(09-08-2019, 05:18 PM)fullmetal Wrote: Great win. Now we have to hope that things hold out the same way until the postseason...!
...
through the postseason!
Is it my imagination, or does the WVB team often seem to start out slow in each match? Almost like they're not ready to play at the start of the match. That's ok if it means that they do better in the 5th set if it comes to that. Or maybe they have to get a wake-up call before they start playing to their potential.
Stanford is of course experienced & reigning national champion. Texas, always a good team, is a good bit younger.
Stanford was handily beaten in the first set, being down 5 points for much of that set. I figured it was just that the opponents came out ready to play and Stanford didn't. #33 (6'2" OH Logan Eggleston, So.) kept putting the ball through the block and to the floor (6 kills in the 1st set). Other times, it seemed they were hitting over the block. I'm not used to seeing someone hit over the Stanford block and to the floor well inside the back like. Texas won the first set 25-17.
Stanford 0, Texas 1
The 2nd set was won by Stanford by a similar score, 25-18, even though they didn't seem quite as dominant as Texas in the first set. It seemed as if the universe had righted itself.
Stanford 1, Texas 1
Stanford really controlled the 3rd set from the beginning, leading 10-2 at one point. It seemed Texas got a bit back into it, losing 25-11.
Stanford 2, Texas 1
In the 4th set, Stanford was up 7-6 and I was feeling like we'd wrap it up. But then Eggleston served 13 straight times. By the time Stanford took the serve away from her, Stanford was down 18-8 and things looked bleak. At the stadium, I didn't think her serve looked that good. But on TV, they pointed out how her serve was different. Stanford came back strongly in that 4th set, but no miracle happened. Stanford lost 25-21.
Stanford 2, Texas 2
But Stanford had the momentum and McClure served the first 3 points of the 5th set while Plummer supplied 3 kills. With Stanford up 3-1, Eggleston had the serve. I was holding my breath, and Stanford got a side-out right away. Stanford was up 8-5 when the teams changed sides, and then up 10-7 shortly after that. But Texas won the next 3 points, making it 10-10. The two teams exchanged points to 12-12. Ahead at 13-12, Stanford won the next point (14-12) when the Texas coach issued his last(I think) challenge. I wasn't sure what he challenged, so I wasn't sure whether this was just a ploy, or whether we might be tied at 13. The challenge was denied. Stanford won the final point, 15-12.
Stanford 3, Texas 2
The students aren't back yet, so the crowd was down a bit. Unfortunately, they missed a good match.
