Badgers Coach Likes Pairing In Title Contest

John Cook has had that singular feeling.

The University of Wisconsin volleyball coach is the only coach who guided his team to a victory over top-seeded Penn State (34-1) this year.

The Badgers, upset at home in the Central Regional final last week, took down the Nittany Lions 15-11, 7-15, 15-6, 15-9 at Madison, Wis., on Oct. 31. It was the second meeting between the co-Big Ten Conference champions, with Penn State winning 15-11, 15-9, 15-11 earlier.

“I think it’s going to be a really good matchup, and it’s probably going to be better for Penn State to play Stanford than Long Beach,” said Cook, in town for the tournament, as well as the American Volleyball Coaches Association convention.

“Penn State will match up better with a more physical team (like Stanford) and is going to be able to control (Kristin) Folkl and (Kerri) Walsh better than Long Beach could.”

But can Stanford break down the Nittany Lions’ finely-tuned offense?

“You’ve got to get one of their passers in trouble,” said Cook. “Either (Carrie) Schonveld or (Christy) Cochran. If you get them struggling, they can’t set the middle and that’s their strength.”

For the skinny on Stanford …

We turned to Lisa Love, coach of the Pac-10 Conference runner-up Southern California team and Washington State’s Cindy Fredrick, whose Cougars handed Stanford one of its two conference losses in the past four seasons.

Love pointed to Penn State’s serving as one of the keys.

“Serving has been a resource for them all year long,” said Love, whose team took a game off Stanford this year. “If they serve particularly well, that could make Stanford a little more predictable and then Penn State can rely on its outstanding defense.”

Love also sees blocking as a possible deciding factor. Both teams are among the best blockers in the country, with Penn State finishing the season ranked second (3.86) and Stanford third (3.60).

“If Penn State could keep Stanford predictable and play Penn State-style this is going to be a great match,” she said.

Fredrick also focused on defense.

”(Penn State middle blocker Terri) Zemaitis is an absolutely outstanding middle hitter,” she said. “I think Penn State maybe has a little bit of an edge on defense. But when I look at Stanford Thursday night, they played great defense.”

How do you beat Stanford?

“Don’t ask me, I lost to them twice,” Fredrick said good-naturedly.

Surprised, but not Misty-eyed

Long Beach State junior Misty May was named AVCA Division I national player of the year Friday.

May, a two-time Big West Conference player of the year, is considered the most diverse player in the country, playing both setter and outside hitter.

“I was surprised,” said May, a 5-foot-9 junior. “There was a lot of tough competition… . like (Stanford’s) Kristin Folkl.

The Cardinal beat the 49ers 3-1 in Thursday night’s semifinal round.

Quick hits

When Penn State beat Stanford at Maples Pavilion this season, it snapped the Cardinal’s 50-match home winning streak… . The teams’ two common opponents this year were Connecticut and Missouri. Both played and swept UConn and Missouri at the Connecticut Tournament… . Penn State and Stanford enter today’s match with just 11 game defeats apiece… . Penn State coach Russ Rose’s career record is 620-118 over 19 seasons and Stanford’s Don Shaw is 381-63 over 14 years.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

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