Stanford Escapes With Win Cardinal Nips Cougars Before Sellout Crowd In Bohler Gym
When the adrenaline, emotions and crowd noise dissipates, what’s left is talent, skill and experience. Stanford had more of the latter Friday night against Washington State.
The No. 4-ranked Cardinal defeated No. 7 WSU 8-15, 15-8, 12-15, 15-4, 15-7 in front of 4,039 fans at Bohler Gym. The standing-room-only crowd was the first-ever sellout of a WSU volleyball match.
Stanford moved into sole possession of first place in the Pac-10 and put its record at 7-0 in conference and 11-2 on the season. Stanford ended WSU’s 13-match win streak and put the Cougars at 5-1 in the conference and 13-1 overall.
The Cougars, who face California tonight in Bohler at 7, got a little breathing room in the Pac-10’s second-place position because No. 6 UCLA (4-3, 8-4) was defeated by No. 17 USC (4-3, 6-4). The Los Angeles schools are tied for third place.
In Friday night’s battle for first place, Stanford showed why it is the defending national champion. The Cardinal won the last two games of the night handily.
“Were we nervous? I don’t think so,” WSU junior outside hitter Sarah Silvernail said. “I think we sometimes have a tendency, due to inexperience, to let down. In game five, their experience showed through.”
Silvernail finished with a matchhigh 21 kills.
While inexperience certainly figured into the contest (Stanford is 2-2 in matches that have reached five sets while WSU is 0-1), often times sloppy play hurt the Cougars.
WSU came into the match averaging 20 errors a game. Friday the Cougars committed 41. In the long run, the mistakes took a toll on their offense. WSU entered the match with a .296 hitting percentage. The Cougars started out great against Stanford and hit .289 after the winning the first game. By the end of the night, however, that figure had slumped to .155.
“We started playing tight after the third game,” WSU coach Cindy Fredrick said. “We weren’t as aggressive as we were in the first three. They’ve got a lot of seasoned players and veterans. Stanford is hard to rattle.”
The first three games lasted 30 minutes each, but the fourth lasted half that and in the rally-scoring format in the fifth game, Stanford used just 12 minutes to grab the decisive game.
When all was said and done, some frightening facts were brought to light by the Stanford side. The team and its marquee player are still out of sync with each other.
“After this game, I’m really confident in this team’s competitive spirit,” Cardinal coach Don Shaw said. “We’re doing pretty well even though we’re struggling. If we pass the ball well, we can be pretty scary.
“There were moments tonight where we didn’t do that, but I think it’s just a matter of time before it all comes together,” said Shaw, who got his 300th career win.
Stanford star Kristin Folkl said a lot of the reason the team is out of sync is because she is out of rhythm with them. She just returned to the team two weeks ago from a trip to the Far East with the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team.
“I’m still trying to get myself together with my teammates,” Folkl said. “I’m still just too hot and cold.”
On the positive side for the Cougars, Fredrick said she was happy her team was disappointed after the loss.
“They’re not happy they took Stanford to five games,” she said. “Last year, I would have been happy to have taken Stanford to five. This year, I feel like we have a chance to beat Stanford.”
Folkl, last year’s freshman of the year, said there is definitely a world of difference between WSU in ‘95 and the ‘94 Cougars.
“There’s a difference between night and day,” Folkl said. “We watched a lot of game tape, and they are definitely deserving of their record. But when you go up against them, that’s when I realized how hard they hit.”
The rematch will take place Nov. 6 at Palo Alto, Calif.
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