WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 - Printable Version
+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: C-House! (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-4.html)
+--- Forum: The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-5.html)
+--- Thread: WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 (/thread-18223.html)
+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: C-House! (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-4.html)
+--- Forum: The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-5.html)
+--- Thread: WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 (/thread-18223.html)
WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 - Viking_Guy - 09-26-2019
A much-improved Cal team, with some great connection to their middles. The third-highest ranked team in the Pac-12. Berkeley going all out to try to get people to the match, and a much better atmosphere as a result.
Why didn't I enjoy watching us beat them more?
The announcer, Kevin Barnett.
Don't get me wrong, he was knowledgeable, as he should be, as a former Olympian and men's player at Pepperdine. Dropped into lingo a bit often, but I might have been hypersensitive to it.
Because he spent pretty much the entire match talking about Cal. He would compliment Stanford when they did well, but all of his interludes were Cal-related. If Cal did something well, his voice rose with excitement. If Stanford did, it was pretty much a monotone.
It was just weird. And off-putting, for a Stanford fan.
In any case, Stanford came out REALLY flat, in the face of the energy in the building. Plummer hit .000 for the opening set. They had 4 or 5 net violations and 3 service errors. Gray's connection to pretty much everybody looked off - she had a free ball perfectly passed by Hentz, set the middle, and missed by a good foot. All in all, a blah effort, coupled with getting caught in our worst rotation during a big Cal run at the end of set.
Barnett might have needed to dry off the microphone, he was so excited.
In the second, Stanford played a much more composed set, and Cal self-destructed a bit with hitting and passing issues. Their middles were still great, when they got a good set in system; Preslie Anderson hit over .450 on the match. But their pin hitters and passing were not that solid, and Stanford walked away with the set 25-17.
Set 3 was decisive. Back and forth, no team leading by more than 2 points the entire set. Stanford got some Plummer magic, and finally got its block going, closing out the third on a Fitzmorris/Gates stuff of Mirkovic.
And that right there was what I'm concerned about. Right now, Stanford's block is not nearly the force it could be. There's not much they could've done about Cal's middles going off - they were mostly hitting against a solo block. But there were a lot of plays that looked like they had a Cal hitter trapped outside, and left a seam. Or didn't get over and pike, leading to balls off "high hands" spraying around the court, and negating Stanford's defensive alignment.
Set 4, the block got going. And the game turned. A great run of serving by Gray opened up a tight set (Stanford mostly with 1-3 point leads) and got the Cardinal out to a 20-15 lead. They sided out home.
No question Cal is a much better team than they have been in the recent past - the aforementioned middles, good defense, and a belief in themselves - heck, they were undefeated, if not against a particularly difficult schedule.
But Barnett was so oblivious to Stanford that he didn't notice Vicini had replaced Campbell, and had a couple of nice block assists, from when she entered midway through the third set until the middle of the fourth. Campbell, who was having a tough match, didn't return, and Vicini closed the match out.
I don't know, maybe others had a different reaction. But I didn't expect the 75-25 division of coverage I think we got in that match.
In any case, a solid win on the road against a good team. Now for the second ranking team in the Pac-12 this weekend.
VG
RE: WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 - CompSci87 - 09-26-2019
I'm glad it wasn't just me who thought the announcer was a big Cal fan. I kept turning the volume up and down because sometimes he'd say something interesting in between rooting for Cal.
RE: WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 - Canalejas - 09-27-2019
It's true, the announcer even got hopeful for a UCB point in the middle of a few rallies.
However, I did like the post-game interview with Madeleine Gates, our transfer player from UCLA. I think it's neat that she chose the Farm not only because of her graduate program, but because her younger brother is a Stanford freshman. I hope he becomes a fixture in the stands and brings his dorm-mates with him.
RE: WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 - FarmBoy - 09-27-2019
It was a thoroughly enjoyable match if you weren't a Stanford fan concerned (a) about losing yet another early season match or (b) the rise of Cal volleyball that could be a big force out west with their new coach.
It's funny, I didn't notice the commentating disparity but looking back it was definitely there. But I've followed our team so much that I was more interested in hearing about the Cal program than the Stanford program with which I'm so familiar. I was interested to hear more about the McClure situation and how Hambly is handling the switch. I hope the commentator is correct that she'll be back to front row next year after Plummer leaves. Kip is really coming on strong though and making it clear that she's the better player for now. I do wonder if they're missing some chemistry from last year's team which is part of what ails the team right now. When she's on the court, she seems to make a difference whether it's serving, clean passing and the occasional back row attach. But Kip's shots down the line pretty darn impressive. She's a hitter who scores not just with great power (which she has) but great placement and angles.
RE: WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 - oldalum - 09-27-2019
(09-27-2019, 04:39 AM)FarmBoy Wrote: I do wonder if they're missing some chemistry from last year's team which is part of what ails the team right now.Well, they're still working in 2-3 new front row players (Kipp, Gates, Vicini) and the connections aren't as good as they'll be late in the season.
RE: WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 - BobK - 09-27-2019
I assume losing yet again wasn’t a serious comment for a team that has lost 3 of last 40 some matches
Hated the announcer however yes great interview with Gates
Also hated the moon shots from the camera
Loved how we got tough at the end. The look of a champion
Great about cal. Oregon with Willow Johnson back from injury off to a 25-9 start and losing in 5 to Oregon state a shock
Kipp very tough at the end after being block often early was great
Baird will be a starter next year. Kipp on the right or left next year? Love McClure also.
Best Washington which lost 3-1 to Washington State
RE: WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 - Viking_Guy - 09-27-2019
A couple of more thoughts, now that I'm not hearing, "Cal looking for the upset, and they just might pull it off..." by Barnett in my head.
On the commentator: unbalanced, and had me wondering if he was a Cal alum, yes. But as others have mentioned, he did have a great interview with Gates post-match, and he did bring more technical knowledge (talking about the Bears not adjusting to Plummer's backrow attacks, etc.) than is sometimes the norm.
The Vicini-Campbell switch: I think Vicini is a better (or at least quicker) blocker at this point, and it feels like the block is what needs shoring up. Cal's tempo was opening up a lot of hitting angles, and Hentz can't cover the 70% of the court that was available. Early on, they were definitely aiming at Plummer, but her passing and defense improved as the game went along.
The MBs - need to be hitting a higher percentage. They're not the ones getting OOS sets like Plummer and Kipp, so hitting .300 should not be an unrealistic goal. More especially, last night saw an awful lot of soft balls from the MBs, leading to fairly easy digs for Cal. Which brings me to my last thought.
Gray. Not sure what it is, but her connection with the hitters not named Kathryn is not there right now. On any backset, slide or otherwise, she seems to be setting pretty low and sometimes tight (the trap set I talk about.) Fitzmorris and Kipp seem to do better with a higher ball (given they're 6'5" or so.) I do wonder if this is trying to speed up the tempo a bit, but a low tight set on the slide (with only two hitters front row) is a recipe for a lot of blocks. So for the MBs, the slide or backset is not going well. In front of the setter, the "dead middle" ball seems to be an issue because of slightly off timing. Wondering if we'll see more of the gap set to Gates and hopefully Campbell (a set that worked really well for Cal last night.)
In any case, it got better as the match went along. Now if we can come out in a match not quite so flat in the first set...
VG
RE: WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 - mbdude - 09-27-2019
Any news on why Plummer was taped up?
RE: WVB: Stanford 3 Cal 1 - treetop11 - 09-27-2019
Agree on Barnett, he was annoying and I too initially thought it was only me