I went to the scrimmage and there were maybe 50 people watching the match.
Before the scrimmage, Dunning did a Q&A.
Klineman tweaked her ankle last week and was limited to back row duty only.
Okogbaa had surgery on her pinky finger and was in a soft cast. She participated in blocking footwork drills, but remained on the sidelines for most of the evening. Okogbaa won't be available for awhile, but is training in the middle.
First Team
Outside - Barboza, Fisher
Middle - Akinradewo, Browne
Opp - Waller
Setter - Kehoe
Libero - Ailes
Second Team
Outside - Front Row - One of the male assistant coaches
Outside - Back Row - Klineman
Middle - Front Row - Browne, The other male assistant coach
Middle - Back Row - Girard
Opp - Lichtman
Setter - Evans
Libero - Fishburn
Second Team won both 30-28, 30-25. I left after the second, so if they played more than two, I missed it.
First impressions of the frosh - Ailes is darn good. It looks like Stanford finally has a horse in the libero position that matches the horses it has in every other position. Volleyball fans are going to love watching her.
Lichtman is also impressive. She is very smooth, very complete and seems to possess a high VB IQ. Playing on the second team, Evans set her from both the front and back row consistently. From the 10ft line, Lichtman appears to look for the hole in the defense rather than rely on power. She loves to wipe that outside block, but more impressive was her ball handling skills. She is very composed and competent. She will be a solid back up at the Opposite (and I wouldn't bet against the Left as well).
Klineman only played backrow. If the serve or attack came within her general reach, she was able to convert fairly well. However, her mobility moving left and right was exposed. It could also have been that her ankle injury prevented her movement, but I'm not so sure.
Browne played MB for both sides. She's a big girl with big hands, but her movement needs work. She should be a nice block if she's in position. Her hitting will need some work before she'll contend for time against Girard. In the end, I'm sure she'll figure out how to use that 6'5" frame.
Kehoe ran the offense really well for so early in the season. She distributed the ball well and got Foluke involved as often as possible (even with Fisher's 10ft line passes). There were very few miscues with the middles, and Waller was pounding everything that came her way. Barboza had her "wow" moments and her "what?" moments.
The second team played very good defense especially when the backrow was Klineman, Ailes, Lichtman. It was pretty hard to judge this team as most attacks came from the boys and Lichtman. But the backcourt is going to be much improved for the Cardinal, no doubt about it.
After the first game, the liberos switched side (ailes on 2nd team and fishburn on 1st team). The 2nd Team immediately went out to a 5-1 lead with Klineman serving to Fisher and Fishburn. With Ailes, Klineman and Lichtman, the 2nd team dug up quite a few balls and transitioned well. Again, hard to judge with most of the attacks coming from the boys and Lichtman. Ailes takes up a LOT of court and does it with so much control. I would not be surprised to see Ailes as Best Libero in the Pac-10 (of course, this was just two games, take it easy).
Ok, time for a snack.