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Champs - Card Fan in OR - 05-08-2010

WOW! I am in awe of how good our guys are. Couldn\'t be there to see it, but it looked to be a totally dominating performance.

Looking forward to hearing about it from the cognescenti on the board. What a joy to watch.

Mick was right. It is booked, baby.

Re: Champs - Sue_Ann_Duckett - 05-08-2010

Mick really did call it: Victory in three games, the last two pretty easy. Penn State absolutely crumbled.

Re: Champs - Pastor - 05-08-2010

OR....Stanford absolutely dominated

Re: Champs - Mick - 05-08-2010

Quote:OR....Stanford absolutely dominated

I thought a motivated Penn State might do well in one game, then would shrink.  They just hadn\'t seen the athleticism in their EIVA opponents that Stanford had seen all year in the MPSF.  They actually matched up pretty well, but Stanford had the edge at the margin in virtually every instance.  The Shojis were strong, but so were Penn State\'s setter  and libero.

Stanford is extremely well coached and extremely well recruited.  Lawson and Romero were incredible.  Lawson had one error and 24 kills...at that level, that is just nuts.  Stanford\'s defense was the real story...38 digs to 24.

Re: Champs - Farm93 - 05-08-2010

What a blast.  Any internet prediction curse missed Mick.  Or maybe the team was just too good.

The place was packed.  During the second game there were people trying to find spaces large enough for groups of four to sit together.  I noticed the only option seemed to be to sit next to the Band in the upper corner.  It was actually really hot.  I do not think the operations folks were prepared for the crowd.

The place was rocking.  It was a lot of fun.

And the best part is that great NCAA team title streak is extended for at least one more year.

Re: Champs - Mick - 05-08-2010

Quote:What a blast.  Any internet prediction curse missed Mick.  Or maybe the team was just too good.

The team was too good.  The talent on Stanford\'s team is ridiculous.  Equivalent of a football team composed of four and five star talent.

Here\'s what their starters were coming out of high school:

Spencer McLachlin; 2007 National High school player of the year and co captain of youth national team, along with Kawika Shoji.  Kawika\'s brother, Erik Shoji was the best libero recruit of the  class of 2008 (three diff tourneys), 4 time all Hawaii first team.  Brad Lawson was the captain of the "Fab 50" and the nation’s top recruit of 2008.  Gus Ellis was considered the top middle blocker of 2008.  And the other middle, Garrett Werner was merely on the A2 team (2nd team all America).  Both Shojis were coached by their father, the coach for the University of Hawaii women\'s volleyball team for many years.  

And Evan Romero?  The team leader in kills started volleyball late (frosh year in high school) but caught up quickly.


Re: Champs - fullmetal - 05-08-2010

I had to miss the game, unfortunately, but two thumbs up to Mick for his spot-on prediction, and congratulations to the MVB team for capping a great season and bringing the program to the top!

Re: Champs - pefloresjr - 05-08-2010

An absolute blast.  brobdingnagian roar from the crowd on every point.  The place was definitely full and the crowd was into it.  We sat in GA but got there early to sit at center court.  We were surrounded by a big group of Hawaiians who were there to support all the recruits from the islands.  I was a little worried about the Penn State team because they were a lot taller than our team.  It made no difference though, we played better defense and just made great play after great play to beat their size with skill.  

Very happy to see the MVB pioneers get the reward of a national championship in front of a full house at home.  

Cheers,
Pete F.

Re: Champs - mark3k - 05-09-2010

Same here, Pete.  We\'re not generally VB fans, but came down to support the team in the final and were incredibly glad we did.  Loved that the place ended up completely full (but that we too got to sit near center court in GA after arriving only 30 minutes early) and the crowd was awesome.  If I didn\'t see that Penn St. gets to host the NCAA championship next year, I would have said that it wasn\'t fair for us to get to play this game at home.  In any case, it was clearly unfair to them that we had Lawson... he was just dominant (with his serves too)!  I also liked the fact that when Romero struggled in the first game, neither he nor the team panicked or got frustrated.  When he got back on track it wasn\'t even close.  Congrats guys!

Re: Champs - Spiny_Norman - 05-09-2010

I learned some new terminology on the ESPN broadcast thanks to Karch Kiraly.  One was nectar - a perfect set.  There was a lot of sweetness in that match.  

