10-13-2012, 12:54 PM
Lefty--
Wasn't there in person, but watched it. While I hate what the Pac-12 network has done to scheduling of live events (it's difficult for me to get to campus at 5:30 or 6:00 pm on a Friday night), it has greatly increased the availability of non-football/b-ball sports.
As for the team: I guess the best way to put it is that they start 4 extremely talented freshmen who occasionally play like freshmen. They are all very good, but make freshmen mistakes at point.
Early in the season, the team was definitely in transition. The losses at Hawai'i and at Penn State were both before the freshmen had really adapted to the pace of high-end college ball, and Coach Dunning had not settled on what system he wanted to run, a 5-1 or a 6-2. For the non-volleyball folks, the difference is the number of setters employed - 5-1 has a single setter, which means when she is in the front row there are only 2 front-row hitters. The 6-2 uses 2 setters, so there are always 3 hitters at the net. There are other variants, but if you have two quality setters, there are advantages to the 6-2, especially if one of them is a taller setter who can hit/block well when she's in the front row.
This uncertainty was exacerbated when starting senior setter Karissa Cook was hurt in the loss at Penn State. Freshman Madi Bugg was being brought along slowly (I think Dunning was working toward a 6-2, but wanted to take it slowly), but the injury forced her into the deep end. She's responded brilliantly, and her connection with her fellow freshmen is particularly good. One exemplar - Inky Ajanaku, freshman middle, has the ability to be the best player at that position since Foluke Akinradewo, not just at Stanford but nationally. But Cook hasn't had a really dominant middle (although Carly Wopat has really come into her own this season), so her setting tends to be biased toward the pins (setting the outside hitters), simply based on her experience. Bugg seems more inclined to use the middle.
There's also been a transition at libero, with Hannah Benjamin and Mary Ellen Luck giving way to sophomore Kyle Gilbert. Gilbert is an amazing defender, but her serve receive is a little unsteady.
Serve receive tends to be this side's issue; they have a tendency to give up runs of points being unable to get "in-system", with a solid initial pass giving the setter all of her options of offense. Combine that with having no really amazing servers on their side (at least in power terms - they are getting really good at the short dying float serve), and they have to win games by hitting, defending and especially blocking well.
The biggest positive this year has been the improved blocking - Ajanaku at 6'3" and "long" provides a quick and athletic complement to the outsides, and Brittany Howard and Jordan Burgess at 6'3" and 6'1" add more size outside to Rachel Williams 6'0" and Morgan Boukather 6'1". The influence can be seen in one statistic - Stanford currently leads the Pac-12 in opponents' hitting percentage - .163 (quick comparison is to batting average - .300 is a good average for an outside hitter, higher for a middle). Stanford as a team is hitting .282 right now.
Freshmen starting has meant diminished roles for some players, especially Rachel Williams, but Dunning has done a good job. It helps that Williams is returning from injury, and can be brought along slowly.
It has also helped that Stanford has played their toughest Pac-12 competition at home thus far - Oregon, USC and UCLA. Each one of those teams has really strong outside hitters, but Stanford has a better middle attack. Stanford travels to play undefeated Washington next week (although Oregon meets Washington in Eugene tonight).
Against Oregon, Stanford rallied late, in an incredible game 5. Oregon led 6-2 and 8-4, but Rachel Williams substituted mid-game and completely changed the game with her blocking and hitting, as Stanford ran off 11 of the last 13 points to win 15-10.
SC was simply crushed by the Cardinal block. It helps that the Trojans run an offense that is really staid - their coach Mick Haley wants the ball set outside and high almost all of the time. He's got good outside hitters, especially freshman Samantha Bricio, who has started for the Mexican senior national team since she was 16 and has amazing hops and power. But consistently setting high and outside gives a team with a good block the chance to get out there and camp out on the ball. Stanford has a good block.
The Trojans hit .085 for the game. Bricio hit -.038 (more errors and blocked shots than kills). And Stanford won in 3 games.
