Post by SakiBomb25 on Sept 4, 2004 14:59:30 GMT -5
in five games, 25-30, 22-30, 30-27, 30-28, 8-15.
I didn't get to listen to the whole broadcast, but the announcers were saying that Stanford started out very sluggish and slow. Our passing was off and we weren't playing any defense at all. In the third game, we were trailing by 7 midway through. However, at that point, Stanford woke up and their blocking came alive. Jen Hucke and Liz Suiter were effective in game three and four. In game four, we also dug a hole for ourselves and were behind by 6 at one point. However, the girls dug deep and ended up winning that game as well. Game 5... same old story. The Cardinal dug themselves into a 4-9 deficit in which they could not come back from. Overall, the Gaels made no hitting errors, while Stanford made 5 alone, in addition to 3 service errors. Those 8 free points sealed the deal. Nnamani was blocked at the end of the game for the Gael's win.
Stanford hit .150% the entire game, with only Suiter the only Cardinal to hit above .300 (she had 4 kills). Stanford was outblocked by St. Mary's, 17 to 29. Nnamani lead the charge with 21 kills, though she only garnered one kill in the fifth game. Kristin Richards had 19 kills while Hucke had 15. Franci Girard contributed 6 kills. In addition to Suiter's 4 kills, she had 9 blocks (3 solo).
This game exposed the weaknesses of the Cardinal, which were a reliance on the outside and bad passing and digging. There is nothing the Cardinal can do about their offense - everyone knows that Nnamani and Richards (and hopefully Hucke/Schultz) are the go-to gals for Stanford. Suiter is a sophomore with limited playing experience while Girard is just a freshman, so one cannot expect those two to step in and be instant offense. What the Cardinal can control is playing bettre defense and having good ball control all the way throughout the match. It was tough for Kehoe to set up Nnamani and Richards well when she had to scramble all over the place. From the sounds of it, Kehoe was playing really good defense, throwing her body to the floor to get the dig. I think it must be difficult for her as well, being a freshman and thrown into one of the most difficult positions in volleyball.
I don't think I am too worried about this loss. Yes, it was shocking because the Gaels are not ranked. But, this team has some kinks to work out - namely defense and passing. Nnamani and Richards will also have to have their "A" games on every single night because they both will be facing double blocks. However, what impressed me the most was their heart and desire not to give up. They could have easily folded in games 3 and 4, but didn't. As a young team, they showed tremondous heart and I think that is what they will take away from this match, not the loss itself. It will be a growing process for this team and hopefully, by the end of the season, they'll have grown enough to really challenge and push for a deep NCAA run.
I didn't get to listen to the whole broadcast, but the announcers were saying that Stanford started out very sluggish and slow. Our passing was off and we weren't playing any defense at all. In the third game, we were trailing by 7 midway through. However, at that point, Stanford woke up and their blocking came alive. Jen Hucke and Liz Suiter were effective in game three and four. In game four, we also dug a hole for ourselves and were behind by 6 at one point. However, the girls dug deep and ended up winning that game as well. Game 5... same old story. The Cardinal dug themselves into a 4-9 deficit in which they could not come back from. Overall, the Gaels made no hitting errors, while Stanford made 5 alone, in addition to 3 service errors. Those 8 free points sealed the deal. Nnamani was blocked at the end of the game for the Gael's win.
Stanford hit .150% the entire game, with only Suiter the only Cardinal to hit above .300 (she had 4 kills). Stanford was outblocked by St. Mary's, 17 to 29. Nnamani lead the charge with 21 kills, though she only garnered one kill in the fifth game. Kristin Richards had 19 kills while Hucke had 15. Franci Girard contributed 6 kills. In addition to Suiter's 4 kills, she had 9 blocks (3 solo).
This game exposed the weaknesses of the Cardinal, which were a reliance on the outside and bad passing and digging. There is nothing the Cardinal can do about their offense - everyone knows that Nnamani and Richards (and hopefully Hucke/Schultz) are the go-to gals for Stanford. Suiter is a sophomore with limited playing experience while Girard is just a freshman, so one cannot expect those two to step in and be instant offense. What the Cardinal can control is playing bettre defense and having good ball control all the way throughout the match. It was tough for Kehoe to set up Nnamani and Richards well when she had to scramble all over the place. From the sounds of it, Kehoe was playing really good defense, throwing her body to the floor to get the dig. I think it must be difficult for her as well, being a freshman and thrown into one of the most difficult positions in volleyball.
I don't think I am too worried about this loss. Yes, it was shocking because the Gaels are not ranked. But, this team has some kinks to work out - namely defense and passing. Nnamani and Richards will also have to have their "A" games on every single night because they both will be facing double blocks. However, what impressed me the most was their heart and desire not to give up. They could have easily folded in games 3 and 4, but didn't. As a young team, they showed tremondous heart and I think that is what they will take away from this match, not the loss itself. It will be a growing process for this team and hopefully, by the end of the season, they'll have grown enough to really challenge and push for a deep NCAA run.
