Stanford women's volleyball (11-1) ready for USC, UCLA Stanford women's volleyball (11-1) ready for USC, UCLA (September 21, 2005)

by Rick Eymer

Katie Goldhahn calls it "a time to breath," although those days will be few as the Stanford women's volleyball prepares for its Pac-10 openers this weekend.

Now that the tough preseason (five opponents were in the NCAA tournament last year) is finished, Stanford turns its attention to the conference schedule, which begins when USC visits on Friday at 7 p.m. and continues when UCLA comes to town on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Stanford completed its whirlwind tour of all four time zones over the weekend, winning its own Stanford Invitational with three victories.

For a couple of days at least, the Cardinal can breathe easy. But with the beginning of classes on the horizon, this weekend figures to abuzz with activity as well.

The third-ranked Cardinal (11-1) know all too well that while the first part of the schedule was harsh in terms of highly-regarded opponents and travel, when it comes to the Pac-10 the degree of difficulty soars to new heights.

"All three years I've been here we've come in second in the Pac-10," Stanford senior libero Courtney Schultz said. "It is a lofty goal we have not yet achieved but we will work hard."

Stanford built momentum entering conference play by stretching its winning streak to 10 matches. Freshman Foluke Akinradewo earned tournament MVP honors and freshman Cynthia Barboza and junior Kristin Richards joined her on the all-tournament team.

The Cardinal defeated UC Santa Barbara, 30-28, 26-30, 30-23, 30-21, on Saturday as Schultz recorded a career-high 23 digs and Richards added 15 kills and 21 digs. Barboza had 20 kills and Akinradewo added 16. Sophomore setter Bryn Kehoe set for 65 assists.

Stanford dropped Utah State, 30-19, 30-16, 30-23 on Friday after knocking off St. Mary's, 30-20, 30-22, 30-21, on Thursday.

Schultz and Goldhahn, defensive specialist/setter, are the only seniors on a team that includes five freshmen (though Menlo School grad Alex Fisher is a redshirt this season), five juniors and three sophomores. After finishing second so many times, winning the conference title would be a nice touch.

"We all know it's up for grabs," Goldhahn said. "We're coming off a preseason in which we were exposed to different styles of play. The teams in the Pac-10 have similar styles. Besides, none of us like losing to USC or UCLA and that's another factor added to the equation."

The Pac-10 traditionally earns high grades for being the toughest volleyball conference in the nation from top to bottom. Six teams are currently in the top 25 and Washington is top-ranked. Every team in the conference have at least a .500 mark, and a Pac-10 team has won the last four national titles, including Stanford last year.

Overall, Pac-10 teams are responsible for 12 of the 24 NCAA titles awarded, and 10 of the last 15. The conference's record - all 10 teams have made at least two appearances - in the NCAA tournament is an impressive 247-125, and 45 of those losses were to Pac-10 teams.

"In some ways we're ready," Stanford coach John Dunning said. "We're a young team and there's no doubt our freshmen are good but it's a team game, and the longer we play together the better we'll get."

The starting lineup features three freshmen in Akinradewo, Barboza and Erin Waller. A fourth, Jessica Fishburn, gets plenty of playing time. Junior Nji Nnamani, Ogonna Nnamani's younger sister, is starting for the first time. Richards, Schultz and Kehoe are the other starters.

Waller is slowly working herself into playing shape as she recovers from an elbow injury. Junior middle blocker Liz Suiter, who started last year, played - sparingly - for the first time all season last weekend. Sophomore Franci Girard was a starter last year.

The freshmen are also working themselves into a new system. Akinradewo and Barboza have had international experience and that's an advantage but there's still a difference at the college level.

"Internationally players are stronger, hit harder and are faster," Goldhahn said. "But the game is different. They have to learn our system and then there's just getting used to college ball. People who come into the program have expectations, so it's not like we have to talk to them every day. We have great freshmen who already have that experienced mindset."

The freshmen appear comfortable on the court and it's unlikely that any of them are overwhelmed by the system. But there's still plenty of indoctrination ahead for them, including the first day of classes on Monday.

"Freshman year is exciting," Schultz said. "It's a time to meet new people, and we do have to keep them focused. The national team is a high level, but it's not how we play. We're excited to get to Pac-10 though."

Akinradewo, in particular, has seemed to meld into the scheme of things quite well. She played with Kehoe on one of the United States national teams over the summer and is already getting nicely timed sets.

"She's so comfortable on the court," Schultz said. "She doesn't get frustrated easily."

"The team already has a lot of confidence in her," Goldhahn said. "She's another go-to person in tight spots. She handles herself well and is a huge threat in the middle."

Goldhahn, who was primarily a setter for the Cardinal during her first two seasons, has moved into a different role the last two years.

"She's really done a nice job for the team," Dunning said. "She's had lots of experience on a variety of roles."

Schultz has also played at various spots on the court - she was a middle blocker in high school - and injuries have limited her ability to jump and swing. That doesn't stop her from contributing in other ways.

"She has a fine touch passing; as good as anybody," Dunning said. "Once we found that out, we began working on it and she's become our libero."

USC (4-4) has had to replace several of its top players and also had one of the toughest schedules in the nation. The Women of Troy lost to Penn State and Hawaii, both in Hawaii, and all four losses have come on the road.

UCLA (7-2) remains one of the top programs in the nation and won two of three matches in the Wisconsin tournament last weekend.

NOTES: Dunning added an assistant coach to the staff. Olympian and National College Player of the Year Ogonna Nnamani joined the coaching staff as an undergrad assistant coach. She has one quarter of school remaining to finish her degree. She took off two quarters to play in the Olympics. "It's great to have her around for as long as she wants," Dunning said . . . Richards reached the 1,000 mark in kills with nine against Utah State on Friday. She has 1,023 entering the USC match. Richards needs 17 digs to reach 1,000 in that category . . . Boxes will be manned at the entrances to Maples Pavilion this weekend to collect donations toward relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

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