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Wasn't there in person, but watched it. While I hate what the Pac-12 network has done to scheduling of live events (it's difficult for me to get to campus at 5:30 or 6:00 pm on a Friday night), it has greatly increased the availability of non-football/b-ball sports.
As for the team: I guess the best way to put it is that they start 4 extremely talented freshmen who occasionally play like freshmen. They are all very good, but make freshmen mistakes at point.
Early in the season, the team was definitely in transition. The losses at Hawai'i and at Penn State were both before the freshmen had really adapted to the pace of high-end college ball, and Coach Dunning had not settled on what system he wanted to run, a 5-1 or a 6-2. For the non-volleyball folks, the difference is the number of setters employed - 5-1 has a single setter, which means when she is in the front row there are only 2 front-row hitters. The 6-2 uses 2 setters, so there are always 3 hitters at the net. There are other variants, but if you have two quality setters, there are advantages to the 6-2, especially if one of them is a taller setter who can hit/block well when she's in the front row.
This uncertainty was exacerbated when starting senior setter Karissa Cook was hurt in the loss at Penn State. Freshman Madi Bugg was being brought along slowly (I think Dunning was working toward a 6-2, but wanted to take it slowly), but the injury forced her into the deep end. She's responded brilliantly, and her connection with her fellow freshmen is particularly good. One exemplar - Inky Ajanaku, freshman middle, has the ability to be the best player at that position since Foluke Akinradewo, not just at Stanford but nationally. But Cook hasn't had a really dominant middle (although Carly Wopat has really come into her own this season), so her setting tends to be biased toward the pins (setting the outside hitters), simply based on her experience. Bugg seems more inclined to use the middle.
There's also been a transition at libero, with Hannah Benjamin and Mary Ellen Luck giving way to sophomore Kyle Gilbert. Gilbert is an amazing defender, but her serve receive is a little unsteady.
Serve receive tends to be this side's issue; they have a tendency to give up runs of points being unable to get "in-system", with a solid initial pass giving the setter all of her options of offense. Combine that with having no really amazing servers on their side (at least in power terms - they are getting really good at the short dying float serve), and they have to win games by hitting, defending and especially blocking well.
The biggest positive this year has been the improved blocking - Ajanaku at 6'3" and "long" provides a quick and athletic complement to the outsides, and Brittany Howard and Jordan Burgess at 6'3" and 6'1" add more size outside to Rachel Williams 6'0" and Morgan Boukather 6'1". The influence can be seen in one statistic - Stanford currently leads the Pac-12 in opponents' hitting percentage - .163 (quick comparison is to batting average - .300 is a good average for an outside hitter, higher for a middle). Stanford as a team is hitting .282 right now.
Freshmen starting has meant diminished roles for some players, especially Rachel Williams, but Dunning has done a good job. It helps that Williams is returning from injury, and can be brought along slowly.
It has also helped that Stanford has played their toughest Pac-12 competition at home thus far - Oregon, USC and UCLA. Each one of those teams has really strong outside hitters, but Stanford has a better middle attack. Stanford travels to play undefeated Washington next week (although Oregon meets Washington in Eugene tonight).
Against Oregon, Stanford rallied late, in an incredible game 5. Oregon led 6-2 and 8-4, but Rachel Williams substituted mid-game and completely changed the game with her blocking and hitting, as Stanford ran off 11 of the last 13 points to win 15-10.
SC was simply crushed by the Cardinal block. It helps that the Trojans run an offense that is really staid - their coach Mick Haley wants the ball set outside and high almost all of the time. He's got good outside hitters, especially freshman Samantha Bricio, who has started for the Mexican senior national team since she was 16 and has amazing hops and power. But consistently setting high and outside gives a team with a good block the chance to get out there and camp out on the ball. Stanford has a good block.
The Trojans hit .085 for the game. Bricio hit -.038 (more errors and blocked shots than kills). And Stanford won in 3 games.
More...