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Post by hwy101 on Sept 21, 2006 23:42:33 GMT -5
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Post by bucky415 on Sept 22, 2006 1:23:05 GMT -5
That has to be a big disappointment for Cal fans. The Golden Bears got blown out in this one, and it looks like they had no answer for Mussie, of all people. She's a solid player, but I would think that a good team could slow her down at least. Morrison, maybe not. At least Pressey had a good night offensively.
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Post by 808 on Sept 22, 2006 2:02:40 GMT -5
Wow, that was some "welcome to the Pac-10" game for Cutura. I'm sure she'll adjust.
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Post by roofed! on Sept 22, 2006 2:35:06 GMT -5
Wow, what a disappointing loss for Cal. I would have thought that they would put up a better fight against Washington, or maybe Washington is just too good right now. UW's next 3 matches against Stanford, UCLA and USC will give a good indicator of how the team transitions without missing a beat after losing 4 starters from last year's team.
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Post by OverAndUnder on Sept 22, 2006 8:31:09 GMT -5
The offense is more or less there, but the defense sucks. When Cal passed the first ball well, they got kills.
But they only received well about 30% of the time. The rest of the balls were outright shanks or were overpasses that inflate the Washington attack numbers.
Also, Cal clearly has no idea how to score in transition. If they didn't get an immediate kill on the first rally, it was pretty much given that they would lose the point.
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Post by prosem on Sept 22, 2006 9:33:37 GMT -5
UW Volleyball | Huskies just crush Bears in a sweep
By Terry Wood
Special to The Seattle Times
Just like old times.
Despite opening its Pac-10 schedule against a formidable opponent, a retooled Washington volleyball team looked every bit like a defending national champion Thursday night as the No. 4 Huskies simply overpowered No. 8 California 3-0.
Much like last year's NCAA champs, the 2006 Huskies — featuring an eight-player rotation that involves five players who had little or no court time in the title run last year — use a masterful serve-and-pass approach that effectively sets up a high-power offense that can leave an opponent playing on its heels.
That was Cal's fate as outside hitters Stevie Mussie (19 kills), Christal Morrison (10 kills) and Janine Sandell pounded the error-prone Golden Bears to give Washington (11-1 overall, 1-0 Pac-10) its 21st consecutive home victory.
The Huskies won 30-17 and 30-16 in the first two games in front of 1,248 spectators in Hec Edmundson Pavilion. They then shrugged off a dozen ties and two lead changes in the third game to pull away 30-24, scoring five of the last six points, three of them kills by Morrison.
Coach Jim McLaughlin said before the match his team was entering its Pac-10 schedule still in search of the cool-handedness and cohesion that was the trademark of the title team last year. It appears the Huskies tapped into that vibe in a big way against Cal.
"I went in a little nervous because you don't know," McLaughlin said. "But I felt like we were prepared. I didn't know how much progress we had made until we're tested. We looked pretty good."
Does McLaughlin view it as a dominant performance?
"Maybe the score, it looks that way," he said. "But there are areas in my eyes that we have to improve in.
"We still have a ways to go," he said. "We gave up some stretches of points. But when we played with composure, we controlled most of the match."
Another top opponent, No. 6-ranked Stanford, visits UW tonight at 7 for what has emerged an rivalry between two annual contenders for the Pac-10 crown. The Cardinal (10-1, 1-0) swept Washington State on Thursday night 3-0 (30-17, 30-16, 30-23).
To win tonight, McLaughlin said he will be looking for the same steady play his players delivered against California. UW outhit the Bears .415 to .143, committing just nine errors to Cal's 25.
Libero Tamari Miyashiro, a redshirt freshman, produced some sterling digs in her team-high total of 12. Courtney Thompson posted 44 assists.
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Post by cruncher on Sept 22, 2006 9:50:55 GMT -5
In the Seattle Times (paper edition) there is a great shot of Courtney blocking Cutura. Kinda says it all for the match. I couldn't find the photo on there web site. Anybody have the link?
