[CompSci87]

Up 8-6 at the changeover in the 5th!

[CompSci87]

Up 8-6 at the changeover in the 5th!

[martyup]

Two service errors in the 5th.  Not good.  Come on girls, take it home.

[martyup]

Two service errors in the 5th.  Not good.  Come on girls, take it home.

[BostonCard]

We win it in 5. 15-11.

BC

[BostonCard]

We win it in 5. 15-11.

BC

[81alum]

Whew.  How many of these cardiac finishes can a Stanford fan survive?  Thank goodness we came out on the right side of that fifth set.

[81alum]

Whew.  How many of these cardiac finishes can a Stanford fan survive?  Thank goodness we came out on the right side of that fifth set.

[terry]

Great! 

Thanks for all the updates. I was following it through this board’s reports.

[terry]

Great! 

Thanks for all the updates. I was following it through this board’s reports.

[BostonCard]

I literally picked it up at 14-11 in the fifth. I was driving down to San Louis Obispo.

BC

[BostonCard]

I literally picked it up at 14-11 in the fifth. I was driving down to San Louis Obispo.

BC

[martyup]

My heart was pounding in that 5th set.  These girls have nerves of steel.  I hope we can sweep Penn St in 3.  Fifth set matches are just bad for the heart.

---

I literally picked it up at 14-11 in the fifth. I was driving down to San Louis Obispo.

BC

Luis.  I know because I was born there.

[martyup]

My heart was pounding in that 5th set.  These girls have nerves of steel.  I hope we can sweep Penn St in 3.  Fifth set matches are just bad for the heart.

---

I literally picked it up at 14-11 in the fifth. I was driving down to San Louis Obispo.

BC

Luis.  I know because I was born there.

[Griffins78]

Well it was 8-6 Stanford but Utah challenged a touch which would have made it 7-7. We are in the strongest rotation and go up 10-6. Then Utah is in their strongest rotation and battles back to 11-10. Then 12-11. Plummer is battling and keeping us in the match but she now in the back row and has served out of bounds the last two times. She serves in and McClure dinks by the block to get us to  match point. Then Plummer serves in and McClure ends the match again on a difficult kill... like she did in the National Championship.

[Griffins78]

Well it was 8-6 Stanford but Utah challenged a touch which would have made it 7-7. We are in the strongest rotation and go up 10-6. Then Utah is in their strongest rotation and battles back to 11-10. Then 12-11. Plummer is battling and keeping us in the match but she now in the back row and has served out of bounds the last two times. She serves in and McClure dinks by the block to get us to  match point. Then Plummer serves in and McClure ends the match again on a difficult kill... like she did in the National Championship.

[BostonCard]

My heart was pounding in that 5th set.  These girls have nerves of steel.  I hope we can sweep Penn St in 3.  Fifth set matches are just bad for the heart.

---

I literally picked it up at 14-11 in the fifth. I was driving down to San Louis Obispo.

BC

Luis.  I know because I was born there.

Pretend I said it with a French accent.

BC

[BostonCard]

My heart was pounding in that 5th set.  These girls have nerves of steel.  I hope we can sweep Penn St in 3.  Fifth set matches are just bad for the heart.

---

I literally picked it up at 14-11 in the fifth. I was driving down to San Louis Obispo.

BC

Luis.  I know because I was born there.

Pretend I said it with a French accent.

BC

[CompSci87]

I literally picked it up at 14-11 in the fifth. I was driving down to San Louis Obispo.

Luis.  I know because I was born there.

You learned to spell at an early age!

[CompSci87]

I literally picked it up at 14-11 in the fifth. I was driving down to San Louis Obispo.

Luis.  I know because I was born there.

You learned to spell at an early age!

[qwerty49]

Good grief --- my Sling feed somehow went to a commercial break near the end of the 4th set and then came back with....the first set!  It took a few minutes of squinting to realize I was watching a replay and after some cursing and rebooting, I came back to 11-10 in the 5th.

Plummer is clearly our #1 warhorse but wow, McClure was just so tough.  That last point was amazing.

This match just underscored how important the block is in this game.  I'll never understand, though, how a team can go so flat so quickly from one set to the next.

Man, what a nailbiter this one was!

