

I saw her at the match against LBSU and figured she was a recruit. Ducks will be light in the MB position after this year, correct? How many ‘25s coming in are MBs?

1-Cogill. So in 2025 should have 4, Neal, Tvrdy, and Thrower too (assuming shes still on the team. Havent seen her at matches).

Dual-sport is really tough between VB and BB because the seasons overlap. I know a few have tried it in recent years, but when's the last time it's really worked out at a high level? Kristin Folkl in the 90's? Liz Brenner ended up not contributing much on the basketball court.

Is there a sense of which sport she prefers?

[JJVb]

Sept 9, 2024 13:20:56 GMT -5 c4ndlelight said:

Sept 7, 2024 14:12:33 GMT -5 JJVb said:

1-Cogill. So in 2025 should have 4, Neal, Tvrdy, and Thrower too (assuming shes still on the team. Havent seen her at matches).

Dual-sport is really tough between VB and BB because the seasons overlap. I know a few have tried it in recent years, but when's the last time it's really worked out at a high level? Kristin Folkl in the 90's? Liz Brenner ended up not contributing much on the basketball court.

Is there a sense of which sport she prefers?

Are you talking about Cydnee Bryant- 26 recruit? I agree with you. I think it will become clearer closer to 26. Hopefully we add one more 26 middle bc Im not confident with a dual commit.

[timduckforlife]

Sept 9, 2024 13:26:49 GMT -5 JJVb said:

Sept 9, 2024 13:20:56 GMT -5 c4ndlelight said:

Dual-sport is really tough between VB and BB because the seasons overlap. I know a few have tried it in recent years, but when's the last time it's really worked out at a high level? Kristin Folkl in the 90's? Liz Brenner ended up not contributing much on the basketball court.

Is there a sense of which sport she prefers?

Are you talking about Cydnee Bryant- 26 recruit? I agree with you. I think it will become clearer closer to 26. Hopefully we add one more 26 middle bc Im not confident with a dual commit.

It's tough on the body.  Liz really suffered later on nearer to her senior year.  The constant pounding really takes it out on a person, esp on the basketball side.

[utes801]

Sept 9, 2024 11:36:00 GMT -5 c4ndlelight said:

We survived the trip to the mountains! It wasn't always pretty, but we did have a lot of good highlights, and the team is fighting through it and banking wins even when not playing well, which is what we need to do.

Next up is BYU/San Diego. BYU is our last chance to get a Top 25 win in the non-conference, so a big match. BYU is a very scary offensive team, but they struggle passing. That match could go either way depending on how aggressively we serve. We have a tendency to back off against weak passing teams and get ourselves into trouble historically, and that seems to carry over this year.

The lineup seems to have settled in except for L2. I can't imagine moving on from Cline right now - we are hitting .298 over the four games she's started. Her consistency has improved a ton, and her resilience helps keep mistakes from turning into slumps. Having a real battle seems to have made her better. She hasn't even really shown off her offensive/on-2 game yet either. Still some things to work on, and maybe a lot of decisions are not the ones I would have made, but her play has been good overall, and I think her confidence is really important. In the gap years between Plum and Pukis, I do feel that confidence/swagger was the biggest missing piece for that position.

Neal seems to have the M2 battle won - though her offense is hot or cold right now I'd say she's doing a consistently good job on the block. Also, when she does block a ball, she really roofs it. It's so aesthetically pleasing and a bit soul-crushing for the opposition.

I do think McClellan should be wearing the libero uniform for now. She's passing better than Morris, and more importantly, the passing unit just seems a little more cohesive when she's in. That may change as we get into conference play. I also imagine it's tough on her defensively to switch between left and right back so much, but hopefully that settles in too.

The only spot that's up for grabs is L2 (well, it's actually lined up as L1 technically, but we know Mimi's the "real" L1 and they don't hit on the right in Ro1 anyways). I imagine Gregoire and Ohwobete will continue to switch off for who the hot hand is. Sophie came in as a walk-on and has just been taking people down left and right climbing the depth chart over last year and this. What a gamer!

Way to keep battling Sophie!  I figured she'd push Michelle if given a chance.  I believe Sophie's family lives close by so I don't think she's going anywhere no matter how many transfer pins Ulmer brings in every year.  I don't think she took anyone out beyond benefitting from others leaving but she certainly has grit and determination and that is so underestimated in sports.  I also don't think it was ever the case that she didn't have scholarship money on table at Oregon other than maybe them shuffling things around with all of the Seniors on the roster when she arrived.  She was definitely pursued by a few top teams beyond Oregon.