University of Oregon
Texas
Newcombe Provides Strong Female Presence in Dillard's Absence
08/23/18 | Women's Volleyball
When Oregon volleyball head coach Matt Ulmer dipped into his past in January to hire assistant coach Erika Dillard, who he coached with at Long Beach State from 2008 to 2013, he did so knowing Dillard would have to miss at least the opening weekend of the 2018 season.
Dillard, whose maiden name is Chidester and often goes by "Chid", and her husband, Jason, were expecting the birth of their second child in late August. On Monday, just days before the No. 18 Ducks open their season in Lincoln, Neb., against No. 3 Texas (Friday, 1:30 p.m. PT) and No. 2 Nebraska (Saturday, 4 p.m.), she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Caden Jay Dillard.
"My timing is spectacular, clearly," Dillard joked.
Everything went smoothly with Caden's arrival, as the newest little Duck weighed in at eight pounds, nine ounces, and 20-and-a-half inches.
"He's been a really great baby. The first night he didn't go to bed until 5 a.m. and I looked at Jason like, 'Oh my gosh,' and then (Wednesday) he slept the entire day and night and I was just thinking, 'Oh, thank goodness. Good boy.' But yeah, everything went well and we are both feeling good."
Still, though, Dillard can't help but think about the Ducks and what she is missing out on as her first season at Oregon officially gets underway in Lincoln.
"Having a kid is incredible, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't kind of wish I were there," said Dillard. "Since I arrived at Oregon, the team has been so welcoming and willing to train and I've watched them grow and improve so much throughout the preseason."
"A lot of my friends are there and we have such a promising season ahead of us, and the fact that it's playing Nebraska at Nebraska, where they just won the national championship, that's kind of a bucket list thing and it stings a little bit not to be there."
Luckily for Ulmer and the Ducks, they had a highly qualified, and familiar, candidate right in Eugene to fill in for Dillard this weekend: Oregon alumna and all-time points leader Sonja Newcombe.
"I've been around (Eugene) for the summer," said Newcombe. "I was working camp and was going through their schedule for the fall, and with Chid being out (Matt) asked if I'd be available to go before I go to Romania for my season.
"I told him I had to check the calendar because it butts up pretty close with the dates, but I was really excited about it and I'm happy to be here with the team."
Newcombe, an all-American for the Ducks from 2006 to 2009, has been a consistent presence with the Ducks since she graduated, helping out and training with the team during the summers if she hasn't been with the U.S. National Team.
"It became my home," Newcombe said of Eugene. "I came to play volleyball but met my husband and we own a condo now in Eugene, so it really just has become our home away from home when we're not overseas. I just like the direction the program is going. When I came, we were coming to change the program and to get it to be a perennial top program, and so I love being a part of that now as they continue to head in that direction.
"I think Matt is doing a really great job. I think he's brought a lot of energy and a new perspective for the program."
Newcombe looks forward to gaining experience on the coaching side of the game before leaving next week to begin her ninth professional season overseas, and first in Romania.
"I hope that I can just bring a different perspective because I'm not with them year-round," said Newcombe. "Playing professionally in nine different countries I've had a lot of different experiences and I feel like I still see the game as a player and I'm learning as a coach, so I hope that I can impart some of what I've learned but also learn from all of them as well."
One of the biggest challenges the Ducks will face this weekend, aside from facing a pair of top-three opponents to open their season, is managing the crowd at Nebraska's Bob Devaney Sport Center. The Cornhuskers sold out their preseason scrimmage last weekend with nearly 8,000 fans, and sold-out crowds are expected this weekend during the four-team, four-match VERT Challenge.
Newcombe, who has played on some the sport's biggest stages both at the NCAA level and overseas, will be a valuable sounding board for the Ducks who have yet to play in that kind of atmosphere.
"I think really just take a moment and enjoy it," Newcombe said of handling the crowd. "Look around, hear the noise and really just take it in and embrace it because it is an opportunity that not a lot of people get to experience, and then just take a deep breath and trust the work that you've put in."
For Dillard, having someone like Newcombe available to fill in for her eases the hurt a bit of not being able to be with the team on opening weekend.
"Sonja has been great," Dillard said. "She's a really calm influence on the women on the team and she has a lot of knowledge, both from being a former Duck and from her eight seasons playing overseas. I think that experience of being over in Europe, being a professional volleyball player, knowing how to compete under pressure and just some of the mental preparation of how to compete against yourself in a match if things aren't going perfectly is really valuable for our team.
"This is a big weekend for these kids, so I'm just looking forward to Sonja providing that sense of calm for them, which I think is something that I usually bring. I think it's so important for them to have a powerful female there to look to and talk to. I think that's a big part of any staff at this level is just having a strong women that can be there for them."
Newcombe will provide that presence on the sideline, and she has liked what she's seen so far from a team that will look to assert itself as one of the nation's elite this weekend in Lincoln.
"I think the depth they have is awesome," said Newcombe, "and I really think the sky is the limit for this team. They really have a great group and they work really well together."?
