02-04-2023, 10:38 AM
Stanford's ranking increased one spot from #7 to #6 last week. Unfortunately, Stanford lost at unranked Northridge last night, 3-2 (Northridge would be ranked #16 if the rankings went down that far).
Stanford started off well, taking two of the first three sets in relatively convincing fashion, while losing the second set 26-24. Stanford got smoked in the fourth set 25-18 (conditioning issue?) and lost a heartbreaking tiebreaker, 15-13. The match was back and forth with 16 lead changes and 43 tie scores, including 6 and 19 just in the second set.
Northridge looked like the tighter, more disciplined unit, with more assists (63-57), digs (61-52) and kills (64-58), though Stanford had fewer hitting errors (17-22).
The only Stanford hitter who really stood out was middle Ethan Hill (10 kills in 15 attempts), who also let both teams with six blocks. Pin hitters Rottman, Snoey and Lamp all hit between .250 and .290. Northridge's libero had 20 digs, Lui (who's a very fine libero with multiple defensive player of the week awards) had 14.
Stanford plays The Master's University (f/k/a Los Angeles Baptist College and Seminary) in a scrimmage on their Santa Clarita campus today at 1 p.m. TMU, incidentally, is not a bad team. They beat Hawaii last fall, and they're 3-0 this year, all three wins by 3-0 scores. Their libero is from Pepperdine, they have a middle from Grand Canyon, and a very young, very dynamic head coach. They should still lose to Stanford, but it'll be closer than you might think.
Stanford started off well, taking two of the first three sets in relatively convincing fashion, while losing the second set 26-24. Stanford got smoked in the fourth set 25-18 (conditioning issue?) and lost a heartbreaking tiebreaker, 15-13. The match was back and forth with 16 lead changes and 43 tie scores, including 6 and 19 just in the second set.
Northridge looked like the tighter, more disciplined unit, with more assists (63-57), digs (61-52) and kills (64-58), though Stanford had fewer hitting errors (17-22).
The only Stanford hitter who really stood out was middle Ethan Hill (10 kills in 15 attempts), who also let both teams with six blocks. Pin hitters Rottman, Snoey and Lamp all hit between .250 and .290. Northridge's libero had 20 digs, Lui (who's a very fine libero with multiple defensive player of the week awards) had 14.
Stanford plays The Master's University (f/k/a Los Angeles Baptist College and Seminary) in a scrimmage on their Santa Clarita campus today at 1 p.m. TMU, incidentally, is not a bad team. They beat Hawaii last fall, and they're 3-0 this year, all three wins by 3-0 scores. Their libero is from Pepperdine, they have a middle from Grand Canyon, and a very young, very dynamic head coach. They should still lose to Stanford, but it'll be closer than you might think.
Audaces fortuna iuvat