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WVB: #9 Illinois 2 #2 Stanford 3 - Printable Version

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WVB: #9 Illinois 2 #2 Stanford 3 - Viking_Guy - 09-07-2014

BobK is going to be really happy :).

Coming out party for Merete Lutz, who almost single-handedly turned around a moribund Stanford team, down 2-1, in set #4, then had a couple of key plays in closing out game 5.  Inky was again amazing.  But there are still some major issues to work on.

Early in game 1, it looked like Stanford was going to roll the Illini like the Bruins did on Friday, breaking on top 11-4 in set 1.  But the issue that came up again and again is, where do the points come from when Inky rotates off the court?  With her in the front row, the Cardinal plays like the best team in the country.  But in sets 1 through 3, whenever she left the court, the Illini would close the gap or extend their lead.  McGehee has a nice slide, a good serve and soft hands when she's called on to set, but isn't a brobdingnagian force offensively.

Another problem with that rotation became the biggest factor today: uncertainty about Brittany Howard's serve receive.  Time after time, she shanked a fairly simple jump float receive, sending Bugg scrambling, or into the net, or pushing the ball just over the net into an easy kill for the Illinois front line.  It got to the point today where Jordan Burgess and Kyle Gilbert split the court between them and pushed Howard into covering about 2 feet of the court in the back corner, and that affected their ability to cover as well.  Jordan's passing also seemed to suffer as the match went on.

Stanford hung on to win game 1, although they allowed the Illini to close within 2 late in the set.  But every time Inky rotated off in sets 2 and 3, Illinois would score points in bunches.  They took set 2 25-19, and that looks better than it was because of a nice run when Inky got back on the court down 22-14.  But the apotheosis was in game 3 - Ajanaku rotated off with the score Stanford 15-14.  By the time she returned, it was 21-17 Illini. (EDIT: I was wrong, on rewatching.  She came back in when it was 23-19).

Now the Illini's big weapon is a 6'6" outside hitter, Liz McMahon.  She was hitting over the line block at will, and if the MB closed too much, could go big angle.  The largest part of that success, though, was that she was hitting in system time after time.  Also, she was being subbed in just as Ajanaku rotated off, which meant she had 3-4 inches on Howard and McGehee, let alone Burgess and Bugg.

Enter (well, re-enter) Merete Lutz.  While she had played earlier, Lutz came into her game in keying the match-changing run in game 4.  Ajanaku rotated off with the score tied 7-7, and I held on for dear life, hoping that Stanford would be able to smoothly side out and not give up too many points before she got back on the court.

Instead, block by Lutz on the Illini's #2 weapon, Morganne Criswell.  A service error by Kyle Gilbert (who is definitely off to a rocky start this year).  But then kill by Bugg on a near overpass by Howard, block by Lutz, kill by the Illini, block by Boukather and Lutz, block by Lutz and Boukather.  12-9 Stanford, and a timeout by the Illini.  Stanford pulled out to a 5 point lead at 19-14, then hung on for dear life, aided by a kill by Boukather and big block by Ajanaku and Howard when the Illini had closed within 2 at 22-20.  Inky finally finished the game with an emphatic kill.

Game 5 started poorly, with 3 kills in 4 points by Liz McMahon, aided again by some bad passing from the Stanford backline.  But Lutz had a nice kill, then affected the Illini offense in a noticeable way - they had 3 hitting errors in the first half of the set.  A block by Ajanaku and Bugg gave Stanford a 10-8 lead, but Burgess missed to let the Illini tie it at 10.  Inky went off after a kill to make it 11-10 Stanford, and again, I hung on to my seat.  Another Burgess error, but then a kill by Lutz on the best swing I have seen her take yet, and then a brobdingnagian block on the 6'6" McMahon to make it 13-11.  Bugg had an awful service error, sending it a good 8 feet lone, but then Lutz again terminated to give Stanford match point, and the final point had the Illini hitting long, trying to get the ball over the top of the block or hit high hands.

Like I said, Bob will be happy.  And I think our MB2 position may have just swung.



Re: WVB: #9 Illinois 2 #2 Stanford 3 - Viking_Guy - 09-07-2014

Game ball to Lutz, who only got a few sets, but made the most of them, with 9 kills and 1 error in 14 attacks for a .571 hitting percentage.  Oh, and 1 solo and 5 block assists.  All in the last two sets.

Inky was a close second, mostly because we expect it from her: 16 kills and 3 errors, hitting .500 with six block assists.

On the down side, Burgess hitting .087, Boukather .097.  A lot of that however can be attributed to trying to hit so-so sets off of bad passes.  Also a lot can be attributed to a really good Illini block - they had 28 block assists against only 2 errors, while Stanford had 1 solo and 26 assists but 5 errors.

One thing though: I'm not sure what's going on with Kyle Gilbert, but her serve receive is also much less certain than it has been.  Part of that may be trying to cover for Howard, but she also hasn't been making the spectacular digs we're used to from her.  Early season, but this weekend it was noticeable how much more often our hits ended up being converted into settable balls against the Nittany Lions and Illini than the converse.

All in all, a successful weekend: two wins over top-flight competition, and enough things to work on to help prevent complacency.

And a nice coming out party for the girl from Houston.

VG


Re: WVB: #9 Illinois 2 #2 Stanford 3 - fullmetal - 09-07-2014

Lutz's brother rowed for Stanford somewhat recently.  Excellent genes in that family!

Re: WVB: #9 Illinois 2 #2 Stanford 3 - 76lsjumb - 09-07-2014

I went to three Stanford sporting events this weekend. 

In two of them we were pretty clearly outplayed by our opponent, and we made lots of mistakes.  We won both [just barely]. 

In the other one we pretty clearly outplayed our opponent, but we made lots of mistakes. We lost that one [just barely].

Go figure.

It was fun watching Lutz today.  Rarely do you see someone so obviously and tangibly gain confidence over the course of a single match.  It would be really nice to see that trend continue.

As for 5-set matches...that's a trend I do without [although we did get our money's worth this weekend]. 

Also, having now dispatched Penn State, Nebraska, and Illinois, do we have an insurmountable lead in the Big Ten?

Re: WVB: #9 Illinois 2 #2 Stanford 3 - BobK - 09-07-2014

I am dancing for joy for Lutz and Stanford.    Sadly agree with everything said, but, we won them all and we can improve so much.  Pays to play tough teams. 

Re: WVB: #9 Illinois 2 #2 Stanford 3 - RuralFan - 09-08-2014

Playing well in the fifth set is always difficult, and so far, this team has done it really well.

Go Card.

Re: WVB: #9 Illinois 2 #2 Stanford 3 - BobK - 09-08-2014

We are # 1  8)