Stanford volleyball falls to third in tough Pac-10 Stanford volleyball falls to third in tough Pac-10 (October 12, 2005)

by Rick Eymer

There was enough talented athletes on the floor of Maples Pavilion on Saturday night to form a competitive national women's volleyball team for the United States.

Third-ranked Stanford has its fair share of players with international experience, but it was second-ranked Washington which made all the right moves in a 30-24, 30-28, 30-32, 30-15 victory over the Cardinal in a Pac-10 Conference match.

Stanford (5-1, 16-2) beat visiting Washington State, 30-12, 30-16, 30-24, on Friday night.

The Cardinal fell into third place in the country's toughest conference (six teams ranked 22nd or higher) behind undefeated California and Washington heading into Thursday night's 7 p.m. match at fourth-place Arizona.

Washington (5-0, 14-0) features five seniors in a lineup that also boasts of four All-Americans. The Huskies are also the defending Pac-10 champs and reached the semifinals of the NCAA tournament before their season was ended by Stanford.

The Huskies not only had the motivation, they also had the experience and talent to overcome anything Stanford (which has just two seniors on the roster) could throw at them.

"Whether we like it or not, age and experience play into it a lot as far as team goes," Stanford junior outside hitter Kristin Richards said. "We have a lot of potential but I don't think we're there yet. I'm proud of the freshmen, proud of their effort, energy, and work ethic. But we still have a lot to work on."

There were times when Stanford had three freshmen on the court at the same time Washington had three seniors, two of whom are All-Americans.

"We are experienced for our age," Stanford coach John Dunning said. "We have enough good players to be as good as we want to be. We went through years where our key people were all juniors and seniors and it does make a difference. Our youth is experienced enough to win once we figure out what we want to do. This is the best era in Washington history and they have a chance to make it happen."

Stanford's only other loss this season was to top-ranked Nebraska, another senior-laden team.

The Huskies are a relentless bunch with an attack that can come from anywhere. Sophomore Christal Morrison was the deadliest hitter with 26 kills and a .550 hitting percentage. Seniors Sanja Tomasevic, from Serbia and Montenegro, and Brie Hagerty also reached double figures in kills. Five Huskies reached double figures in digs.

Stanford also has a varied attack. Richards recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 18 digs, while freshmen Cynthia Barboza and Foluke Akinradewo also reached double figures in kills. Senior Courtney Schultz added 18 digs while sophomore Bryn Kehoe had 60 assists and 13 digs.

Washington, which hit .355 as a team to Stanford's .247, also displayed the killer instinct that the Cardinal will eventually incorporate into their game as they continue to develop. After losing Game 3, the Huskies didn't give Stanford much hope in Game 4.

"They blew us apart in Game 4," Dunning said.

The loss to Nebraska came in Stanford's second game of the season. Washington ended a 15-match Cardinal winning streak.

"We're still OK, no doubt about it," Dunning said. "The biggest thing is going through a period of having to fit it together. We haven't got a lineup close to being set. I think of it as being a yardstick. If we get 12 inches better at 10 different things than they do, we could be a lot better. How do we know how much better they are? We have to understand we have to get better."

With four freshmen and two sophomores who see a lot of playing time, the learning curve appears to be greater for Stanford.

"I think our potential is scary," Richards said. "We have so much depth on the team. We have a long way to go before we peak. When the important matches come around we'll have people who will perform. There are great athletes here."

Arizona, ranked 12th in the nation, presents yet another challenge for the Cardinal. The Wildcats have three seniors who play important roles.

"We have to keep taking care of business," said Richards, who had a match-high 20 kills and hit .607 against the Cougars. "We're going into that match with the right attitude. We'll come back to practice with things to work on."

NOTES: Akinradewo and junior Nji Nnamani, younger sister to four-time All-American and Olympian Ogonna Nnamani, combined to hit .531 against Washington. The rest of the team hit .138 . . . Lizzie Suiter, who led the Pac-10 in solo blocks (50) and total blocks (198) last year, suffered an eye injury during practice last week and is out indefinitely. She's also missed time with an ankle injury . . . Richards moved into ninth place on Stanford's all-time digs list with 1,053. With 35 more digs, she'll moved past Amy Hayes and Bev Oden into seventh place. Richards also has 1,111 kills, 110 shy of breaking into the top 10.

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