[M T]

With such exciting times in FB, it has been a month since the last thread (9/21) about WVB.  Those of you that can come to a match, should.   If you can't come, catch them on TV (ESPN2, Sunday 11AM PST vs #16 Oregon). I believe this is the most loaded team Stanford has ever had, and they've had great ones in the past. (Indeed, it is hard to imagine a more loaded team.)  Don't miss them.

Just to remind those of you on the sidelines...  An opponent could look across the net at a court literally filled with All Americans.

• Kathryn Plummer,  2017 AVCA &  ESPNw player of the year, twice 1st team All American
  
• Jenna Gray, 1st team AVCA All American
  
• Morgan Hentz, 1st team AVCA All American
  
• Audriana Fitzmorris, 2nd team AVCA All American
  
• Tami Alade, honorable mention All American
  
• Meghan McClure, honorable mention All American,  PAC-12 All-freshman team
  

At 17-1 (9-0), they remain ranked #2 by AVCA (with some #1 votes), and listed as #1 in RPI by the NCAA.
USC is second in the conference at 7-3, so Stanford is favored to win the conference season.
Morgan Hentz has won 3 of the 4 PAC-12 defensive player of the week awards since the last thread (and 5 of the last 6!!)
Holly Campbell won a PAC-12 freshman of the week award two weeks ago.
Kathryn Plummer won last week's PAC-12 offensive player award (3rd of the year).

Even though they've played one of the toughest schedules,
Tami Alade is 3rd in the NCAA in blocks per set (1.64). Stanford leads the NCAA at 3.18. She had 12 blocks in 4 sets last night so she will move up.
Jenna Gray is 1st in the NCAA in assists per set (12.79). Stanford is 2nd in the NCAA a t 14.39.
Stanford is 2nd in the NCAA in hitting percentage (.316)
and 2nd in kills per set (15.33)


Latest match:

Stanford played Oregon State last night in a much more competitive match than one might expect.  OSU has never beaten Stanford, and has only gotten Stanford to 5 sets twice, last in 2002.  At 10-10 for the year, they haven't won a PAC-12 match.  The suspense last night was whether they might get to 5 sets and maybe win.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to see even half the match.   OSU won the first game 26-24 (relatively even score throughout).  Then Stanford dominated the 2nd.  The 3rd set was close for a while(18-17, ending at 25-18).  Stanford had to come from behind to win the 4th set (was 19-20, 20-22, 22-23, ending at 25-23, ending on a Plummer ace).  Plummer  (19K, 3B, 2A,  11D, .175) & Fitzmorris (10K, 8B, 1D, .226) did well but not at their usual super-high offensive standards.   Courtney Bowen had a great night with 14 kills, hitting .500, with 9 blocks (and she gave a great post-game interview).  Stanford dominated in blocks 21-9.

(PAC-12 networks continue to get my ire.  The game was shown live on the Bay Area feed, but not the national feed.  That's fair.  But it was scheduled for a replay in  a 1.5 hour time  slot on the national channel.  In the 24 hours from last night to today,  they showed "The 12 Greatest" 8 times and "Pac-12 Playlist" 18 times.  So, they delayed the start of the replay broadcast for 41 minutes (and ended at the scheduled end), showing the umpteenth replay of those programs.  Then when they did show the WVB, they showed the last 4 points of the 2nd set, and then the last 12 points of the 3rd set, and the 4th set.  In total, they showed only 64 points of the 176 points in the match.  If they really had to show the non-event replays, they should have selected the first set to show.  I'm sure the OSU fans would have preferred that.  Grrr...)

Last night's match seemed unfortunately typical of Stanford this year.  IMO, they've been down a lot late in sets when I wouldn't expect it with their talent.  Almost always (they are 53-8 in games), they'll then dominate and win a bunch of points in a row to win the set.  Is it a focus issue, or are they working on specific capabilities until it is time to focus on winning the set?  It doesn't seem to be a fitness issue (think soccer).  Is it that they are much more effective in one or two particular rotations (I could believe that)?

[M T]

With such exciting times in FB, it has been a month since the last thread (9/21) about WVB.  Those of you that can come to a match, should.   If you can't come, catch them on TV (ESPN2, Sunday 11AM PST vs #16 Oregon). I believe this is the most loaded team Stanford has ever had, and they've had great ones in the past. (Indeed, it is hard to imagine a more loaded team.)  Don't miss them.

Just to remind those of you on the sidelines...  An opponent could look across the net at a court literally filled with All Americans.

