Cal @ #10 UW - Fri Oct 22 7pm PT - Pac-12 Washington

[Deleted]

Oct 22, 2021 22:54:02 GMT -5 trojansc said:

Cal within one at 21-22 after Washington hits an overpass into the net and gets aced. T/O Huskies

those last 2 points eek

[mikegarrison]

Oh Huskies, they give you an overpass and you hit it into the net, and then a serve that is probably going out but you misplay it for an ace.

[pbmu]

UW barely escapes 3-1
25-23

._.

[mikegarrison]

Well, Washington escaped getting a mauling.

[bucky415]

Sometimes you just win.

[mikegarrison]

Oct 21, 2021 16:36:02 GMT -5 mikegarrison said:

PAC-12 teams that did not sweep Cal: ASU, Arizona, USC, Stanford

... and Washington.

[pbmu]

Hoffman 17k .405
Drechsel 16k .517
Grote 8k .467 6bl
UW 10 blocks

Bergmark 16k .517
Schmidt 14k .286

[hammer]

First time looking at this thread, and I'm dumbfounded.

[alwayslearning]

Back from the match. That was an uncomfortable win. After trying mightily to gift the first set to Cal (Cal ungraciously refused to take the gift), the Husky defense continued to look like swiss cheese in the second set. This should not be happening midway through the conference season at home to one of the bottom feeders.

It is no wonder Cook talks about the team's defense after almost every match. The firepower is there. The setting is there. The blocking should be better and the floor defense is . . . pretty bad. The Huskies really seem to have a hard time anticipating where the ball is going to go, whether it's the angles on hard hit balls, or tips, or even free balls. Bays is struggling with this but you anticipate a freshman libero with less than half a season on the court to struggle with this. But the gears just aren't meshing well on defense; the Huskies make plays that should look fairly routine look really difficult. Then there's the inconsistency, especially at the beginning of matches. It wasn't until the third set that a strong defensive mindset kicked in.

On Sunday, the Huskies need to play a different level of defense. But I really think the key against Stanford will be how much pressure UW's service game puts on the Card. Tonight, Cal passed really well. I'd give the Husky service game a C grade but I'd give Cal's serve receive an A. If the same thing happens against Stanford, look out. If, on the other hand, the Huskies can get their service mojo going, I like their chances. I think they'll be fired up for this match and the problem of playing down to the competition (see Montana State; see Cal) will not exist with Stanford. Should be interesting.

[pbmu]

I agree, props to Cal, their serve receive and passing overall was really good, and they did it with Mirkovic who had to play libero tonight (19 digs)

[redbeard2008]

I thought Cal played well. With Lydia Grote as a six-rotation outside and Mirkovic at Libero, Cal has much-improved ball control, floor defense, etc. I thought it was more Cal playing up to the competition than UW playing down to it.

Hoffman 17k 2e 37ta .405
Drechsel 16k 1e 29ta .517
Grote 8k 1e 15ta .467
Sanders 5k 2e 11ta .273
Endsley 5k 2e 13ta .231

with the only sore spot being

Bush 2k 5e 16ta -.188

Freshman of the Week one week, just a freshman the next...

I'm assuming the guy wearing the split gold/purple, Cal/UW, "Grote 12" jersey was their dad. He couldn't lose, either way!

[redbeard2008]

Washington proves too much for struggling California in four-set win

“[Drechsel’s] biggest leadership contribution is just the load that she has to carry on the court,” head coach Keegan Cook said. “Her best contributions are being a great competitor and contributing at so many phases. That’s a lot to ask for anyone.”

“We’ve done pretty good at responding in the third set this year,” Cook said. “We made some adjustments tactically but mostly just committed to making some plays at the neck and behind it.”

“Have to give some credit to [California] for executing offensively for long stretches,” Cook said. “They challenged the team to be better defensively in the third set and I was really excited about what I saw from our team, just showing a glimpse of what we’re capable of.”

[pbmu]

Oct 23, 2021 1:06:12 GMT -5 redbeard2008 said:

I'm assuming the guy wearing the split gold/purple, Cal/UW, "Grote 12" jersey was their dad. He couldn't lose, either way!

I wonder which game Mr Grote will attend on Sunday 

[tomclen]

First place (tied) in the PAC.

Longest win streak (7) in the PAC.

But UW is not inspiring confidence. Especially after eking out a win over a team that was coming into Hec Ed having dropped 16 straight sets.

It's still these long stretches of not being able to side out.

In set 1, the Dawgs gave up runs of 4 and 3 points by Cal.
In set 2, runs of 3, 3, and 5.
Set 3 (the romp) only one run of 3
Set 4, runs of 3 & 4.

That may not look like much, but it's what kept Cal close in every set but the 3rd.

[alwayslearning]

Oct 23, 2021 1:06:12 GMT -5 redbeard2008 said:

I'm assuming the guy wearing the split gold/purple, Cal/UW, "Grote 12" jersey was their dad. He couldn't lose, either way!

I saw that. Loved it.