Road Warriors Open Postseason Thursday

At the end of September, it was reasonable to think the Oregon volleyball team might be playing this week in Matthew Knight Arena.

The Ducks were a perfect 10-0 in the first full month of the 2016 season. They closed it out by winning the first three matches of conference play.

Through October and November, sustaining success through the rigors of the Pac-12 proved difficult. The UO volleyball team finished 20-9 in the regular season, and in fourth place at 13-7 in the conference. The Ducks entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 19, just outside the ranks of the 16 host teams for the postseason.

Thus, Oregon will open tournament play Thursday on the road, against Miami (Ohio) in Ann Arbor, Mich., at 2:30 p.m. PT. The winner will face American or host Michigan on Friday.

"Obviously we'd like to host, but it didn't fall that way," UO sophomore all-Pac-12 selection Lindsey Vander Weide said Monday, after the Ducks' last practice in Eugene before departing Tuesday. "So we're looking forward to going to Michigan, and we're going to play tough. And we're good on the road, so hopefully we continue that."

Indeed, the Ducks went 9-2 on the road in the regular season, and 11-7 at home. The road record included a perfect 7-0 start, culminating in a sweep of ranked teams in the state of Washington to open November.

Players and coaches have a hard time pinpointing exactly why Oregon thrived on the road. For a team heavy on sophomores and freshmen, perhaps the young roster was more focused away from the distractions of home, some speculated.

Going on the road can create distractions of its own, but the Ducks were able to overcome them most of the season.

"I don't know if we overcompensated, but we were just solid and consistent on the road," Vander Weide said.

Consistency remains a buzz word for the Ducks entering the postseason. After that unblemished September — a win streak stretched to 11 at Arizona to open October — Oregon's longest win streak the rest of the regular season was two.

If the Ducks are to make a sustained run in this, their sixth straight NCAA appearance — after losing in the first round last season — they'll need to recapture some of the magic they played with in September.

"We've talked a lot about consistency," said senior libero Amanda Benson, also an all-Pac-12 pick, who needs 87 digs in the tournament to set a new UO career record. "I think if we're going to get where we want to go, we have to be consistent. That means if one person's having a bad night, everybody else needs to pick up the slack."

The Ducks will try to establish some consistency against a Miami (Ohio) team that went 24-6 and tied for the Mid-American Conference title. The Redhawks, who are making their first NCAA appearance since 2008, have a balanced attack with five hitters averaging between 2.33 and 2.71 kills per set.

"It feels like a whole new season," Benson said. "You get to forget everything that happened in conference, and it gets to be wiped away. I love the tournament. I always say, eat or be eaten. It's a one-and-done, and you just need to survive."