College | Washington volleyball has plenty to be thankful for in win over Stanford

Huskies “on cloud nine” after knocking off #1 Cardinal before 8,646

#5 Washington def. #1 Stanford 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20)

• #5 Washington @ Washington State | Fri, Nov 28 | 5PM
• NCAA Selection Show | Sun, Nov 30 | 5:30PM | ESPNU

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Your Volleyblog Seattle correspondents were on assignment this week for Volleyball Magazine, where we are regular contributors. Please see our full report—and more photos—here on the Volleyball Magazine website. And be sure to let all your Facebook friends know they can check for new posts by friending the Volleyblog Seattle Facebook page.

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Washington players celebrate a point during their 3-1 victory over previously-undefeated Stanford
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Items not included in the Volleyball Magazine report …

WHAT A CROWD

It was a weeknight. During rush hour. On a drizzly night. At a venue surrounded by construction. Where parking is expensive. On the night before Thanksgiving.

Every ingredient for an attendance disaster.

8,646 fans filled Alaska Airlines Arena on Thanksgiving Eve, the nation's largest volleyball crowd this season
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

But as we sat on press row with our colleague Terry Wood, we marveled as Alaska Airlines Arena filled to the rafters. “There might be 5,000 people here tonight,” we said about 15 minutes before the match. “Hey, it could be 7,000,” we said after the National Anthem. Officially, the crowd was 8,646, making it:

• The largest attendance of any NCAA match so far this season (8,585 saw Penn State @ Nebraska on October 3, 2014 in Devany Center)
• The second-biggest attendance in Pac-12/10 regular-season history (9,141 saw Stanford @ Arizona on October 11, 2002 in McKale Center)
• The best attendance in Alaska Airlines Arena/Hec Ed Pavilion history (7,809 saw UCLA @ Washington on October 16, 2009)

The Washington student section was full despite the Thanksgiving holiday
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

All that despite the match being utterly ignored by most media, or buried deep beneath stories about the Seahawks, Huskies football and Sounders. Look for more on that topic in an upcoming post.

WHAT A PERFORMANCE

After the match, every coach and every player from both teams agreed: Washington’s serving and passing made the difference.

“It’s always serve and pass,” said Stanford coach John Dunning. “They won the serve and pass game. From the very first play.”

Washington's Bailey Tanner (13) sets as Courtney Schwan (4) gets ready
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Stanford outside hitter Jordan Burgess lamented that serving and passing are “one of the first things to go when you get in tough environments.” “They’re a great serving team,” she said, “especially when they’re at home.”

The very first serve of the match was a Tia Scambray ace, right at the feet of Cardinal libero Kyle Gilbert. Three rotations later, Krista Vansant clipped the tape for an ace. The next Washington server, Cassie Strickland, boomed an ace off Gilbert. And when Scambray rotated back to the line, she fired yet another ace, giving the Huskies a 10-6 lead and forcing Stanford’s first timeout.

For the match, Washington tallied 9 aces, led by 4 from Strickland. Stanford connected on just four aces, two apiece from Brittany Howard and Madi Bugg.

Serving, however, is more than aces. Washington’s servers consistently drove Stanford’s passers deep, often handcuffing them with flat line drives. By comparison, Vansant, Strickland and Scambray delivered clean passes to setters Katy Beals and Bailey Tanner, allowing them to distribute to all their hitters, especially the middles.

“Our setters were reading Stanford’s block and adjusting,” said middle blocker Lianna Sybeldon. “Our tempo was better.” That, she said, allowed her to be patient in that split-second when she had to decide how to get past 6-3 All-American Inky Ajanaku or 6-8 freshman Merete Lutz. “If we make good turns, then no matter what, a good hitter can always beat a good blocker.”

“Stanford has girls (Ajanaku and Lutz) who are gnarly up there,” said Tanner. “Our middles did a super-good job of hitting high and deep. They hit the corners and made their back row touch balls. Stanford just couldn’t keep up with the speed.”

REALLY BIG NUMBERS

Dunning may have had the quote of the night when he told Terry Wood and Volleyblog Seattle, “They just out-offensed us tonight.”

Washington's Kaleigh Nelson (6) attacks against Stanford's Merete Lutz (17) and Jordan Burgess (23)
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Coming into the match, Stanford led the nation with a .317 hitting percentage. Washington was second at .313. But last night, the Huskies outhit the Cardinal .331 to .265, including .457 to .343 in the fourth set.

In its previous 28 matches this season—all victories—the best any opponent had managed against Stanford was Arizona’s .259 on October 10. That’s 72 points below what the Huskies hit last night. For the season, Stanford opponents to hit an average of just .173, a percentage UW nearly doubled.

We should note that, over the previous three matches (Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford,) Melanie Wade has a combined 20 kills and zero errors on 28 swings (.714). During that same span, Krista Vansant has averaged 5.3 kills per set.

Washington's Krista Vansant attacks against Madi Bugg (22) and Inky Ajanaku (12)
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

ADVICE FROM EUROPE

Cassie Strickland just gets better by the week. Many of her 16 digs reminded fans of a wide receiver or a center fielder laying out for a ball no one else can reach.

But it’s Strickland’s serving that most fans come to see. As the only jump server among the Huskies’ regulars, her high-risk/high-reward serves make for high drama.

The key, she says, it getting the toss both high enough and far enough in front of her, preferably several feet into the court. “It’s mental,” she says.

This week, Strickland texted Olympian and legendary Washington All-American Courtney Thompson for advice on that mental issue. Thompson, whose club team, Volero Zurich, is in Russia for a Champions League match, was happy to help. “Courtney said, just have the same thoughts in games that you have in practice. Get into a routine.”

And did it help? “I tightened up my thoughts in the game,” Strickland said. “Courtney helped me a lot just to focus.”

Washington's Cassie Strickland (foreground) with one of her 16 digs
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

WHAT’S ON YOUR THANKSGIVING TABLE?

Long after the match, excited fans mingled with players on the court. Even as the main lights were being dimmed, and ushers were asking people to head home, Strickland and other teammates hung on the court with family and friends. “Right now,” Strickland admitted, “everyone’s on cloud nine.”

So what are the team’s Thanksgiving plans?

“Film at 9AM, then we fly out to Pullman,” Strickland said.

What about Thanksgiving dinner?

“Subway sandwiches. Yep, that’s right. No kidding. I already placed my order.”