Once A Hesitant Leader, Stone Steps To Forefront As Senior

Ronika Stone has never been one to shy away from the spotlight. Her fireworks for the Oregon volleyball team have attracted all-America acclaim. She's a social media star for the pre-match dance videos Stone posted in years past with former teammates Lindsey Vander Weide and Lauren Page.

One day this past summer, though, Stone wanted to do nothing more than run and hide.

With last year's senior class that included Vander Weide and Page having graduated, Stone took over one of the primary leadership positions for the Ducks following the spring. A perfectionist, Stone always had been hesitant to raise her voice as a leader. She wasn't worthy of such a role, she thought, until she could be mistake-free herself.

For three years, UO coach Matt Ulmer had impressed upon Stone that she could be a respected voice within the team even if she wasn't perfect. Earlier this year, Stone finally was embracing that message, and that role.

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Then, one summer day, a mortifying development: Stone was late to a weight-lifting session. In three previous years, she'd never been late. Why did it have to happen now, when she finally was expected to be a leader? Stone found a corner of the arena to stretch by herself, and wait for practice to begin.

"I felt so awkward," Stone recalled recently.

Here's the thing: She was the only one. Ulmer didn't spend three years telling Stone she didn't have to be a perfectionist, only to punish her for a rare misstep. And her teammates certainly weren't holding it against her.

"I don't think anyone on the team was frustrated with her," sophomore Brooke Nuneviller said. "I mean, that doesn't happen with her. It's very cool she takes so much pride in that; everyone should. And I think her reaction made us realize how that's not OK – and she knows that's not OK. But none of the team was frustrated with her. She was definitely hardest on herself."

The Oregon volleyball team's reaction to Stone's rare tardiness was a reflection of the credibility she had built up over her first three years in the program. A member of the Pac-12 all-freshman team in 2016, Stone was all-conference as a sophomore, and a second-team all-American in 2018 as a junior. Entering her senior season, she's one of the most intimidating middle blockers in the nation, blessed with elite athleticism and exuding confidence at the net.

With the Ducks bringing back just four veteran players this season – paired with members of top-10 signing classes from each of the last two years – Ulmer needed Stone to be that confident presence off the court as well. Which took a little work.

"It's funny," Ulmer said, "because as outgoing as she can be" – Stone has nearly 20,000 followers on Instagram, and has posted nearly 13,500 times to Twitter – "she's still kind of an introvert in some ways. (But) not so much anymore. Now, she's really speaking up for the team, and she has us going in the right direction."

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Teammates say Stone works to connect on an individual level with each of her fellow Ducks. She was a role model to Nuneviller when the latter broke into the lineup as the starting libero in her freshman season last fall. Stone also built bonds with setter Kylie Robinson and middle blocker Karson Bacon, as they adjusted to college while redshirting last season.

Now, Stone has a host of other newcomers to help mold, including setter Elise Ferreira, libero Georgia Murphy, right-side hitter Morgan Lewis and talented Eugene native Taylor Williams. All of them are talented, and they have a phenomenal role model to learn from in Stone, who can help chart the direction for Oregon's future after she graduates.

"With it being such a young team, people think of that as a disadvantage," Stone said. "But I think that's only a positive. … They'll buy in to what we're saying, because they're new. So it's an advantage, for sure."

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But before Stone cheers on all those young Ducks as an alum, she's got one more year to leave her mark on the program. And if the opening weekend of the season was any indication, that will be quite a mark.

The Ducks, who are off this weekend, opened the fall with sweeps of UC Irvine and Boston College. Entering Oregon's next match, Sept. 11 at Pittsburgh to kick off a two-week, seven-match road trip, Stone is averaging 3.83 kills per set and 1.17 blocks per set. She hit an astounding .542 in the two matches.

No, Stone isn't going to be perfect for the Oregon volleyball team this season. But she's everything the Ducks could ask for, as a performer on the court, and now as a leader in the locker room as well.