• Kathryn Plummer,  2017 AVCA &  ESPNw player of the year, twice 1st team All American
  
• Jenna Gray, 1st team AVCA All American
  
• Morgan Hentz, 1st team AVCA All American
  
• Audriana Fitzmorris, 2nd team AVCA All American
  
• Tami Alade, honorable mention All American
  
• Meghan McClure, honorable mention All American,  PAC-12 All-freshman team
  

At 17-1 (9-0), they remain ranked #2 by AVCA (with some #1 votes), and listed as #1 in RPI by the NCAA.
USC is second in the conference at 7-3, so Stanford is favored to win the conference season.
Morgan Hentz has won 3 of the 4 PAC-12 defensive player of the week awards since the last thread (and 5 of the last 6!!)
Holly Campbell won a PAC-12 freshman of the week award two weeks ago.
Kathryn Plummer won last week's PAC-12 offensive player award (3rd of the year).

Even though they've played one of the toughest schedules,
Tami Alade is 3rd in the NCAA in blocks per set (1.64). Stanford leads the NCAA at 3.18. She had 12 blocks in 4 sets last night so she will move up.
Jenna Gray is 1st in the NCAA in assists per set (12.79). Stanford is 2nd in the NCAA a t 14.39.
Stanford is 2nd in the NCAA in hitting percentage (.316)
and 2nd in kills per set (15.33)


Latest match:

Stanford played Oregon State last night in a much more competitive match than one might expect.  OSU has never beaten Stanford, and has only gotten Stanford to 5 sets twice, last in 2002.  At 10-10 for the year, they haven't won a PAC-12 match.  The suspense last night was whether they might get to 5 sets and maybe win.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to see even half the match.   OSU won the first game 26-24 (relatively even score throughout).  Then Stanford dominated the 2nd.  The 3rd set was close for a while(18-17, ending at 25-18).  Stanford had to come from behind to win the 4th set (was 19-20, 20-22, 22-23, ending at 25-23, ending on a Plummer ace).  Plummer  (19K, 3B, 2A,  11D, .175) & Fitzmorris (10K, 8B, 1D, .226) did well but not at their usual super-high offensive standards.   Courtney Bowen had a great night with 14 kills, hitting .500, with 9 blocks (and she gave a great post-game interview).  Stanford dominated in blocks 21-9.

(PAC-12 networks continue to get my ire.  The game was shown live on the Bay Area feed, but not the national feed.  That's fair.  But it was scheduled for a replay in  a 1.5 hour time  slot on the national channel.  In the 24 hours from last night to today,  they showed "The 12 Greatest" 8 times and "Pac-12 Playlist" 18 times.  So, they delayed the start of the replay broadcast for 41 minutes (and ended at the scheduled end), showing the umpteenth replay of those programs.  Then when they did show the WVB, they showed the last 4 points of the 2nd set, and then the last 12 points of the 3rd set, and the 4th set.  In total, they showed only 64 points of the 176 points in the match.  If they really had to show the non-event replays, they should have selected the first set to show.  I'm sure the OSU fans would have preferred that.  Grrr...)

Last night's match seemed unfortunately typical of Stanford this year.  IMO, they've been down a lot late in sets when I wouldn't expect it with their talent.  Almost always (they are 53-8 in games), they'll then dominate and win a bunch of points in a row to win the set.  Is it a focus issue, or are they working on specific capabilities until it is time to focus on winning the set?  It doesn't seem to be a fitness issue (think soccer).  Is it that they are much more effective in one or two particular rotations (I could believe that)?

[BobK]

Nice post but remember MT they are playing teams that also care and want to win

[BobK]

Nice post but remember MT they are playing teams that also care and want to win

[Viking_Guy]

One other note of interest last night: Holly Campbell (frosh middle blocker) only played in one set, and got one attempt.  Did she come out hurt?  Because Courtney Bowen had the match of her career, hitting .500, with 14 kills.

VG

[Viking_Guy]

One other note of interest last night: Holly Campbell (frosh middle blocker) only played in one set, and got one attempt.  Did she come out hurt?  Because Courtney Bowen had the match of her career, hitting .500, with 14 kills.

VG

[d4cohn]

One other note of interest last night: Holly Campbell (frosh middle blocker) only played in one set, and got one attempt.  Did she come out hurt?  Because Courtney Bowen had the match of her career, hitting .500, with 14 kills.

VG

Broadcast implied that it was a performance issue, and going with a different personnel look, rather than an injury.

[d4cohn]

One other note of interest last night: Holly Campbell (frosh middle blocker) only played in one set, and got one attempt.  Did she come out hurt?  Because Courtney Bowen had the match of her career, hitting .500, with 14 kills.

