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Post by Pirate VB Fan on Dec 17, 2005 12:25:11 GMT -5
Nebraska has the advantage in backrow attack for the same reason they are at a disadvantage defensively: more options. Somehow I doubt Candace Lee will be taking backrow swings. That is a joke, right? Christal and Sanja are two of the best, if not the best, backrow attackers in the game. They are both amazing. So we combine excellant defense (as both are very good in the back row defensively, plus you have candace and danka) with a very, very potent backrow attack.
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Post by gocalbears on Dec 17, 2005 13:22:18 GMT -5
After watching the NU SC match, I realized that no team can stop NU.
With that said, Go Huskers.
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Post by IdahoBoy on Dec 17, 2005 13:26:54 GMT -5
After watching the NU SC match, I realized that no team can stop NU. With that said, Go Huskers. 'cept Texas.
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Dec 17, 2005 13:29:52 GMT -5
After watching the NU SC match, I realized that no team can stop NU. With that said, Go Huskers. A PAC 10 fan rooting for Nebraska? Sounds like sour grapes to me.
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Post by pavbfan on Dec 17, 2005 14:25:36 GMT -5
I found this article on Stanford's Sear's Board, a nice article by Kerri Walsh from the San Antonio Express News: Volleyball's New Spin a Win for Women Dec. 16, 2005
The Hartford
By Kerri Walsh Pro beach volleyball player
'Tis the season - and what a season this year brings.
It is the 25th anniversary of the NCAA women's volleyball championships. I can't help but be excited for the women who are on the court in San Antonio and admire the progress that female student-athletes have made during the past 25 years.
What started very quietly in 1981 has resulted in avid popularity. The first women's volleyball championships had minimal media coverage. The games are now televised nationwide and covered in major daily newspapers and sports magazines.
The awareness of, and participation in, women's college sports has grown markedly because of barriers kicked down during these past 25 years. Today, more than 150,000 female student-athletes participate in intercollegiate athletics and compete for a total of 44 NCAA championships in 20 sports.
Thanks to the NCAA and a host of supporters backing women's sports, a generation of women has grown up with its sights set on winning national collegiate titles - while earning academic degrees and developing life skills that will help them long after their time in college. Young girls today can't imagine life any other way. What a tribute this is to our progress.
My four years of playing Division I volleyball at Stanford University taught me this: Take advantage of today, make a difference, smile, work hard, dream big, and you will see positive results. I had no idea that the rewards would continue long after my graduation in 2000.
The physical and mental preparation to be a successful student-athlete helped prepare me for several stages of my life - from playing with Team USA in Sydney during the 2000 Olympic Games, to crossing over to beach volleyball, going on the AVP Tour and bringing home the gold medal in women's beach volleyball with my teammate, Misty May, at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
But the rewards haven't stopped there.
Last month the NCAA named its Division I Women's Volleyball 25th Anniversary Team. It is an amazing honor to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a team of women who, like me, have experienced the thrill of bringing home a national collegiate title within this short lifespan of NCAA volleyball championships. All the women named to this NCAA anniversary team have gone on to inspire and lead young women on - and off - the court.
That's what I'm reminded of when I tune in to this year's NCAA women's volleyball championships. I wonder if people realize the sacrifices and effort these young women, and the ladies before them, have put in on a daily basis, working toward excellence.
The reason most of these women are here is because they want to excel in academics, earning college degrees they can be proud of. They want to graduate knowing they gave it their all, pushing themselves to be the best students and the best athletes they could be. They are excellent role models because they work incredibly hard and know what it takes to achieve success.
I am so inspired when I watch women's volleyball today, with the competition getting more and more intense. Regardless of which team wins the national title, it's great to see the degree of commitment exhibited by these gifted young women, their level of athletic excellence and the support shown by their schools and fans, elevated to today's new heights. I can't wait to see what the next 25 years bring.
-- Courtesy San Antonio Express News
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Post by prosem on Dec 17, 2005 16:19:42 GMT -5
Don't tune out this game, guys
By TED MILLER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
SAN ANTONIO -- This column considers women's sports and the female athlete. It may be controversial. It may be inflammatory. It will reference Anna Kournikova and wrestling, so you know there will be frank, sexual talk.
So you should keep reading, even though most of you don't give a pooh about women's sports.
It's too bad that it won't focus on Washington's women's volleyball team, which will play Nebraska today for the national title. These fantastic athletes play an exciting game that is a sight to behold.
To witness it is to be converted.
But few will bother to check out the match on ESPN2, just as few folks who buy this newspaper will read about any sport that doesn't ooze testosterone.
That's not a random assertion. The Internet takes the guesswork out of understanding reading patterns.
The Huskies whipped Tennessee on Thursday to advance to the program's first title game. Based on hits registered by the roughly 1.2 million folks visiting the Post-Intelligencer's Web site Friday, only a handful cared about the Huskies' dominant three-game sweep.
It's not like there weren't Washington fans lurking on the Web site. Lots of people read a story about Huskies football recruiting.
A piece on Matt Hasselbeck's hair (or lack thereof) also rated highly.
advertising Did you know, to paraphrase the headline, "a drunk Finn set a Norwegian fine record"? No idea what that's all about, but more people looked up that tidbit than bothered to read about the volleyball team's quest for Seattle's first championship since ... gosh, the Seattle Storm in 2004.
The volleyball story ranked 30th with 1,782 page hits. Average sports stories on the Seahawks, Sonics, Mariners or UW football typically get more than 10,000. And this represented a surprisingly strong showing for volleyball, according to our Web page gurus.
