09-05-2014, 08:45 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-05-2014, 09:17 PM by Viking_Guy.)
Whew.
Stanford rode out rough games from both Burgess and Howard, and used a career night from Morgan Boukather, solid nights from Madi Bugg and Inky Ajanaku, and contributions from McGehee, Lutz, and some good serving from the bench, to beat the Nittany Lions 3-2.
Or maybe more held on until Penn State self-destructed. Can't really decide right now.
Yes, the Cardinal won. But the two sets that PSU took both were much more one-sided, and they looked the better team. But key errors late, especially in game 5, when they committed 5 attack errors over the course of 9 points to break a 6-6 tie and send Stanford to a nearly impossible to surmount 13-8 lead. I was happy, because Inky Ajanaku was in the front row, and I thought we could at least manage a side out twice before she hit the bench.
To be fair, Burgess picked up her game from the third set on, but in the first two sets, she was all over the place, passing, hitting and serving. Her serve was so off that Coach Dunning sent in a server for her for most of the remainder of the match, starting midway through the second game.
McGehee started, but Lutz started to come in for her late in set 1. Initially, she looked a bit lost, slow to close the block to Penn State's awesome right side attack, and committing a service error to end the set. But she settled down a bit, although she and Bugg are definitely not on the same page offensively - I don't recall a solid contact hit for Lutz on the evening. But while it's hard to prove, I think that Penn State definitely knew she was there; unless they had a solid in-system quick hitter, their swings got a lot more tentative. Except for their freshman Ali Frantti, who seems to have no conscience (although I think Stanford should've dropped their defense much deeper on her - I didn't see her have a solid off-speed attempt all game).
The key series all seemed to occur around Penn State attack errors. Beyond those in set 5 mentioned above, set 2 really turned on 3 attack errors by the Lions which helped take the score from 12-all to 18-13 Stanford, a lead that held up. In set 3, it was an attack error at 23-22 Stanford that took the Cardinal into a 2 point lead at the key point in the game. The big culprit was Simone Lee, who had 8 errors in 33 attempts in hitting .091.
A few more quick reactions:
(1) As always, the big tone-setter was who gained an advantage from their serve. Stanford doesn't serve as tough as the Lions, which leads to fewer errors but allowed Penn State an easier time of starting off in system on serve receive. But that advantage came at a price, as their biggest serving weapon, setter Micha Hancock, had 6 serving errors, some of the absolutely crucial variety in killing Penn State momentum. Including an absolutely horrific miss down 13-9 in game 5; several of her misses were just long, but that error, which gave Stanford 5 match points, was long by a good 5-8 feet.
(2) Yay Megan Boukather! I remember listening to a game where she came in for an injured Rachel Williams, and thinking she would be a great addition. But she sat a lot while banged up over the last two years. Tonight, she was really the difference.
(3) Inky is Inky. I do think that Madi should target her more often if she can, especially on the middle ball rather than the slide. I think part of Burgess' difficulty tonight is she was often the default out-of-system hitter, and ended up facing a lot of tough blocks. OTOH, she also had trouble terminating in sets 1 and 2, even with good sets and a good seam to hit.
Stanford rode out rough games from both Burgess and Howard, and used a career night from Morgan Boukather, solid nights from Madi Bugg and Inky Ajanaku, and contributions from McGehee, Lutz, and some good serving from the bench, to beat the Nittany Lions 3-2.
Or maybe more held on until Penn State self-destructed. Can't really decide right now.
Yes, the Cardinal won. But the two sets that PSU took both were much more one-sided, and they looked the better team. But key errors late, especially in game 5, when they committed 5 attack errors over the course of 9 points to break a 6-6 tie and send Stanford to a nearly impossible to surmount 13-8 lead. I was happy, because Inky Ajanaku was in the front row, and I thought we could at least manage a side out twice before she hit the bench.
To be fair, Burgess picked up her game from the third set on, but in the first two sets, she was all over the place, passing, hitting and serving. Her serve was so off that Coach Dunning sent in a server for her for most of the remainder of the match, starting midway through the second game.
McGehee started, but Lutz started to come in for her late in set 1. Initially, she looked a bit lost, slow to close the block to Penn State's awesome right side attack, and committing a service error to end the set. But she settled down a bit, although she and Bugg are definitely not on the same page offensively - I don't recall a solid contact hit for Lutz on the evening. But while it's hard to prove, I think that Penn State definitely knew she was there; unless they had a solid in-system quick hitter, their swings got a lot more tentative. Except for their freshman Ali Frantti, who seems to have no conscience (although I think Stanford should've dropped their defense much deeper on her - I didn't see her have a solid off-speed attempt all game).
The key series all seemed to occur around Penn State attack errors. Beyond those in set 5 mentioned above, set 2 really turned on 3 attack errors by the Lions which helped take the score from 12-all to 18-13 Stanford, a lead that held up. In set 3, it was an attack error at 23-22 Stanford that took the Cardinal into a 2 point lead at the key point in the game. The big culprit was Simone Lee, who had 8 errors in 33 attempts in hitting .091.
A few more quick reactions:
(1) As always, the big tone-setter was who gained an advantage from their serve. Stanford doesn't serve as tough as the Lions, which leads to fewer errors but allowed Penn State an easier time of starting off in system on serve receive. But that advantage came at a price, as their biggest serving weapon, setter Micha Hancock, had 6 serving errors, some of the absolutely crucial variety in killing Penn State momentum. Including an absolutely horrific miss down 13-9 in game 5; several of her misses were just long, but that error, which gave Stanford 5 match points, was long by a good 5-8 feet.
(2) Yay Megan Boukather! I remember listening to a game where she came in for an injured Rachel Williams, and thinking she would be a great addition. But she sat a lot while banged up over the last two years. Tonight, she was really the difference.
(3) Inky is Inky. I do think that Madi should target her more often if she can, especially on the middle ball rather than the slide. I think part of Burgess' difficulty tonight is she was often the default out-of-system hitter, and ended up facing a lot of tough blocks. OTOH, she also had trouble terminating in sets 1 and 2, even with good sets and a good seam to hit.
