Sand | Husky Volleyball Hits the Beach [Terry Wood]

• Washington vs. Oregon | 10 AM | April 12 | Portland
• Washington vs. Portland State | 12 PM | April 12 | Portland
• Washington vs. Boise State | 2 PM | April 12 | Portland

Pac-12 | Washington’s assistant coach search wrapping up

Also: More new hires; Sand expands

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington’s win over Long Beach State

#7 Washington 3, Long Beach State 0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-23)

next: Tuesday, September 11 | 7pm | #7 Washington @ Portland

Long Beach State is probably the best 2-5 team in the nation. Their starting middles are out of the lineup with injuries, but they’ve got hitters who can pound the ball and a big-time setter. Washington’s 3-set sweep was no easy win.

Washington's Jenna Orlandini and Krista Vansant watch a Long Beach State attack go out-of-bounds
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

T

Summer rain: fact-checking sand volleyball’s appeal

DID RAIN REALLY DRIVE SUMMER ROSS AWAY?

Yes, it does get soggy in Seattle.

Even so, I took a double-take when I picked up the latest issue of Volleyball USA, the public affairs magazine of USA Volleyball. On the cover: Summer Ross. Inside, “Too much rain for Summer.” On page 29, this excerpt:

Summer Ross and Pepperdine capture Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championship

Summer Ross—indoor player for Washington turned sand player for Pepperdine—showed why she elected to take her game (and her college scholarship) to the beach.

Pepperdine, Florida State dominate sand volleyball pairs championship prelims

Four pairs—two each from Pepperdine and Florida State—went undefeated in pool play during the first day of the collegiate sand volleyball championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Inaugural Collegiate NCAA Sand Volleyball National Championship begin this Friday

Summer Ross, the freshman Pepperdine sand volleyball star who played indoors with Washington last fall, will be among the favorites to win the inaugural NCAA/AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship this weekend in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Ross, of Carlsbad, CA, partners with effervescent junior Caitlin Racich of Santa Barbara.

Washington volleyball confirms final recruit for 2012

Palo Alto’s Melanie Wade, ranked among the nation’s top high school seniors, is officially the fourth and final member of the Washington Huskies’ 2012 freshman volleyball class.

Melanie Wade

Sources confirmed that the University of Washington received Wade’s acceptance letter this week. The university’s athletic website reports that she’ll join the team this fall.

Wade, listed at 6-feet, 5-inches, has played both middle and right side. There should be strong competition at both positions this fall, with the graduation of senior middle blockers Bianca Rowland and Lauren Barfield, and the departure (for the Pepperdine sand volleyball team) of freshman right side hitter Summer Ross.

Wade grew up in the shadow of Washington rival Stanford; her Palo Alto High School team won back-to-back California D-1 state championships the past two seasons.

Wade was included on several prep All-American lists, and has competed in the USA Volleyball junior system.

Washington’s strong 2012 freshman class also includes setter Katy Beals (Austin, TX), libero Cassie Strickland (Huntington Beach, CA) and hitter/middle Lianna Sybeldon (Folsom, CA).

Summer Ross and sand volleyball partner win big vs. USC

MALIBU, CA—The sky was brilliant blue. The Zuma Beach sand grew warmer as the temperature inched past 75 degrees. It was spring, but Summer was in heaven.

Pepperdine's #1 sand volleyball dual Caitlin Racich and Summer Ross in action against USC
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

“I love this,” Summer Ross beamed. “I can go to school and play nothing but sand volleyball.”

Ross, a freshman, is half of Pepperdine’s #1 sand volleyball dual, after spending the fall playing indoor volleyball for Washington. Ross and irrepressible teammate Caitlin Racich are among the favorites to win the inaugural AVCA/NCAA sand championship later this month.

During a break in a daylong combination dual/pairs competition against USC, Ross talked about her transfer to Pepperdine. “I get to see my brother (Pepperdine men’s volleyball player Chase Ross) every day. It’s really great.”

Summer Ross blocks against USC at Zuma Beach
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Also great for Ross is the chance to play sand ball year round. “No more indoor for me,” she says, “It’s just sand.”

Ross says she left Washington on good terms, and says she stays in touch with her former Huskies teammates. She’s on a sand scholarship with the Waves, which means she is not eligible for the indoor team in fall.

But on the beach, Ross shows much of what made her special at Washington. Her defense is relentless, keeping rally after rally alive by instantly sticking out her forearms in near-perfect point-saving platforms. She plays with little outward emotion, rarely getting rattled by a lost opportunity. The same redirections, roll shots and dinks that sometimes baffled Washington fans are deadly weapons in the sand.

Against USC’s #1 dual of Sara Shaw and Geena Urango, Ross’s shy demeanor stood out next to her buoyant Pepperdine partner. Racich, a junior, plays with abandon, but sees the court well. Neither athlete makes many unforced errors.

“Sand is so different from indoor,” Racich said. “You have to be great at every volleyball skill, and you need to be ready to defend every inch of the court.”

Among those in the sun-drenched crowd of about 200 was USC indoor coach Mick Haley. Haley says he’s happy USC is the first (and, so far, only) Pac-12 school to compete in sand. “It’s definitely an advantage in recruiting,” he says, adding “for now.” But, he says, “I’d like all the Pac-12 schools to be playing in both fall and spring.