[qwerty49]

Good grief --- my Sling feed somehow went to a commercial break near the end of the 4th set and then came back with....the first set!  It took a few minutes of squinting to realize I was watching a replay and after some cursing and rebooting, I came back to 11-10 in the 5th.

Plummer is clearly our #1 warhorse but wow, McClure was just so tough.  That last point was amazing.

This match just underscored how important the block is in this game.  I'll never understand, though, how a team can go so flat so quickly from one set to the next.

Man, what a nailbiter this one was!

[81alum]

I'll never understand, though, how a team can go so flat so quickly from one set to the next.

The announcers said something about that and it registered with neophyte volleyball watcher me.

In basketball or baseball or football if you have a lousy quarter/inning, the score stays with you and carries forward.  Only in Volleyball does the margin of your victory for that unit get "flushed." 

This difference gives Volleyball a completely different psychology than all of those other sports--you don't have to live with your past mistakes during a game nearly as much as in all those other sports.

This explains the wild fluctuations.  Once one side gets too far ahead in a set, the motivation to fight hard on the other side wanes.  Losing by a lesser deficit doesn't do you any good.  But once you have lost the set it matters not one bit how badly you just played since you are starting from scratch again.  Demoralization doesn't carry forward in the same sense as it does with all those other sports.

I'm not sure whether this psychological difference is a good thing or a bad thing.  It certainly makes 5 set games exciting.  But it is also a little like the electoral college.  You can win three sets by the narrowest of margins and lose 2 sets by massive deficits and win the match.

For example, Gonzaga outscored us in WBB in 3/4 quarters.  Under volleyball type rules that game would never have gone to overtime.

[81alum]

I'll never understand, though, how a team can go so flat so quickly from one set to the next.

The announcers said something about that and it registered with neophyte volleyball watcher me.

In basketball or baseball or football if you have a lousy quarter/inning, the score stays with you and carries forward.  Only in Volleyball does the margin of your victory for that unit get "flushed." 

This difference gives Volleyball a completely different psychology than all of those other sports--you don't have to live with your past mistakes during a game nearly as much as in all those other sports.

This explains the wild fluctuations.  Once one side gets too far ahead in a set, the motivation to fight hard on the other side wanes.  Losing by a lesser deficit doesn't do you any good.  But once you have lost the set it matters not one bit how badly you just played since you are starting from scratch again.  Demoralization doesn't carry forward in the same sense as it does with all those other sports.

I'm not sure whether this psychological difference is a good thing or a bad thing.  It certainly makes 5 set games exciting.  But it is also a little like the electoral college.  You can win three sets by the narrowest of margins and lose 2 sets by massive deficits and win the match.

For example, Gonzaga outscored us in WBB in 3/4 quarters.  Under volleyball type rules that game would never have gone to overtime.

[Spike]

What I cannot understand is how we won the Natty last year with basically the same team as we have now (plus M. Gates) and still struggle so greatly against supposedly weaker teams. Shouldn’t we be even MORE dominant than last year?

[Spike]

What I cannot understand is how we won the Natty last year with basically the same team as we have now (plus M. Gates) and still struggle so greatly against supposedly weaker teams. Shouldn’t we be even MORE dominant than last year?

[oldalum]

correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Alade was a better middle last year, especially at the end, than Campbell or Gates seems now.

---

  the margin of your victory for that unit get "flushed."  
once you have lost the set it matters not one bit how badly you just played since you are starting from scratch again.  

That is true of other sports that are not time-limited and the game scores are not cumulative because they are aggregated into units. Tennis and squash are other examples. I'll always remember Nicole Gibbs in the 2013 team national tennis championship match vs. TAMU, playing #1 singles for us against the #4 nationally ranked player, lost the first set 0-6 and lost the first 2 games of the second set. Then she won the next 12 games in a row and won the match 0-6, 6-2, 6-0; without which we would not have won the national championship 4-3. And in the semifinal match before that one, against Florida, then-freshman Krista Hardebeck, playing #3 singles, lost the first set and was losing the second set 1-5, managed to come back and tie up the second set and then win it in the tiebreaker, and then won the third set, without which we would not have advanced to the championship match 4-3.

[oldalum]

correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Alade was a better middle last year, especially at the end, than Campbell or Gates seems now.

---

  the margin of your victory for that unit get "flushed."  
once you have lost the set it matters not one bit how badly you just played since you are starting from scratch again.  

