#6 UCLA def. #13 USC 3-0
#1 Cal def. #2 Stanford 3-1
#13 USC def. #4 Washington 3-0
Hang on for a wild season …
 |
| Summer Ross (99) attacks; USC libero Natalie Hagglund (3) gets into position [Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann] |
How did USC beat UW?
·
UW’s
youth showed. Freshman Krista
Vansant seemed unfocused during the first set (4 hitting errors, 2 serving
errors.) She committed just one more hitting error the rest of the way, en
route to a team-high 10 kills, and seemed far more at ease as the match wore
on. That said, the Huskies’ only lead of the entire match came during a stretch
of the third set when 3 freshmen and a senior transfer were in the lineup.
·
Setter/Hitter
timing was off. Setter Evan Sanders
had good rhythm with MB Lauren Barfield
(7 kills, 1 error, .400), but Sanders and MB Bianca Rowland never clicked, and Rowland had one of the worst stat
nights of her career (7 kills, 5 errors, .080).
·
UW’s
attack was too predictable. Vansant and Kylin Muñoz sent far too many attacks cross-court, where USC libero
Natalie Hagglund gobbled them up (30
digs). Muñoz (.154 on 26 swings) got into such a rut that she was pulled for
redshirt freshman Kaleigh Nelson,
who didn’t fare much better (-.111 on 9 swings.)
·
Summer
Ross was underused. Sanders got lots of decent passes, but rarely set Summer Ross on the right side (9
attacks for Ross compared to 39 for Vansant and 35 for Muñoz/Nelson.) A
hallmark of Jim McLaughlin teams is
the right side attack, and these numbers will have to change.
USC came into Hec Ed hungry. It returned the heart of last
season’s Final Four team, and was embarrassed by early sweeps at the hands of
rival UCLA and unheralded Central Florida. A loss to the Huskies
could have put the team in a deep funk. The Trojans played defense like a team
that refused to lose, particularly digging cannon shots from Vansant and Rowland
which might have turned the tide in sets 2 and 3.
Have your friends
discovered Volleyblog Seattle?
Why not share
this post via Facebook/Twitter/Google+! Just click the convenient link, below
...
Your comments are
always welcome, too …
|
The other stat that killed momentum was Service errors. Some of the Dawgs best server's flubbed and killed some momentum and, perhaps, created doubt in the team.
ReplyDeletehighlandpark, I have to agree.
ReplyDeleteBoth teams served poorly, but UW's errors came at critical points.
UW's float serves work best when delivered to the deep corners, away from the libero.
I wasn't able to make it to the match but thankfully it's available online. I was surprised with the set Choices by Sanders. I've expected more oppo hits by Ross where know this is such a dominant position in the UW history.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with all your points and hopefully tonight is better vs UCLA