EUGENE–The University of Oregon Club Sports women’s volleyball team unseated the defending national champions from the University of Texas to claim the No. 1 spot in the United States for 2001.

The Oregon women entered the national tournament April 11—14 seeded 39th in a field of 48 teams. They overcame a handful of the nation’s best–and earned the enthusiastic support of each vanquished team as well as the tournament crowd–to become national champions at the NIRSA Collegiate Sport Club Tournament sponsored by the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association in Kansas City, Mo.

"This is the first national championship for one of our Club Sports women’s volleyball teams," says Sandy Vaughn, Club Sports and recreation coordinator at the Erb Memorial Union. "Our low seeding going into the tournament, and the huge pool of talent that exists across the country in women’s volleyball, make this win especially incredible."

After the nine-member UO team easily scored three wins in pool play April 12, they beat Michigan and vanquished the Texas squad on what turned out to be an unlucky day for the Longhorns, April 13. Oregon then took care of Florida, Washington State and Kentucky before advancing to the finals.

In the championship round on April 14, Oregon lost its first game to Purdue, 24-26, but battled back from a nine-point deficit to win the second game 27-25. The decisive third game ended dramatically when senior Annie Pogue made the final score on a spike to give the Duck women a 16-14 edge over the Boilermakers as well as the national crown.

Pogue was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Oregon also placed two players–junior Carli Halligan and senior Lisa Dohrmann–on the first-team all-tournament squad.

According to coach Cody Banner of Eugene, in his fourth year with the team, next year’s lineup will change very little as just one senior is graduating. The 2002 team will have five returning starters and two returning All-Americans.

Members of the 2001 national champion UO Club Sports women’s volleyball team are:

EUGENE–Heidi Swanson, a sophomore biology major, 2010 Fairmont Blvd.; and Jessica Mae Van Ourkerk, a junior architecture major, 5164 Solar Heights Dr.

GRESHAM–Carli Halligan, a junior educational studies major, 4664 S.E. 14th St.

PORTLAND–Tina Austinson, a senior business administration major, 3340 N.E. 157th Place; and Kristin Layne, a freshman biology major, 14789 N.W. Vance Dr.

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif.–Nicki Daman, a junior biology major, 1535 Filaree Way.

ATHERTON, Calif.–Lisa Dohrmann, a senior communication disorders and sciences major, 80 Atherton Ave.

CAMPBELL, Calif.–Annie Pogue, a senior art major, 1279 Bent Dr.

CHELAN, Wash.–Stacey Terry, a junior business administration major who was student coordinator of the team, 327 Highpoint Lane.

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