That is true of other sports that are not time-limited and the game scores are not cumulative because they are aggregated into units. Tennis and squash are other examples. I'll always remember Nicole Gibbs in the 2013 team national tennis championship match vs. TAMU, playing #1 singles for us against the #4 nationally ranked player, lost the first set 0-6 and lost the first 2 games of the second set. Then she won the next 12 games in a row and won the match 0-6, 6-2, 6-0; without which we would not have won the national championship 4-3. And in the semifinal match before that one, against Florida, then-freshman Krista Hardebeck, playing #3 singles, lost the first set and was losing the second set 1-5, managed to come back and tie up the second set and then win it in the tiebreaker, and then won the third set, without which we would not have advanced to the championship match 4-3.

[Embo]

  the margin of your victory for that unit get "flushed."  
once you have lost the set it matters not one bit how badly you just played since you are starting from scratch again.  

That is true of other sports that are not time-limited and the game scores are not cumulative because they are aggregated into units. Tennis and squash are other examples. I'll always remember Nicole Gibbs in the 2013 team national tennis championship match vs. TAMU, playing #1 singles for us against the #4 nationally ranked player, lost the first set 0-6 and lost the first 2 games of the second set. Then she won the next 12 games in a row and won the match 0-6, 6-2, 6-0; without which we would not have won the national championship 4-3. And in the semifinal match before that one, against Florida, then-freshman Krista Hardebeck, playing #3 singles, lost the first set and was losing the second set 1-5, managed to come back and tie up the second set and then win it in the tiebreaker, and then won the third set, without which we would not have advanced to the championship match 4-3.

When the announcer mentioned "flushing a set", that registered with me also.  How quickly we forget on this board - the 2014 World Series.  Bumgarner threw a memorable Game 5 - complete game, shutout, 8 K's.  Us Giant fans tuned in eagerly for Game 6.  That went south in no time flat - KC scored 7 in the bottom of the 2nd.  Bochy tossed that game aside. It was on this very board where a poster said, "Well, sometimes you just have to drop a set".  He saved Bumgarner for Game 7, who merely gave us one of the greatest Wold Series performances in baseball history.

[Embo]

  the margin of your victory for that unit get "flushed."  
once you have lost the set it matters not one bit how badly you just played since you are starting from scratch again.  

That is true of other sports that are not time-limited and the game scores are not cumulative because they are aggregated into units. Tennis and squash are other examples. I'll always remember Nicole Gibbs in the 2013 team national tennis championship match vs. TAMU, playing #1 singles for us against the #4 nationally ranked player, lost the first set 0-6 and lost the first 2 games of the second set. Then she won the next 12 games in a row and won the match 0-6, 6-2, 6-0; without which we would not have won the national championship 4-3. And in the semifinal match before that one, against Florida, then-freshman Krista Hardebeck, playing #3 singles, lost the first set and was losing the second set 1-5, managed to come back and tie up the second set and then win it in the tiebreaker, and then won the third set, without which we would not have advanced to the championship match 4-3.

When the announcer mentioned "flushing a set", that registered with me also.  How quickly we forget on this board - the 2014 World Series.  Bumgarner threw a memorable Game 5 - complete game, shutout, 8 K's.  Us Giant fans tuned in eagerly for Game 6.  That went south in no time flat - KC scored 7 in the bottom of the 2nd.  Bochy tossed that game aside. It was on this very board where a poster said, "Well, sometimes you just have to drop a set".  He saved Bumgarner for Game 7, who merely gave us one of the greatest Wold Series performances in baseball history.

[cardcrimson]

  the margin of your victory for that unit get "flushed."  
once you have lost the set it matters not one bit how badly you just played since you are starting from scratch again.  

That is true of other sports that are not time-limited and the game scores are not cumulative because they are aggregated into units. Tennis and squash are other examples. I'll always remember Nicole Gibbs in the 2013 team national tennis championship match vs. TAMU, playing #1 singles for us against the #4 nationally ranked player, lost the first set 0-6 and lost the first 2 games of the second set. Then she won the next 12 games in a row and won the match 0-6, 6-2, 6-0; without which we would not have won the national championship 4-3. And in the semifinal match before that one, against Florida, then-freshman Krista Hardebeck, playing #3 singles, lost the first set and was losing the second set 1-5, managed to come back and tie up the second set and then win it in the tiebreaker, and then won the third set, without which we would not have advanced to the championship match 4-3.