VG

Broadcast implied that it was a performance issue, and going with a different personnel look, rather than an injury.

[BobK]

2nd time this year Bowen played for Campbell
Campbell has been great not a performance issue.
My thought they want Bowen back for next season. She can take her 5th year

[BobK]

2nd time this year Bowen played for Campbell
Campbell has been great not a performance issue.
My thought they want Bowen back for next season. She can take her 5th year

[CompSci87]

Great to see a WVB thread. Thanks for posting.

Whether back for next year or not, Bowen has looked very good when given a chance to play. Campbell as a freshman has more future with the team, so it's good to get her experience, and of course she's been very good too. They have different strengths. So it's nice to see them both get court time.

[CompSci87]

Great to see a WVB thread. Thanks for posting.

Whether back for next year or not, Bowen has looked very good when given a chance to play. Campbell as a freshman has more future with the team, so it's good to get her experience, and of course she's been very good too. They have different strengths. So it's nice to see them both get court time.

[81alum]

I tuned in the Oregon State game to watch my first volleyball of the season.  I had not seen Courtney Bowen play before, but I see she is a senior.  Where was she the last few years?   Wow, 14 kills and hitting 500.

That said, it was a bit more of a nail biter than I would have expected against a team that has NEVER beaten us.  Oregon State came within two points of sending it to a fifth set.  We certainly did not look as dominant as our record would suggest.

[81alum]

I tuned in the Oregon State game to watch my first volleyball of the season.  I had not seen Courtney Bowen play before, but I see she is a senior.  Where was she the last few years?   Wow, 14 kills and hitting 500.

That said, it was a bit more of a nail biter than I would have expected against a team that has NEVER beaten us.  Oregon State came within two points of sending it to a fifth set.  We certainly did not look as dominant as our record would suggest.

[Erika]

Stanford is in quite a fight with Oregon. Oregon took the first set (which I missed) and was really competitive in the second set.  Tied up at 1-1 on ESPN2.

[Erika]

Stanford is in quite a fight with Oregon. Oregon took the first set (which I missed) and was really competitive in the second set.  Tied up at 1-1 on ESPN2.

[d4cohn]

Stanford takes Set 3 by pulling away from Ducks. Now up 2-1.

[d4cohn]

Stanford takes Set 3 by pulling away from Ducks. Now up 2-1.

[M T]

in the Oregon match, Stanford was awarded the point in the  2nd  game  at  14-13, making it  15-13.  The Oregon coach then was talking to the refs as TV went to a commercial.   When the commercial was over, the score had become 14-14, with the announcers saying that the refs ruled that there was a  double contact by Stanford. 

HUH?  Whether a touch is a double contact or not is not listed as something that can be challenged  under the Challenge Review System.  (And, indeed, a replay of the broadcast shows there was NOT a double contact.  The Oregon coach got upset after the ball went off the heel of Plummer's left hand and picked up spin. (First contact was by the back of McClure's hand, 2nd by Plummer's left hand's heel, 3rd  by Fitzmorris bumping the ball over)  As there were no two parts (no fingers or other hand) of her body involved and clearly it did not contact the heel successively, it is not a double contact.) 

How do the officials, well after their ruling of the point for Stanford, change their call?  They didn't make the call during the play.  Did they somehow review it by memory and overrule themselves?  I don't see that in the rules.

I could see why Coach Hambly didn't contest a call late in the first set when they were down big.  But I don't see why he wasn't (at least on the  broadcast) arguing the coach's protest & the changed call were not allowed by the rules.

As a result,  there were two first-to-15 timeouts in a single game (but the TV didn't take advantage of it -- no commercials were run in the 2nd timeout).

[M T]

in the Oregon match, Stanford was awarded the point in the  2nd  game  at  14-13, making it  15-13.  The Oregon coach then was talking to the refs as TV went to a commercial.   When the commercial was over, the score had become 14-14, with the announcers saying that the refs ruled that there was a  double contact by Stanford. 

HUH?  Whether a touch is a double contact or not is not listed as something that can be challenged  under the Challenge Review System.  (And, indeed, a replay of the broadcast shows there was NOT a double contact.  The Oregon coach got upset after the ball went off the heel of Plummer's left hand and picked up spin. (First contact was by the back of McClure's hand, 2nd by Plummer's left hand's heel, 3rd  by Fitzmorris bumping the ball over)  As there were no two parts (no fingers or other hand) of her body involved and clearly it did not contact the heel successively, it is not a double contact.) 

How do the officials, well after their ruling of the point for Stanford, change their call?  They didn't make the call during the play.  Did they somehow review it by memory and overrule themselves?  I don't see that in the rules.

