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You can’t help but be happy for Kristen Bitter and the University of Oregon volleyball team.
The Ducks — who finished last in the Pacific-10 Conference the past five seasons — are in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1989. They’re among seven Pac-10 teams in the 64-team field.
The tournament began Thursday. Oregon (17-11) is in a four-team subregional at Long Beach State tonight and faces 12th-seeded Hawaii (26-5) at 5 p.m. Pepperdine (16-11) meets host Long Beach State (25-5) in the other match, and tonight’s winners will play at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Making the NCAAs means the world to the Ducks, who entering this year hadn’t enjoyed a winning season since 1990. They tied for sixth place in the talent-rich Pac-10 with a 7-11 record and were rewarded for it.
Oregon managed but two conference wins in Bitter’s previous three years. So it’s easy to understand how thrilled the 22-year-old is to be playing volleyball this week.
“We’re excited to be here, but we’ve been believing we’d be here since the start of the season,” Bitter, a 6-foot-4 senior right-side blocker from Roseburg, said Wednesday before departing to California. “I got to go to practice Monday and a lot of teams didn’t get to do that.
“I love playing volleyball with this team. I’ve really enjoyed my four years playing for the Ducks, and I’m glad it’s not over.”
The Ducks, under second-year head coach Jim Moore, enter regionals on a seven-match losing streak, five of the defeats coming to conference teams ranked in the top 15 nationally.
Oregon will have to bring its ‘A’ game tonight if it hopes to have a chance against a talented Hawaii club. The Rainbow Wahine, making their 14th straight NCAA appearance, have four national championships to their credit.
“Everyone is 0-0, and we’re taking it one day at a time and see where we can go,” Bitter said. “Hawaii is a very good team and we’ll have to play really well to beat them. But we’re focusing on our side, making sure we play within ourselves and the best we can.”
The academic honors continue to roll in for Bitter, who ranks sixth on UO’s career blocks list with 378. She was recently named a first-team District III Academic All-America selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America, and made the Pac-10 All-Academic first team for the third straight year.
What a student-athlete she is.
<b>SOUTHRIDGE ALIVE.</b> If you’ve been following the Class 6A state football playoffs, one of Roseburg’s opponents is still in the hunt for the championship.
The unranked Southridge Skyhawks (8-4), guided by former Roseburg assistant Brad Mastrud, meet No. 5 Lake Oswego (10-2) at 8 tonight at PGE Park in Portland in the second game of a semifinal doubleheader. Top-ranked Jesuit (11-0) meets unranked Canby (10-3) in the opener.
Since defeating Roseburg 20-14 in overtime at Finlay Field in the first round, Southridge (the Metro League’s No. 3 seed) has eliminated unranked Redmond 37-0 and unranked Clackamas 27-25. It’s sure nice not to be in Jesuit’s bracket.
Brad Mastrud and his staff made a key personnel move for the playoff opener, giving sophomore Kellen Mastrud his first start at quarterback in place of senior Tom Farinacci. In three playoff games, the son of the coach has completed 29-of-41 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns.
Southridge, which opened in 1999, qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 2005 and advanced to the second round. The 6A coach of the year? I don’t get to vote, but my pick would be ’Strud.
<b>MISSING FROM THE NFR.</b> The National Finals Rodeo got under way Thursday night in Las Vegas and one bull rider with county connections fell short of getting there.
Zack Oakes, an Oakland product who qualified for the NFR the past two years, finished 20th in the final regular season world standings with $72,397 in earnings. The top 15 advance to the “Super Bowl” of rodeos.
Oakes, who resides in Tonasket, Wash., finished fifth in the world last year and sixth in 2004. Among his highlights this year was winning the first go-round in the Pendleton Round-Up with a score of 89 points, worth $4,724.17.
<b>LOCAL COWBOYS. </b>Bull rider Jason Mattox of Roseburg and bullfighter Tim Vredenburg of Roseburg both took part in the Columbia River Circuit Finals, held Nov. 17-19 in Redmond.
Mattox didn’t place, but finished fourth in the season CRC standings with $16,210. He won at St. Paul over the Fourth of July with an 85-point ride, taking home $9,485.62.
Mattox is married to the former Nataly Tatone, a Roseburg High graduate who won a national championship in barrel racing for the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2005.
