Last November, Oregon volleyball head coach Jim Moore announced the five newest recruits to his program. The class, ranked fourth in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com, consists of all front row players: one setter, two middles and two outside hitters. With each player six feet or taller, the group adds some height and blocking ability to Oregon’s front row.
Summit Gill
No. 1
Middle blocker (MB)
Past: The 6-foot-3 middle blocker out of Elk Grove, CA had a .279 hitting percentage coming out of her senior year, and recorded 172 solo blocks, according to maxpreps.com. Gill also made two appearances at the Junior Girls National championships.
Present: In her first match for the Ducks, Gill scored three kills for Oregon and has remained consistent through the season with three kills in the Oregon match against OSU and four kills over No. 14 Arizona. Gill contributed a total of 11 point in the matches against Oregon State and Arizona. Then on Saturday, Gill put up seven block assists and five kills for Oregon.
Coach Moore on Gill after the win over Utah: “Sumeet had two big kills in the fifth, and we need that.” Gill has made strides at the MB position even though she wasn’t the original selection for the spot. “Right now she’s stepping in for Lauren [Page],” (who is out with an injury) Moore said.
Hayley McLaren
No. 2
Outside hitter (OH)
Past: Out of Aurora, CO, McLaren appeared in volleyballmag.com’s “30 Underclassmen to Watch” in February of 2014. McLaren finished her senior year as the No. 8 ranked player in Colorado and as an All- State player for both the 2013- 2014 and 2014- 2015 seasons. In 91 sets, the outside brought 222 kills and 152 digs for her team, showing her aptitude for both offense and defense.
Present: In Oregon’s second and third matches of the season, McLaren scored six points apiece for the Ducks, and tied her freshman companion Lindsey Vander Weide in kills for the set against Navy. McLaren also put up four blocks for the Ducks in the match against St. Johns.
Lauren Page
No. 6
Middle blocker (MB)
Past: Page is also a middle blocker and California native. The 6’0 middle was named 1st Team All-League for her 2013- 2014 season. Page was selected as King volleyball’s “Player of the Match” 14 times between September 2013 and October 2014.
Present: Page showed her prowess as a middle in the match against George Washington, scoring nine kills and 11 total points for the Ducks. She went on to dominate for Oregon in their match against No. 4 Nebraska with a .667 attack percentage with ten kills.
Coach Moore on Page, who has been out most of the season after an injury: When asked if fan will see Page later in the season, Moore responded with a laugh, “well, we better.” Then on a more serious note he added, “she’ll be back, she’s just not ready to come back yet.”
Lindsey Vander Weide
No. 8
Outsider hitter (OH)
Past: In just 120 sets of varsity play, Vender Weide recorded 506 kills for her California with a .405 hitting percentage. Her awards include the No. position on prepvolleyball.com’s “Senior Aces” count down and Under Armour Girls High School All-American.
Present: Vander Weide has shined in her first few months as a Duck, being named Pac- 12 Freshman of the Week at the end of September after the true-freshman scored 25 kills and 16 digs over Oregon State in just four sets. She also began the season with a bang in the match against George Washington, leading the team with 15 kills and 17 total points for the Ducks. On Friday at Oregon’s match against Colorado, Vander Weide continued to demonstrate her power on the outside and lead the Ducks in kills with 19 total for the night.
Vander Weide on Oregon’s first win at home against Utah: “It feels pretty great, we should have won yesterday, but I’m really happy we won,” the freshman said with a smile. “It’s a great feeling with the whole crowd just cheering for you, going crazy on that game point.”
August Raskie
No. 16
Setter (S)
Past:The three-sport athlete out of Colorado Springs was First Team All-State her senior year after totaling 1390 assists in just 244 sets. The 6’0 setter also provided 634 digs for her high school, according to maxpreps.com.
Present: While Raskie hasn’t seen the court quite as much as the rest of the group, she did put up two and a half points for the Ducks in her first appearance at the collegiate level. Oregon’s current setter Maggie Scott has the stronghold on the position for now after she was named an honorable mention for the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team last year.