When the announcer mentioned "flushing a set", that registered with me also.  How quickly we forget on this board - the 2014 World Series.  Bumgarner threw a memorable Game 5 - complete game, shutout, 8 K's.  Us Giant fans tuned in eagerly for Game 6.  That went south in no time flat - KC scored 7 in the bottom of the 2nd.  Bochy tossed that game aside. It was on this very board where a poster said, "Well, sometimes you just have to drop a set".  He saved Bumgarner for Game 7, who merely gave us one of the greatest Wold Series performances in baseball history.

Tennis, match play golf, etc. Let a bad hole or set go, and get on to the next. . . .

---

Oh, and congrats to the girls. First game I've watched. Amazing play! Very fun to watch their abilities showcased. The Utes played tough--give them credit for not folding. . .. .

[cardcrimson]

  the margin of your victory for that unit get "flushed."  
once you have lost the set it matters not one bit how badly you just played since you are starting from scratch again.  

That is true of other sports that are not time-limited and the game scores are not cumulative because they are aggregated into units. Tennis and squash are other examples. I'll always remember Nicole Gibbs in the 2013 team national tennis championship match vs. TAMU, playing #1 singles for us against the #4 nationally ranked player, lost the first set 0-6 and lost the first 2 games of the second set. Then she won the next 12 games in a row and won the match 0-6, 6-2, 6-0; without which we would not have won the national championship 4-3. And in the semifinal match before that one, against Florida, then-freshman Krista Hardebeck, playing #3 singles, lost the first set and was losing the second set 1-5, managed to come back and tie up the second set and then win it in the tiebreaker, and then won the third set, without which we would not have advanced to the championship match 4-3.

When the announcer mentioned "flushing a set", that registered with me also.  How quickly we forget on this board - the 2014 World Series.  Bumgarner threw a memorable Game 5 - complete game, shutout, 8 K's.  Us Giant fans tuned in eagerly for Game 6.  That went south in no time flat - KC scored 7 in the bottom of the 2nd.  Bochy tossed that game aside. It was on this very board where a poster said, "Well, sometimes you just have to drop a set".  He saved Bumgarner for Game 7, who merely gave us one of the greatest Wold Series performances in baseball history.

Tennis, match play golf, etc. Let a bad hole or set go, and get on to the next. . . .

---

Oh, and congrats to the girls. First game I've watched. Amazing play! Very fun to watch their abilities showcased. The Utes played tough--give them credit for not folding. . .. .

[jonnyss]

watching the warmups, i was struck that utah had several players who could spike with real power. they are a good team.

i was surprised that we did not lean on plummer more; and then, in the 5th set we did.

[jonnyss]

watching the warmups, i was struck that utah had several players who could spike with real power. they are a good team.

i was surprised that we did not lean on plummer more; and then, in the 5th set we did.

[DenverCard]

I thought Utah's Dani Drews was the best athlete on the court, Jenna Gray's two sport accomplishments notwithstanding.  Big air on her jumps, and amazing body control.  Seems to me she could have a ton of success playing beach volleyball.  (Maybe she already has.)

[DenverCard]

I thought Utah's Dani Drews was the best athlete on the court, Jenna Gray's two sport accomplishments notwithstanding.  Big air on her jumps, and amazing body control.  Seems to me she could have a ton of success playing beach volleyball.  (Maybe she already has.)

[BobK]

Drews was very good but we also blocked her often. Still she was fun to watch.

[BobK]

Drews was very good but we also blocked her often. Still she was fun to watch.

[terry]

Utah is a top 20 team (#17 in the coaches' poll, #18 in RPI) and they've had wins against several of the national seeds (#8 Washington, #9 Kentucky, #14 BYU). They're a good team. 

We played a close match against a good team and survived. It's all good. We're better off than a couple of the other top seeds, #2 Texas and #6 Pitt, which are already gone.

[terry]

Utah is a top 20 team (#17 in the coaches' poll, #18 in RPI) and they've had wins against several of the national seeds (#8 Washington, #9 Kentucky, #14 BYU). They're a good team. 

We played a close match against a good team and survived. It's all good. We're better off than a couple of the other top seeds, #2 Texas and #6 Pitt, which are already gone.