#11 Stanford had two really nice match victories over #13 Ohio State (3-0) and #14 Penn State (3-1) in front of 2,122 and 1,450 spectators respectively.
The match against Ohio State wasn't close, 25-19, 25-14, 25-20. Oppo Wagner returned to his big hitting ways (13 kills, five errors, 21 attempts, .391 hitting %) and soph OH Nate Clinton really stepped up with eight kills, one error in 14 attempts. Frosh MB Kaumana Carreira had three kills in three attempts with three blocks and Soph MB Gray Mandelbaum had two kills, one error in five attempts with five blocks. Not bad. Junior setter Theoren Brouillette had 27 assists to go with three service aces...speaking of which, Stanford had 11 service aces overall against 15 errors. Outstanding.
6'8" Jr. OH Theo Snoey continued to struggle with four kills, four errors in 16 attempts, also had a setting error and four service receive errors, but he had five blocks at the right side. Frosh libero Evan Porter had five digs and two service errors. 6'9" Jr. MB Luke McFall started the third set and had three blocks.
The match against Penn State was closer (25-23, 28-30, 25-20, 25-19) but in no real doubt. PSU focused their defense on Wagner (9 kills, 5 errors, .129 HP), and Snoey rebounded with 15 kills, five errors and a .323 HP. OH Ryan DuRoss had eight kills, 4 errors and a .234 HP. MB Carreira had five kills and just one error in 10 attempts, MB Mandelbaum and MB Luke McFall combined for four kills, two errors in eight attempts.
Stanford's serve wasn't nearly as tight as their serving errors doubled from 15 to 31 and aces cut in half from 11 to 6. And I'm curious to see how frosh libero Evan Porter improves against MPSF opponents, he's done well so far...had 15 digs and two assists against Penn State.
The new volleyball rankings come out tomorrow. Stanford beat #5 Ball State, but only improved one spot in the polls. The Cardinal has now beaten three ranked opponents in a row. #10 Pepperdine has a few wins, but not one over a ranked opponent. #9 Grand Canyon beat #18 George Mason twice, 3-0 and 3-1. #8 Loyola Chicago also beat Penn State at home 3-1, but their score was closer and they've had a few close wins that shouldn't have been close. #7 USC crushed their only ranked opponent, #19 Princeton 3-0.
So it's difficult to figure out where Stanford "should" come out in the polls. It will be a lot easier two weeks later, as Stanford faces #3 UC-Irvine at Burnham on 1/31 (6 p.m.) and Maples on 2/1 (6 p.m.). Irvine was 20-11 last year, they're 3-0 this year without any wins over ranked opponents. They play #5 BYU this week, then Stanford the week after.
The match against Ohio State wasn't close, 25-19, 25-14, 25-20. Oppo Wagner returned to his big hitting ways (13 kills, five errors, 21 attempts, .391 hitting %) and soph OH Nate Clinton really stepped up with eight kills, one error in 14 attempts. Frosh MB Kaumana Carreira had three kills in three attempts with three blocks and Soph MB Gray Mandelbaum had two kills, one error in five attempts with five blocks. Not bad. Junior setter Theoren Brouillette had 27 assists to go with three service aces...speaking of which, Stanford had 11 service aces overall against 15 errors. Outstanding.
6'8" Jr. OH Theo Snoey continued to struggle with four kills, four errors in 16 attempts, also had a setting error and four service receive errors, but he had five blocks at the right side. Frosh libero Evan Porter had five digs and two service errors. 6'9" Jr. MB Luke McFall started the third set and had three blocks.
The match against Penn State was closer (25-23, 28-30, 25-20, 25-19) but in no real doubt. PSU focused their defense on Wagner (9 kills, 5 errors, .129 HP), and Snoey rebounded with 15 kills, five errors and a .323 HP. OH Ryan DuRoss had eight kills, 4 errors and a .234 HP. MB Carreira had five kills and just one error in 10 attempts, MB Mandelbaum and MB Luke McFall combined for four kills, two errors in eight attempts.
Stanford's serve wasn't nearly as tight as their serving errors doubled from 15 to 31 and aces cut in half from 11 to 6. And I'm curious to see how frosh libero Evan Porter improves against MPSF opponents, he's done well so far...had 15 digs and two assists against Penn State.
The new volleyball rankings come out tomorrow. Stanford beat #5 Ball State, but only improved one spot in the polls. The Cardinal has now beaten three ranked opponents in a row. #10 Pepperdine has a few wins, but not one over a ranked opponent. #9 Grand Canyon beat #18 George Mason twice, 3-0 and 3-1. #8 Loyola Chicago also beat Penn State at home 3-1, but their score was closer and they've had a few close wins that shouldn't have been close. #7 USC crushed their only ranked opponent, #19 Princeton 3-0.
So it's difficult to figure out where Stanford "should" come out in the polls. It will be a lot easier two weeks later, as Stanford faces #3 UC-Irvine at Burnham on 1/31 (6 p.m.) and Maples on 2/1 (6 p.m.). Irvine was 20-11 last year, they're 3-0 this year without any wins over ranked opponents. They play #5 BYU this week, then Stanford the week after.
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