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Post by roofed! on Sept 22, 2006 10:26:00 GMT -5
But they only received well about 30% of the time. The rest of the balls were outright shanks or were overpasses that inflate the Washington attack numbers. Also, Cal clearly has no idea how to score in transition. If they didn't get an immediate kill on the first rally, it was pretty much given that they would lose the point. I believe the ability to transition well and scoring points off them is what makes a team a championship contender. You cannot always depend on good passing as even a good passing team will have passing breakdown (even for a good stretch of points, if not for the whole match). The team needs to be able to get kills off broken plays. |
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Post by OverAndUnder on Sept 22, 2006 11:21:44 GMT -5
But they only received well about 30% of the time. The rest of the balls were outright shanks or were overpasses that inflate the Washington attack numbers. Also, Cal clearly has no idea how to score in transition. If they didn't get an immediate kill on the first rally, it was pretty much given that they would lose the point. I believe the ability to transition well and scoring points off them is what makes a team a championship contender. You cannot always depend on good passing as even a good passing team will have passing breakdown (even for a good stretch of points, if not for the whole match). The team needs to be able to get kills off broken plays. I agree. After watching the 2005 Finals tape a couple times it becomes really obvious how many of the longer rallies were won by Washington. Washington was aggressive on every ball even if the dig didn't cross the 3meter line. It's puzzling because Nebraska was supposed to have five powerful attack options on every play, but other than Pavan no one else made the big plays you need in transition. By the way, Washington won this Cal match with the serve more than any other weapon. I don't remember seeing more than one or two errors. All their servers were hitting very nice angles and the jump serves were at high power. I have to wonder if this performance is the result of lots of training/practice or if it was simply a statistical anomaly. If the latter, the rematch against Cal on their home court could be much closer. |
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Post by bearwatch on Sept 22, 2006 11:53:53 GMT -5
The offense is more or less there, but the defense sucks. When Cal passed the first ball well, they got kills. But they only received well about 30% of the time. The rest of the balls were outright shanks or were overpasses that inflate the Washington attack numbers. Also, Cal clearly has no idea how to score in transition. If they didn't get an immediate kill on the first rally, it was pretty much given that they would lose the point. I said it before, Their passing is very suspect. They rely on OH's mainly and Cutura was not on. Take out Pressey and they are very average if not bad. If they pass decent and the OH's are on they can beat alot of teams. |
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Post by bigfan on Sept 22, 2006 12:30:06 GMT -5
I said before the season that UW would be awesome...they lost alot but they are such a deep team with returning players from last year.
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Post by Tex_VB_Fan on Sept 22, 2006 12:33:14 GMT -5
I became a believer when I saw them play In Madison. My pick to win the Pac 10 or perhaps a tie for first. I was surprised how good UW is after loosing so many seniors.
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Post by BearClause on Sept 22, 2006 14:02:08 GMT -5
I'm not normally one to make injury excuses. However - if you look at Cal's season stats and compare that to the roster, you'll notice that three players (all PrepVB top 20 recruits) haven't played yet this season. While I love Natalie Smart (she's always had a great attitude and hits the ball real hard), many Cal fans expected that Kat Reilly would have started at middle. As it is now, it's some hybrid lineup with Morgan Beck and Natalie Smart at MB/RS. I've also heard that Cat Dailey was ready to contribute immediately. I've been watching Cal long enough to know that the coaching staff isn't shy about pulling a player who's having a rough night. For whoever mentioned that Cutura should have been benched - who did Cal have who was ready to play? Maybe Am'ra Solomon.
Would it have been a difference maker against Washington? Probably not. And I think there are some who are giving Hana Cutura a really bad time just because she had her worst night even in a Cal uniform. I never expected that she'd be hitting .400 every night, and I'm surprised it took so long for her first off-night. I think they'll be alright, especially if they can get everyone healthy. I realize the 11-0 pre-conference record was against a mostly soft schedule, and I never said otherwise. Hana is going to be on more times than she's going to be shut down. While they've gone to the outsides because they've been dominant so far, Morgan Beck and Ellen Orchard are capable of putting up big nights at the middle and had respectable performances yesterday.
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Post by blob on Sept 22, 2006 14:07:27 GMT -5
Going 5 with Pacific=major red flag.
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Post by BearClause on Sept 22, 2006 14:13:47 GMT -5
Going 5 with Pacific=major red flag. While I don't disagree, I was there, and it was almost like two separate matches. I wouldn't necessarily buy the excuse that the bus was stuck in traffic, but it would be an decent explanation of why it took them over an hour to look like they were a team fully capable of dominating Pacific. |
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