Post by bigfan on Sept 21, 2006 15:59:24 GMT -5
Health, experience key in returning title to the Farm
Card trying to earn third National Championship since 2001 after early exit in 2005
Improved health could make the biggest difference for this season’s No. 7 Stanford women’s volleyball team, who look to avenge last year’s disappointing exit in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Junior setter Bryn Kehoe and sophomore outside hitter Cynthia Barboza both return after missing critical games down the stretch during the Cardinal’s 2005 campaign. Kehoe, an All-American last year, injured her right hand during a practice and missed the final seven games of the regular season. Barboza led the Pac-10 Conference in kills before tearing her ACL at California halfway through the season.
Entering his seventh season on The Farm, head coach John Dunning said both players have progressed well in their recuperation, thanks mostly to a tremendous training staff.
So far, Kehoe and Barboza have not missed a beat. Barboza leads the team in kills with 116 and a .317 hitting percentage. Kehoe, meanwhile, anchors Stanford’s offense with 318 season sets.
“I am lucky the injury happened when it did,” Barboza said. “Thanks to our team’s amazing staff, I was able to recover well before it got more serious.”
2005 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Foluke Akinradewo led the team in hitting (.397) and blocks (122) last season. The All-American already leads the Cardinal in hitting again with a .429 average. Adding to the offensive effort is fellow All-American Kristin Richards, who led the team in kills with 544 last season.
Sophomore Jessica Fishburn leads the Cardinal defense with 107 digs. Fellow sophomore Alex Fisher will play for the first time this season after having redshirted last year. Senior outside hitter Nji Nnamani and senior middle blockers Michelle Mellard and Lizzie Suiter each saw significant playing time last season and are expected to contribute to the Cardinal’s 2006 campaign. Sophomore Erin Waller started the final four matches for Stanford last season.
New additions to this year’s squad include sophomore walk-on Heather Hernandez, who rowed with the Stanford crew team last season. Freshmen Joanna Evans and Janet Okogbaa have played throughout the preseason.
“We gained a lot of experience last season,” Dunning said. “The team is very motivated, and it should provide for some exciting volleyball.”
The Cardinal begin play against the Pac-10, arguably the nation’s toughest conference, this weekend at Washington and Washington State. Stanford easily cruised past Washington State in the teams’ two meetings last season, while the eventual national champion Huskies took both matches from the Cardinal in 2005.
Dunning said another key distinction between this team and last year’s squad is improved blocking. During the offseason, the Cardinal plugged the defensive weakness by completely overhauling their blocking scheme. Thus far this season, Stanford is collecting 3.74 blocks per game, compared to last year’s 2.5 per game average.
The Cardinal also benefited from building team chemistry during their two week-long European tour in June. The Cardinal went 5-1 overseas, dropping a match to the Croation Junior National team.
Most of all, Stanford will draw from their experiences last year to avoid a similar fate.
“We learned last season that each team is going to play their best match against us, so we can’t take anything for granted,” Kehoe said. “Our strong spring practices allowed us to know each other very well, and we’ll be able to work together to succeed this season.”
Card trying to earn third National Championship since 2001 after early exit in 2005
Improved health could make the biggest difference for this season’s No. 7 Stanford women’s volleyball team, who look to avenge last year’s disappointing exit in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Junior setter Bryn Kehoe and sophomore outside hitter Cynthia Barboza both return after missing critical games down the stretch during the Cardinal’s 2005 campaign. Kehoe, an All-American last year, injured her right hand during a practice and missed the final seven games of the regular season. Barboza led the Pac-10 Conference in kills before tearing her ACL at California halfway through the season.
Entering his seventh season on The Farm, head coach John Dunning said both players have progressed well in their recuperation, thanks mostly to a tremendous training staff.
So far, Kehoe and Barboza have not missed a beat. Barboza leads the team in kills with 116 and a .317 hitting percentage. Kehoe, meanwhile, anchors Stanford’s offense with 318 season sets.
“I am lucky the injury happened when it did,” Barboza said. “Thanks to our team’s amazing staff, I was able to recover well before it got more serious.”
2005 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Foluke Akinradewo led the team in hitting (.397) and blocks (122) last season. The All-American already leads the Cardinal in hitting again with a .429 average. Adding to the offensive effort is fellow All-American Kristin Richards, who led the team in kills with 544 last season.
Sophomore Jessica Fishburn leads the Cardinal defense with 107 digs. Fellow sophomore Alex Fisher will play for the first time this season after having redshirted last year. Senior outside hitter Nji Nnamani and senior middle blockers Michelle Mellard and Lizzie Suiter each saw significant playing time last season and are expected to contribute to the Cardinal’s 2006 campaign. Sophomore Erin Waller started the final four matches for Stanford last season.
New additions to this year’s squad include sophomore walk-on Heather Hernandez, who rowed with the Stanford crew team last season. Freshmen Joanna Evans and Janet Okogbaa have played throughout the preseason.
“We gained a lot of experience last season,” Dunning said. “The team is very motivated, and it should provide for some exciting volleyball.”
The Cardinal begin play against the Pac-10, arguably the nation’s toughest conference, this weekend at Washington and Washington State. Stanford easily cruised past Washington State in the teams’ two meetings last season, while the eventual national champion Huskies took both matches from the Cardinal in 2005.
Dunning said another key distinction between this team and last year’s squad is improved blocking. During the offseason, the Cardinal plugged the defensive weakness by completely overhauling their blocking scheme. Thus far this season, Stanford is collecting 3.74 blocks per game, compared to last year’s 2.5 per game average.
The Cardinal also benefited from building team chemistry during their two week-long European tour in June. The Cardinal went 5-1 overseas, dropping a match to the Croation Junior National team.
Most of all, Stanford will draw from their experiences last year to avoid a similar fate.
“We learned last season that each team is going to play their best match against us, so we can’t take anything for granted,” Kehoe said. “Our strong spring practices allowed us to know each other very well, and we’ll be able to work together to succeed this season.”