• You can reach Sports Editor Tom Eggers at 957-4220 or by e-mail at teggers@newsreview.info
The Ducks — who finished last in the Pacific-10 Conference the past five seasons — are in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1989. They’re among seven Pac-10 teams in the 64-team field.
The tournament began Thursday. Oregon (17-11) is in a four-team subregional at Long Beach State tonight and faces 12th-seeded Hawaii (26-5) at 5 p.m. Pepperdine (16-11) meets host Long Beach State (25-5) in the other match, and tonight’s winners will play at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Making the NCAAs means the world to the Ducks, who entering this year hadn’t enjoyed a winning season since 1990. They tied for sixth place in the talent-rich Pac-10 with a 7-11 record and were rewarded for it.
Oregon managed but two conference wins in Bitter’s previous three years. So it’s easy to understand how thrilled the 22-year-old is to be playing volleyball this week.
“We’re excited to be here, but we’ve been believing we’d be here since the start of the season,” Bitter, a 6-foot-4 senior right-side blocker from Roseburg, said Wednesday before departing to California. “I got to go to practice Monday and a lot of teams didn’t get to do that.
“I love playing volleyball with this team. I’ve really enjoyed my four years playing for the Ducks, and I’m glad it’s not over.”
The Ducks, under second-year head coach Jim Moore, enter regionals on a seven-match losing streak, five of the defeats coming to conference teams ranked in the top 15 nationally.
Oregon will have to bring its ‘A’ game tonight if it hopes to have a chance against a talented Hawaii club. The Rainbow Wahine, making their 14th straight NCAA appearance, have four national championships to their credit.
“Everyone is 0-0, and we’re taking it one day at a time and see where we can go,” Bitter said. “Hawaii is a very good team and we’ll have to play really well to beat them. But we’re focusing on our side, making sure we play within ourselves and the best we can.”
The academic honors continue to roll in for Bitter, who ranks sixth on UO’s career blocks list with 378. She was recently named a first-team District III Academic All-America selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America, and made the Pac-10 All-Academic first team for the third straight year.
What a student-athlete she is.
<b>SOUTHRIDGE ALIVE.</b> If you’ve been following the Class 6A state football playoffs, one of Roseburg’s opponents is still in the hunt for the championship.
The unranked Southridge Skyhawks (8-4), guided by former Roseburg assistant Brad Mastrud, meet No. 5 Lake Oswego (10-2) at 8 tonight at PGE Park in Portland in the second game of a semifinal doubleheader. Top-ranked Jesuit (11-0) meets unranked Canby (10-3) in the opener.
Since defeating Roseburg 20-14 in overtime at Finlay Field in the first round, Southridge (the Metro League’s No. 3 seed) has eliminated unranked Redmond 37-0 and unranked Clackamas 27-25. It’s sure nice not to be in Jesuit’s bracket.
Brad Mastrud and his staff made a key personnel move for the playoff opener, giving sophomore Kellen Mastrud his first start at quarterback in place of senior Tom Farinacci. In three playoff games, the son of the coach has completed 29-of-41 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns.
Southridge, which opened in 1999, qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 2005 and advanced to the second round. The 6A coach of the year? I don’t get to vote, but my pick would be ’Strud.
<b>MISSING FROM THE NFR.</b> The National Finals Rodeo got under way Thursday night in Las Vegas and one bull rider with county connections fell short of getting there.
Zack Oakes, an Oakland product who qualified for the NFR the past two years, finished 20th in the final regular season world standings with $72,397 in earnings. The top 15 advance to the “Super Bowl” of rodeos.
Oakes, who resides in Tonasket, Wash., finished fifth in the world last year and sixth in 2004. Among his highlights this year was winning the first go-round in the Pendleton Round-Up with a score of 89 points, worth $4,724.17.
<b>LOCAL COWBOYS. </b>Bull rider Jason Mattox of Roseburg and bullfighter Tim Vredenburg of Roseburg both took part in the Columbia River Circuit Finals, held Nov. 17-19 in Redmond.
Mattox didn’t place, but finished fourth in the season CRC standings with $16,210. He won at St. Paul over the Fourth of July with an 85-point ride, taking home $9,485.62.
Mattox is married to the former Nataly Tatone, a Roseburg High graduate who won a national championship in barrel racing for the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2005.
• You can reach Sports Editor Tom Eggers at 957-4220 or by e-mail at teggers@newsreview.info
