49ers’ Defense Gives Stanford Early Trouble

Stanford beat Long Beach State and earned another shot at Penn State in Saturday’s NCAA championship game after coach Don Shaw stopped over-coaching.

At least that’s the impression the Stanford coach left after his team came back to eliminate Long Beach.

“Long Beach played some great defense and we were a little out of sorts (in a Game 1 loss),” Shaw said. “I may have been to blame for part of that. We started a rotation we don’t always start in.

“I thought we had some great matchups in the first game, the way we lined up, but we didn’t hit the ball very well. The plan, as far as matchups went, really went awry. So we went back to a plan we were a little bit more comfortable with.”

Shaw was more than happy to take the 1-1 tie heading into the third game.

“As poorly as we were executing on offense, I thought (then) that we had a great chance to win the match,” he said.

Stanford applauded Jessica Alvarado, who hadn’t played in a month after injuring her hand in a November practice. She triggered a fourth-game comeback that sent Long Beach on a 10-1 run.

“When Alvarado came in with this club on her hand and passed a very tough serve right on the money, they were able to run a quick attack off of it,” Shaw said. “They just got cranked up.

“She’s one of those heart-and-soul emotional leaders. They were stronger earlier in the year with her in there.”

The decisive fourth game was decided in a rush, when Kristin Folkl took over after a slow start.

Third try a charm?

Penn State swept the Cardinal back in August at Stanford and beat them two weeks later on a neutral court in Connecticut.

“We’re going to play a lot better,” Shaw said. “We weren’t ready for them in August and September. We weren’t ready for anybody that good. We’re a much better team now.”

Name that tune

Just as the Penn State entourage headed by coach Russ Rose was settling in for its post-match chat with the press, following its sweep of Florida, Arena personnel were having trouble cutting off music piped into the media room.

Through the speakers came Jimmy Buffet, wasting away in Margaritaville. When Buffet twanged, “… But it’s a real beauty,” Rose said, “That’s the appropriate phrase right there.”

It was a timely ad-lib but didn’t really capture how the coach felt about his team’s 15-11, 15-12, 15-13 march through the semifinals.

It wasn’t a masterpiece of volleyball out there, Rose said. The tempo was slow. The game wasn’t really that well-played. His right-side defense was a little suspect. They didn’t dig. The Nittany Lions didn’t block particularly well, either. And sophomore setter Bonnie Bremner, for one, has had better nights.

This from the coach who swept.

Sounds like Russ Rose has taken Joe Paterno lessons. Both Penn State coaches can be tough to please.

“I thought our setting was a little erratic,” Rose said, “but she (Bremner) is a young person. She’s entitled to be a little tight. It wasn’t really a question of saying anything to her. She was crazy at the end - looking at us for who to set. I was a little surprised about that because Bonnie usually has a pretty good feel for the game.”

The 6-foot-2 senior leader of the Nittany Lions - Terri Zemaitis - had the best advice for the young setter, Rose said.

“Set me,” Zemaitis told Bremner.

Zemaitis didn’t remember it quite that way but the message was clear. Zemaitis, and sophomore Carrie Schonveld, stepped up whenever momentum shifted to the Gators.

Passing no problem for Lions

Passing was one aspect of the Lions’ game that Rose liked.

“If we’re passing well, I’m less concerned (about the other stuff) because I understand the importance of that skill.”

Penn State was hitting into a solid blocking team that got better as the match wore on.

“Florida is to be commended,” Rose said. “They were in position to where they could have won each of the three games.”

Best of the rest

Florida did what it set out to do, but mistakes - unforced hitting errors - were fatal.

The Gators outblocked Penn State but “they don’t hit balls out of bounds,” Gators coach Mary Wise said. “They keep rallies going and eventually wear you down to the point where you get impatient. And then, because of the size of their block, you try to hit a shot that’s just not available.

“Credit Penn State,” Wise said. “Terri Zemaitis, what a great player she is. Penn State is one of the top three teams here. I’d like to think the Gators are the best of the rest.”

, DataTimes