I could see why Coach Hambly didn't contest a call late in the first set when they were down big.  But I don't see why he wasn't (at least on the  broadcast) arguing the coach's protest & the changed call were not allowed by the rules.

As a result,  there were two first-to-15 timeouts in a single game (but the TV didn't take advantage of it -- no commercials were run in the 2nd timeout).

[BobK]

An excellent win. Oregon is very good. That said we didn’t play well first set and a half then played great
Won the last three sets hitting about 400 which is awesome.

On to LA.

Hey Erica great to have you here.

[BobK]

An excellent win. Oregon is very good. That said we didn’t play well first set and a half then played great
Won the last three sets hitting about 400 which is awesome.

On to LA.

Hey Erica great to have you here.

[d4cohn]

The performance of our fall-sport teams, pretty much across the board, has been nothing short of fantastic. Congrats to our student-athletes for all this success so far!

[d4cohn]

The performance of our fall-sport teams, pretty much across the board, has been nothing short of fantastic. Congrats to our student-athletes for all this success so far!

[BobK]

Great win today at usc 3-0 for wvb

[BobK]

Great win today at usc 3-0 for wvb

[cardfan77]

Plummer and McClure had a subpar match but the team still managed to sweep USC at USC.  Stanford dominated USC during set 1 and 2.  If they continue to play the way they played in set 1 and 2, they will be hard to beat.  Gray is setting incredibly.  Speed, tempo, and location are excellent.    I would like to see more step out/slide or quick set to Fitzmorris as it would completely surprise the opponent since she is now a right side hitter.  Lastly, I do not mind the service errors.  The team is serving aggressive which is causing a lot of trouble for the opponent.


Interesting that a Humphreys is a Trojan.  I thought Humphreys were through and through all Cardinal.

[cardfan77]

Plummer and McClure had a subpar match but the team still managed to sweep USC at USC.  Stanford dominated USC during set 1 and 2.  If they continue to play the way they played in set 1 and 2, they will be hard to beat.  Gray is setting incredibly.  Speed, tempo, and location are excellent.    I would like to see more step out/slide or quick set to Fitzmorris as it would completely surprise the opponent since she is now a right side hitter.  Lastly, I do not mind the service errors.  The team is serving aggressive which is causing a lot of trouble for the opponent.


Interesting that a Humphreys is a Trojan.  I thought Humphreys were through and through all Cardinal.

[BobK]

Humphreys brother plays Football at Duke
Younger bro has a Stanford football offer. He’s a 2020

[BobK]

Humphreys brother plays Football at Duke
Younger bro has a Stanford football offer. He’s a 2020

[M T]

Seems like wins are almost ho-hum for #2 WVB (esp. after watching #1  WSOC getting tied today).  3-0 over #20 UCLA.   Stanford has a 4-match lead over second-place USC in the conference, with 8 matches to go.  Stanford's hasn't lost more than 1 game in a match except the 2-3 loss to (now #1) BYU.

Like apparently many of us on the CARDboard, I worry about what might go wrong rather than be thrilled at yet another shutout over a ranked team.  Without going to 5 sets, might Stanford be vulnerable if Stanford has to do that in the tourney?   It's not just conditioning, but mental focus.  I guess when I look at how often Stanford comes from behind to win games, I shouldn't be too worried about the ability to focus.

But then I worry about why Stanford has to come from behind so often  (cue up Cheryl Wheeler's "Unworthy").  Is the team complacent and need to get shocked into playing to its potential?   Playing from behind can backfire.

When the PAC-12 channel joined the WVB match after the overtime WSOC game, it was 17-17, but the announcers indicated it had been all UCLA early on but Stanford had come back to tie it.   21-20 was the first Stanford lead since 1-0, ending at 25-22.  The second set was comfortable for Stanford (25-20).  The third set started off tight, but then Stanford got up 21-16.  However,  after a series errors by Stanford, UCLA pulled even and the first set point chance was for UCLA.  Stanford eventually won 26-24, even though Stanford out blocked UCLA by 5 in the set.


Set     Stanford           UCLA
  Ace B  K  E  TA    %  Ace B  K  E  TA    %
1  0  1 18  5  42 .310   0  1 13  5  38 .211
2  1  2 15  5  43 .233   1  1 10  6  41 .098
3  1  7 13  5  43 .186   2  2 15 10  50 .100
   2 10 46 15 128 .242   3  4 38 21 129 .132

[M T]

Seems like wins are almost ho-hum for #2 WVB (esp. after watching #1  WSOC getting tied today).  3-0 over #20 UCLA.   Stanford has a 4-match lead over second-place USC in the conference, with 8 matches to go.  Stanford's hasn't lost more than 1 game in a match except the 2-3 loss to (now #1) BYU.