Considering the Huskies rank fifth in the nation with an average attendance of 2,888 in 16 home dates, it's a distressing number, particularly for those who bang the drum requesting -- demanding, even -- more coverage of women's sports.
It's been nine years since the 1996 Olympics and six years since 90,000 fans watched the U.S. win the Women's World Cup, both events propelling women's sports into the national consciousness. But it feels as though that momentum has stalled.
The WNBA is struggling. A pro soccer league? A pro softball league? Neither has found its footing.
The question is why, but everybody already knows that answer.
Men are sports fans. Men rule the marketplace. Men don't care.
This is where women's sports advocates start ranting, and that's a significant part of the problem. Browbeating is not good PR.
It's not a stretch to imagine that a good percentage of the sarcasm directed at women's sports by some men -- hello, talk radio -- is delivered with such relish because of the audience the speaker knows he's annoying.
This group also is the first to harrumph the predominance of the "Kournikova Corollary," which asserts that men don't care about a female athlete's accomplishments, just her looks.
That's untrue. Looks are just really, really interesting to us. The notion that men should apologize for this is stupid.
Which brings us back to men and the volleyball game they should watch today.
It's hard to imagine that even the most benighted man couldn't get his sports needs fulfilled if he were forced to watch Washington and Nebraska play. The speed, power and athleticism of the game is spectacular up close.
Of course, most men underestimate female athletes. Potbellied guys on the sofa imagine they can take Lauren Jackson to the basket. They can't.
Here's an eyebrow raiser: This week the P-I noted that Whitney Condor is back for her senior season at Puyallup. Who's that? She took sixth in 4A state last year. In wrestling. Against boys.
That gets a Holy Cow, but apparently girls wrestling successfully in high school isn't terribly uncommon. Washington is one of at least eight states where a prep girl wrestler has placed in the sport against boys, including a pair in Alaska and Maine who finished second.
How can you not respect that?
There's a new generation of female athletes, such as Candace Parker (basketball), Michelle Wie (golf) and Danica Patrick (auto racing), who appear capable of becoming widely celebrated, buzz-generating sports personalities.
Yet the appreciation can't be forced. It can only be gently prodded.
So watch the freaking volleyball game. IP:
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Post by GatorVball on Dec 17, 2005 18:03:32 GMT -5
Here we go. I'm going with the Huskers in 4
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Post by Chris123 on Dec 17, 2005 18:29:20 GMT -5
Go HuskIES! I hope they cream Nebraska. I'm a Stanford fan, but I think McGloughlin (or however you spell it) should have gotten Coach of the Year and Tamasevic should have gotten player of the Year.
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Post by BadKnees on Dec 17, 2005 18:33:29 GMT -5
Are there live stats anywhere for the match?
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Post by BadKnees on Dec 17, 2005 18:38:26 GMT -5
Go HuskIES! I hope they cream Nebraska. I'm a Stanford fan, but I think McGloughlin (or however you spell it) should have gotten Coach of the Year and Tamasevic should have gotten player of the Year. I would give Jon Wallace COY. What he did with Paret is amazing. My daughter played on the same team in juniors and he has transformed Cassie. He is getting a lot out of his other players too. Cook deserved recruiter of the year, for sure.
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Post by JHAM on Dec 17, 2005 19:12:22 GMT -5
Did I say Nebraska would sweep? I meant Washington would sweep! You say poe-tae-toe, I say paw-ta-toe (Huskers/Huskies) LOL!
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Post by BadKnees on Dec 17, 2005 20:06:43 GMT -5
These were both great teams, but I like it when the high skill team wins over the big power players. Did ANYONE really think UW would sweep (other than UW partisans?) I picked'em to win, but this is a surprise.
Stanford vs Neb in the finals next year.
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Post by Pirate VB Fan on Dec 17, 2005 20:17:19 GMT -5
These were both great teams, but I like it when the high skill team wins over the big power players. Did ANYONE really think UW would sweep (other than UW partisans?) I picked'em to win, but this is a surprise. Stanford vs Neb in the finals next year. Heck, before the match, even I didn't think we would sweep. WAY TO GO, DAWGS!!
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Post by themecca on Dec 17, 2005 20:26:09 GMT -5
i'm sure mclaughlin's goal was nothing less than a sweep...that's why at the end of the match he looked like it was no surprise...just another day, just another game, just another match, just another NCAA championship...way to execute a plan...awesome job dawgs!!!...you will be back! ;D
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Dec 17, 2005 21:34:13 GMT -5
Serving: Call it a draw Serve receive: Advantage(big) to Washington Passing: Advantage to Washington Setting: Call it a draw, Washington's setter better placement, Nebraska's better block Middle Attack: Advantage Nebraska Outside Attack: Advantage Washington Backrow attack: slight advantage Washington as they have at least two who can hammer from the back row as well as Pavan can for Nebraska Motivation: Advantage Washington- Why, because they are NOT the team with the COY, POY, and 4 AA's....a little more motivation for the pre game locker room Experience: Advantage Washington: They been here, Nebraska was home last year instead of in Long Beach Coaching: Call it a tie, sorry John, but COY is political and you know that as well as anyone. Blocking: Slight advantage to Nebraska, but NOT IF Washington is running their much quicker tempo offense. Defense: Advantage Washington, once you get past the Nebraska block they are vulnerable and Washington is the team that will show just that tomorrow. Washington wins tomorrow, perhaps even in 3!Good call Beachman ;D
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