I had a lump in my throat watching Dave Shoji try to contain his emotions at the end of the match.  All of Stanford\'s 98 NCAA championships are special, but this one was a little bit extra special.  Congratulations to the players and coaches!

Re: Champs - pefloresjr - 05-09-2010

Not sure this link works, but great story about yesterday and coach Al Roderigues who died of cancer earlier this season.  The team was wearing arm patches in his honor.  He had a big role with the team.  Tough to read with out a tear coming to your eye.  Another reason this win was very special.  

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_15048440

Cheers,
Pete F.

Re: Champs - Mick - 05-09-2010

Quote:I had to miss the game, unfortunately, but two thumbs up to Mick for his spot-on prediction, and congratulations to the MVB team for capping a great season and bringing the program to the top!

I\'m just a casual fan of most sports, but I know a little bit about men\'s vb.  I\'ve been playing the sport since I was 10 and played it in high school and college.  Stanford has a world of talent and if they can replace their setter, they could be a dynasty.

Most positions are comparatively simple to gauge, but evaluating setters is challenging.  There was an article a few months back in Sports Illustrated that described how difficult it was to draft QBs, because there were so many nonphysical factors involved, and it mentioned why the Druckenmillers and Ryan Leafs can get selected in the first round while Joe Montana and Tom Brady wait until the third and sixth round.  A similar situation exists when evaluating setters, they\'re fundamentally the quarterbacks of the team.  They touch the ball on every play, evaluate the defense, call the plays and audibles and decide which of the four main hitting options (receiver/running back) gets the ball, or whether he does a QB keeper (setter tip for a kill).  

They take a very long time to develop.  I know one terrific high school senior, an exceedingly good athlete who will be a setter at a major D1 college.  I asked a senior assistant at a Top 5 MPSF school (not his coach) what was likely to happen to that athlete.  He replied "well, first he\'s going to disappear for two years as he learns the position.  He\'ll reappear as a junior as maybe the best setter in the country, and perhaps an Olympic level setter."

Losing Kawika Shoji will be like losing John Elway....exceedingly difficult to replace.  The setters behind him are unproven...not that they are poor, they clearly have talent, ability and aptitude, but setters take a long time to develop at the highest levels.  They need to be smart, emotionally balanced, and quick...they need to think quickly.  They are the coaches on the court.  It is no coincidence that Shoji, the son of a career NCAA D1 women\'s volleyball coach, is a very sophisticated player.

As often as not, the setters are team leaders and that rarely happens for freshmen or sophomores coming off of D1 championships.

Re: Champs - slide - 05-10-2010

can Kawika\'s brother step in for him?

Re: Champs - Scooter_Stepford - 05-10-2010

Shoji the younger plays a very different position; the transition to setter would be darn near impossible, even if he has his older brother\'s hands.

Mick\'s analogy to losing Elway is a good one.  However, the \'11 setter will be surrounded by incredible talent, talent that has obviously figured out how to win.

One thing that the next setter will not have to worry about is the quality of the passing; this was an amazing ball control team!  And the primary passers all return next year.  That will make his job a lot easier.



Re: Champs - Mick - 05-10-2010

If Kawika Shoji is the QB, Erik Shoji is more like the free safety or an MLB (depending on the play).  He\'s the key line of defense.  But a setter in Stanford\'s defense needs to be able to block the other team\'s major hitters (OH) as well, so you need more height than Erik has.  This is one of the main reasons that very good high school setters don\'t do as well  at the NCAA level...because so many of them tend to be very coordinated and gifted with their hands.  Erik is listed as 6\', I think that\'s pretty generous.  The setters of top California and Hawaii high schools are pretty tall, like Michael Beals at #2 Mira Costa (UCLA) and Keith Wyngarden (still a junior) of #6 Bellarmine who are both 6\'7" or Micah Christensen of Kamehameha (also a junior and 6\'5") or the athlete I referred to earlier who is 6\'6".

Stanford has a soph and frosh setter (Evan Barry, 6\'3" and Chandler Kaaa, 6\'4"), who made the equivalent of second and third team All America.  Hopefully, they will develop like Kawika.

Re: Champs - Farm93 - 05-10-2010

I hate to throw cold water on these future discussions, but the reality is that this is a SoCal sport.  UCLA absolutely has dominated the sport for years.  Several other SoCal schools that are terrible in sports (CSU-N, The Beach, UC-I, etc.) feature very solid MVB programs.