Like apparently many of us on the CARDboard, I worry about what might go wrong rather than be thrilled at yet another shutout over a ranked team.  Without going to 5 sets, might Stanford be vulnerable if Stanford has to do that in the tourney?   It's not just conditioning, but mental focus.  I guess when I look at how often Stanford comes from behind to win games, I shouldn't be too worried about the ability to focus.

But then I worry about why Stanford has to come from behind so often  (cue up Cheryl Wheeler's "Unworthy").  Is the team complacent and need to get shocked into playing to its potential?   Playing from behind can backfire.

When the PAC-12 channel joined the WVB match after the overtime WSOC game, it was 17-17, but the announcers indicated it had been all UCLA early on but Stanford had come back to tie it.   21-20 was the first Stanford lead since 1-0, ending at 25-22.  The second set was comfortable for Stanford (25-20).  The third set started off tight, but then Stanford got up 21-16.  However,  after a series errors by Stanford, UCLA pulled even and the first set point chance was for UCLA.  Stanford eventually won 26-24, even though Stanford out blocked UCLA by 5 in the set.


Set     Stanford           UCLA
  Ace B  K  E  TA    %  Ace B  K  E  TA    %
1  0  1 18  5  42 .310   0  1 13  5  38 .211
2  1  2 15  5  43 .233   1  1 10  6  41 .098
3  1  7 13  5  43 .186   2  2 15 10  50 .100
   2 10 46 15 128 .242   3  4 38 21 129 .132

[BobK]

Call this cardboaderer extremely excited

[BobK]

Call this cardboaderer extremely excited

[M T]

Call this cardboarderer extremely excited

I'm excited and pleased too.  But I've come to expect them to win, and they do.

I even looked to see if there is a NCAA championship that I might go to in the next few years.
2018  Minneapolis    average temperature in December:  12-27F
2019  Pittsburgh  25-41F
2020  Omaha  16-36F
2021  Columbus, OH  26-41F

Call me a warm weather fan, but I hope to watch them win on TV

[M T]

Call this cardboarderer extremely excited

I'm excited and pleased too.  But I've come to expect them to win, and they do.

I even looked to see if there is a NCAA championship that I might go to in the next few years.
2018  Minneapolis    average temperature in December:  12-27F
2019  Pittsburgh  25-41F
2020  Omaha  16-36F
2021  Columbus, OH  26-41F

Call me a warm weather fan, but I hope to watch them win on TV

[GK3]

Call this cardboarderer extremely excited

I'm excited and pleased too.  But I've come to expect them to win, and they do.

I even looked to see if there is a NCAA championship that I might go to in the next few years.
2018  Minneapolis    average temperature in December:  12-27F
2019  Pittsburgh  25-41F
2020  Omaha  16-36F
2021  Columbus, OH  26-41F

Call me a warm weather fan, but I hope to watch them win on TV

Look at it this way, wear warm clothes and grab one of those sub $300 dollar round triip tickets from SFO  to MNP.  Be worth the trip if they make the final 4.

[GK3]

Call this cardboarderer extremely excited

I'm excited and pleased too.  But I've come to expect them to win, and they do.

I even looked to see if there is a NCAA championship that I might go to in the next few years.
2018  Minneapolis    average temperature in December:  12-27F
2019  Pittsburgh  25-41F
2020  Omaha  16-36F
2021  Columbus, OH  26-41F

Call me a warm weather fan, but I hope to watch them win on TV

Look at it this way, wear warm clothes and grab one of those sub $300 dollar round triip tickets from SFO  to MNP.  Be worth the trip if they make the final 4.

[martyup]

So, I'm driving through Utah on my way to Vegas and I hear an ad for college sports network channels on Sirius radio.  I find the Pac-12 network channel and tune in near the end of the first set of the UCLA match.  I listened for about 10 minutes and had to just turn it off.  The broadcasters were terrible.  They never tell you the score,  or even which team scored a point.  The were UCLA homers in a big way, probably former UCLA players.  Anyway, it was frustrating.  Glad we won.

[martyup]

So, I'm driving through Utah on my way to Vegas and I hear an ad for college sports network channels on Sirius radio.  I find the Pac-12 network channel and tune in near the end of the first set of the UCLA match.  I listened for about 10 minutes and had to just turn it off.  The broadcasters were terrible.  They never tell you the score,  or even which team scored a point.  The were UCLA homers in a big way, probably former UCLA players.  Anyway, it was frustrating.  Glad we won.