12-15-2017, 12:46 PM
It wasn't our best match of the season, but, given that we were playing a higher-seeded team, coached by the National Coach of the Year, that had a block arguably as good as any we have faced, that had [started?] five seniors, at least one of whom is one of those highly inspirational "we're not losing this match" types [think Oganna, Inky, etc.], and that had already had at least one [maybe two?] post-season victories of the "destiny is on our side this year" variety, our performance wasn't exactly mediocre, club-level volleyball, either. We dropped the first two and, instead of folding, came back to play two pretty good sets. Unfortunately, in Set 5, the weapons that had worked so well in Sets 3 and 4 -- Lutz and McClure -- were largely neutralized, we got a bad rotation, and Florida put it away.
Kiraly and Sunderland thought that we were too loose in Sets 1 and 2. Maybe, but it seemed to me that the two Kansans were, possibly, a little too wound up. Those certainly were not Fitz's best two sets of the season, and a lot of her errors seemed relatively unforced. Similarly, Gray's setting was not as crisp as it had been recently. Granted that our passing was not particularly good, but Jenna's often good enough to overcome that, but not so much last night. And, as good as our serving had been over the course of the season, it seemed "just okay" last night. And, as the commentators pointed out, Hentz was not much of a factor in Sets 1 and 2, but had some almost superhuman plays in Sets 3 and 4, and even in Set 5.
I think this team, as a whole, may have been one of the best Stanford has ever had. There was really no weak link. While we may not have had the best player ever at each position, the whole team [including the bench] was incredibly solid and consistent. That is what allowed this team to be so successful over the course of the season and even last night after the first two sets. The only thing it looks to me that this team maybe didn't [doesn't yet] have is the "we're not going to lose this match!!" player that you need -- and that Florida appeared to have this year -- when things are going south at crunch time. Last night, it looked like Merete, not surprisingly, was doing all she could to be that player, but that doesn't seem to be her natural demeanor [which is not at all meant as a criticism, particularly since, without her play in Sets 3 and 4, we likely would have been swept]. She's going to be hard to replace.
As young and talented as this team is, though, and as good as Hambly appears to be from the job he did this season, there's lots of reason for optimism, last night's Set 5 notwithstanding.
And, since Penn State lost as well, at least we don't have to worry about falling behind in WVB Nat'l Championships this year. So there's that...
Kiraly and Sunderland thought that we were too loose in Sets 1 and 2. Maybe, but it seemed to me that the two Kansans were, possibly, a little too wound up. Those certainly were not Fitz's best two sets of the season, and a lot of her errors seemed relatively unforced. Similarly, Gray's setting was not as crisp as it had been recently. Granted that our passing was not particularly good, but Jenna's often good enough to overcome that, but not so much last night. And, as good as our serving had been over the course of the season, it seemed "just okay" last night. And, as the commentators pointed out, Hentz was not much of a factor in Sets 1 and 2, but had some almost superhuman plays in Sets 3 and 4, and even in Set 5.
I think this team, as a whole, may have been one of the best Stanford has ever had. There was really no weak link. While we may not have had the best player ever at each position, the whole team [including the bench] was incredibly solid and consistent. That is what allowed this team to be so successful over the course of the season and even last night after the first two sets. The only thing it looks to me that this team maybe didn't [doesn't yet] have is the "we're not going to lose this match!!" player that you need -- and that Florida appeared to have this year -- when things are going south at crunch time. Last night, it looked like Merete, not surprisingly, was doing all she could to be that player, but that doesn't seem to be her natural demeanor [which is not at all meant as a criticism, particularly since, without her play in Sets 3 and 4, we likely would have been swept]. She's going to be hard to replace.
As young and talented as this team is, though, and as good as Hambly appears to be from the job he did this season, there's lots of reason for optimism, last night's Set 5 notwithstanding.
And, since Penn State lost as well, at least we don't have to worry about falling behind in WVB Nat'l Championships this year. So there's that...