This is not to say that Stanford will fall to last, but there are other programs in the mix.  And it is very hard to advance out of the MPSF and into the NCAAs.

And all of that is fine.  Stanford went from Worst to First, honored the memory of a great Assistant Coach, and won a championship in front of a home crowd.  Embrace the story and celebrate the success for a while because few sports stories are better than the one we just enjoyed.

Re: Champs - Spiny_Norman - 05-10-2010

Quote: [men\'s volleyball] is a SoCal sport.

Yes, men\'s volleyball is so dominated by SoCal teams that the recent NCAA champs have included BYU (3 times), Hawaii, Lewis and Penn State.  Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne made the final in 2007.  SoCal teams have won only 5 of the last 12 NCAA championships.  Hardly "domination" as I interpret the word.

If you had said that each championship requires a certain amount of good fortune and chemistry and that talent alone is insufficient, I certainly would have agreed.  Stanford may have a ton of talent next year, but that does not ensure success.  Still before you "throw cold water on future discussions" let\'s enjoy the accomplishments of this year\'s squad.

Re: Champs - Farm93 - 05-10-2010

Quote:
Quote: [men\'s volleyball] is a SoCal sport.

Yes, men\'s volleyball is so dominated by SoCal teams that the recent NCAA champs have included BYU (3 times), Hawaii, Lewis and Penn State.  Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne made the final in 2007.  SoCal teams have won only 5 of the last 12 NCAA championships.  Hardly "domination" as I interpret the word.

UCLA has won 19 times.  Sounds like a good run to me.  To put it a different way almost 1/5 of UCLA\'s team titles are in this one sport.

Create an all-star team from the talent within 50 miles of UCLA and I would take my chances.  Is there another NCAA sport with a more clear talent epicenter?  However, even your examples illustrate my original point and that is that this is not like fencing or men\'s gymnastics where the number of programs has dwindled to the point that a few select programs consistently finish in the top 4 or 5.

But I believe you and I agree that fans should enjoy the greatness witnessed on Saturday.   The 1997 team won in a largely empty house in Columbus in front of a crowd that did not care about UCLA or Stanford.  As a fan, this 2010 event was a lot more exciting.  

Re: Champs - Mick - 05-10-2010

Quote:
Quote:[quote] [men\'s volleyball] is a SoCal sport.

UCLA has won 19 times.  Sounds like a good run to me.

UCLA won 7 times in the \'70s, 6 times in the 80s, 4 times in the 90s, and twice in the last ten years.

Quote:Create an all-star team from the talent within 50 miles of UCLA and I would take my chances.  Is there another NCAA sport with a more clear talent epicenter?  However, even your examples illustrate my original point and that is that this is not like fencing or men\'s gymnastics where the number of programs has dwindled to the point that a few select programs consistently finish in the top 4 or 5.

In the championship game, Stanford had four starters from Hawaii, one from Florida, one from Wisconsin...and one from California, Gus Ellis.  Penn State had two California players on their roster.

Right now, the #1 high school team in the country (per ESPN) is Punahou, from Hawaii.  Of the top 10 high schools in the country, three are from Hawaii (#1Punahou, #7 Iolani and #10 Kamehameha), two are from Illinois (#3 Maine Township South) and #4 Carl Sandburg), one is from Northern California (#6 Bellarmine College Prep), one is from Ohio (#7 Archbishop Hoban) and three from Southern California (#2 Mira Costa, #5 Loyola and #8 Huntington Beach).  I haven\'t seen the Midwestern schools or Kamehameha, but I\'ve seen the rest of them.  Punahou, Mira Costa and Loyola are the real deal with several D1 recruits on each team.  The rest are about as good as each other.

Stanford\'s seven recruits next year come from SoCal (3), NorCal (1), Hawaii (1), Pennsylvania (1) and Illinois (1).

Re: Champs - Robbie - 05-11-2010

Quote:Is there another NCAA sport with a more clear talent epicenter? 

Lacrosse and the mid-Atlantic states?

Since 1971, when the NCAA started awarding championships in men\'s lacrosse, there have been seven schools that have won the national championship: Syracuse, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Virginia, North Carolina, Cornell, and Maryland.