Pac-12 | Huskies begin Slovenia/Italy tour

Washington prevails in first scrimmage

Former Husky Janine Sandell selected to Britain's Olympic Volleyball squad

Janine Sandell--a fierce competitor and one of the nicest players to don a Washington volleyball uniform--has been named to the 12-member Great Britain Olympic women's volleyball team.

Janine Sandell (19) in Beijing with her Washington teammates in 2006
Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Sandell played her senior year at Washington, after she (and a host of other players) transferred from UC Santa Barbara after the 2005 season. As a powerful starting hitter, Sandell was instrumental in the Huskies' third straight Final Four appearance.

Sandell--who was born in London and raised in the United States--has played professionally in Europe and toured extensively with the British National Team.

As host of the London Games, all British team sports automatically earn an Olympic berth. In the most recent world rankings (from January), Britain's women's volleyball team was 69th. It will compete in Pool A; the USA--which may include Sandell's former Washington teammates Tama Miyashiro and Courtney Thompson--is in Pool B [see below]

Those of us at Volleyblog Seattle got to know Sandell during Washington's 2006 tour of China. She stood out as someone who looked beyond the public relations spin to notice and question the plight of ordinary Chinese citizens. With family members and friends spread around the world, she's clearly one of athletes who represents the spirit that the Olympics try so hard to project.

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Women's Volleyball Pools
2012 London Olympic Games:

Pool A	Pool B
Great Britain	USA
Japan	Brazil
Italy	China
Russia	Serbia
Dominican Republic	Turkey
Algeria	Korea

see also:

• Catching Up With Janine Sandell (interview with Washington Asst. Sports Information Director Mike Bruscas)
• Men's and Women's Volleyball Squads Selected to Team GB (press release)

A set to remember

It was, in retrospect, the play of the match.

UCLA 21, UW 20, first set. The Bruins sent an impossible shot across the net; a sure point. Somehow, Huskies’ freshman Summer Ross reached out and behind, popping the ball high enough for teammates to continue the rally.

Ross’ heroics was the most memorable play in one of the most memorable college volleyball sets in recent memory.

Washington Huskies celebrate a point against UCLA
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

Part of today’s blog post is drama. The other—bear with us—is statistics.

The numbers tell much of the story. The final score of the first set was 26-24, UW. Of Washington’s 26 points, 19 came from kills. Of UCLA’s 24 points, 18 came from kills. That means exactly 74% of all points that set came from successful attacks.

Why is that such a big deal? In rally scoring, a team gets a point whenever the other team makes a mistake—service error, hitting error, rule violation (net, double contact, illegal block or attack, etc.)—which usually accounts for a roughly half of each side’s points. Add to that a team’s own service aces or blocks, and a team usually averages about 13 kills per set. (At the moment, the Pac-12 season average—conference and nonconference—is 13.05 kills per set.)

Adjusting for the fact that some sets go beyond 25 points, and that fifth sets (when played) end when one team reaches 15 points, we can still see that approximately half of all points in a set are scored via kills. Last night’s first set was an amazing 50% higher than that average.

Washington Volleyball Sports Information Director Mike Bruscas ran some numbers at our request, and reports that, last season, the Huskies recorded 22 kills in a 28-30 second set loss in—coincidentally—Pauley Pavilion, against the Bruins (.785). UCLA had 18 kills that set, so the combined kills/set percentage (.689) of both teams was lower than last night’s set one combined total (.740). The highest total he was able to find (on short notice) was the fourth set of last season’s UW match at Stanford, when the teams combined for 46 kills and 62 points (Stanford won the fourth set, 32-30; UW had 24 kills (80% of points were kills) to Stanford’s 22 (69%)). Scoring during that set, like last night, was 74% kills.

What it all means is that—once or twice a season—two elite teams face off in a set where neither can count on the opponent’s mistakes. Both teams execute pass/set/kill to near-perfection. In the old “side out” days before rally scoring, these were the sets that could stretch on forever, since teams scored only when they had the serve. When it happens, it’s wonderful drama, best savored in person.

The rally extended by Summer Ross’ big save ended with a slick roll shot kill by fellow freshman Krista Vansant. Two Kelly Holford serves later, Washington had its first lead of the night. Several rallies later—including two close line calls that went the Huskies’ way—UW had its first set victory of the new Pac-12 conference season. Without the Ross save, Holford wouldn’t have had the chance to serve five in a row. As it was, the Bruins never recovered.

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