With 15 new faces, Oregon volleyball made its home debut last night in Eugene. In a sweep over Portland, this team is now on a four-game win streak and hungry for more.
“Our pins have passed very, very well up to this point, and so it keeps off of them in the passing rotation,” head coach Trent Kersten said. “I know it's an area that we want to develop in (Valentina Vaulet) specifically — that’s one of the reasons she came here was to be developed as a passer — and she’s playing great. We also have people that can complement her: Maria (Tabacuks), Sophia (Meyers), (Ksenija Tomic), and Alanah (Clemente’s), not quite in the passing rotation yet, but we have some options."
After being named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Clemente continues to show why she’s a key component to this defense. With three blocks, tying outside hitters Tomic and Tabacuks with eight kills on the night, Kersten believes his team has room for improvement.
“We can do so much better than we are right now,” Kersten said. “We have to improve on the defensive side of the ball. We’re not where we need to be. I want to be very clear with everyone, we’re going to work our tails off to get where we need to go to prep for the Big Ten and more.”
While the front line has been a key to Oregon’s success, the challenge will be continuing the dominance into Big Ten play, especially when it comes to serving. Clemente and Tabacuks tied with three aces, but the fault comes from the overall eight-team total service errors.
“Serving has been a huge focus for us, and so that showed up tonight … It was her first, maybe second opportunity serving in the match and did a really nice job,” Kersten said of Clemente. “And Val’s been an elite server in the Big Ten. Those are our two kinds of powerhouses from the service line, and it's pretty fun to watch.”
With a 16-player roster that includes 10 freshmen, veteran outside hitter Vaulet led the way with 11 kills, showcasing a level of experience that can’t be taught. Amassing seven or more digs and averaging over 12 kills in the past four games, Vaulet continues to contribute to this group.
“I mean, she’s that good,” Kersten said. “She does that every single day in the gym. The fact that she’s done it four games in a row is not an accident. She’ll be in the gym an hour before practice working on her toss and her serve … that’s who she is.”
Clemente also stepped up, matching Vaulet’s consistency with timely swings and poise under pressure. “I think Alanah really came through for us in the same way this past weekend … so I thought that was a cool thing for us not to have to rely so heavily on Valentina’s experience,” Kersten said.
Oregon looks to keep the streak alive as the Ducks return home this Saturday to face Colorado State. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PST.