Stanford is building a campus sand arena for 2013. USC is also building it’s own campus complex, complete with bleachers. No other Pac-12 schools have yet committed to next season.

Pepperdine's Summer Ross
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Ross and Racich breezed past Shaw and Urango during the morning team dual competition, as Pepperdine won 4 matches to 1, to go 10-0 in team play this season. During the afternoon, Ross and Racich stayed unbeaten on the day, winning three matches to capture the pairs tournament, defeating USC’s Natalie  Hagglund and Katie Fuller in straight sets. The Waves and Trojans should be among the top contenders during the AVCA national championships at the end of April. And several players on both teams have their eyes on bigger prizes.

The London Olympics are this summer; the host in 2016 will be Rio de Janeiro.

“Beach ball is huge at the Olympic games,” Haley says, “and there is a demand for televised matches that will stretch next season and beyond.”

“Rio,” says Ross, “is definitely on my mind.”

MATCH NOTES:

• Both teams wear tank tops and shorts, a noticeable (and, some say, welcome) contrast to the skinny bikinis worn by pros and Olympians.
• Racich was a high school teammate of the late Sam Wopat. Wopat, a Stanford sophomore, took her own life last month just before final exams. "It hurts," Racich says. "The Wopat family needs all the love we can give."
• While Washington's indoor team began spring training this week, Haley held team drills in January, to accommodate sand.
• A refreshing difference in the sand game: no line judges. The up ref makes line calls, and asks players to help  with out-of-bounds calls when they can.

Summer Ross begins collegiate sand volleyball career with mixed results

Pepperdine’s Summer Ross—who spent three months playing indoor volleyball for Washington before transferring—suffered an unexpected loss in her first-ever collegiate sand volleyball dual match.

Summer Ross

Ross and her partner, Caitlin Racich, dropped their match yesterday against Long Beach State’s Tara Roenicke and Caitlin Ledoux, 21-19, 17-21, 6-15. Overall, Pepperdine won the dual competition 3-2.

Ross and Racich are the Waves’ Number 1 team. Last week, the pair reached the finals of the USC Invitational, defeating Roenicke and Ledoux along the way, before losing in the championships to Florida State’s Aurora Newgard and Brittany Tiegs, 21-16, 16-21, 10-15. Pepperdine won the three-day tournament, finishing ahead of USC, Florida State and Long Beach State.

At the USC Invitational, Ross and Racich scored impressive victories against several high-profile indoor players, including Florida State’s Jekaterina Stepanova (2nd team All-American) and USC’s Kendall Bateman (1st team All-American). Both USC's and FSU's indoor teams reached the 2011 Final Four. Long Beach’s Ledoux was an Honorable Mention All-American; Roenicke has competed with the US Junior National Indoor Team.

In 2011, Ross was selected USA Beach Player of the Year, after winning two international juniors tournaments, with two different partners. As a Washington freshman, Ross started all 32 matches, recording 167 kills, 115 blocks and a team-leading 27 service aces. She transferred to Pepperdine to be closer to her family’s San Diego home and to play NCAA sand volleyball. Her older brother, Chase Ross, is a starting outside hitter on the Waves’ men’s team.

Ross and her teammates are on their way to South Carolina, where they’ll compete this weekend in the Charleston Sand Classic, featuring Alabama-Birmingham, North Florida, Mercer and host College of Charleston.

---

A handy guide from the Pepperdine Sand Volleyball website:

SAND VOLLEYBALL 101 - Each team competition is called a dual and will consist of five pairs from one school versus five pairs from another school. Each match is worth one point towards the team score. In this best-of-five format, a winner is determined when a team scores at least three points (similar to how collegiate tennis duals are contested).

The separate matches consist of the best-of-three sets, with rally scoring to 21 in the first two sets and to 15 in the third set if necessary. Teams must win by at least two points.

Pairs competitions will also be held this season, with the two-person teams being placed in brackets and playing in single elimination tournaments.

The AVCA National Team Championship will be held in the same format as the team competition at the USC Tournament. The No. 1 pairs from all four schools in attendance will play each other in a double-elimination flight (No. 2 vs. No. 2 etc.), with a sudden death final. The first-place team from each flight is awarded four points, second place earns three points, two points for third place and point for fourth. The team with the most points at the end is crowned the champion.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? - There are a few key elements of sand volleyball that differ from its indoor counterpart. No open hand tipping is allowed, and the block touch counts as the first of three allowable contacts. Coaches may only speak to players or give instruction during timeouts or between sets. Finally, to make a level playing field with regards to impact of the sun and wind, the players switch sides of the court every seven points in a 21 point set, and every five points in a 15 point set. The court is also smaller at 8x8 meters, while the indoor court measures 9x9 meters.

WHAT'S AN EMERGING SPORT? - Collegiate sand volleyball is an "emerging sport." It has 10 years to gain the minimum 40 sponsoring institutions for two years in a row to be considered an NCAA Championship sport.

see also: NCAA sand volleyball off to a strange start

NCAA Sand Volleyball Off to Strange Start

The first steps have been tentative. Like walking barefoot on scorching sand.

Florida State's sand courts

In just a few days, sand volleyball launches as the newest NCAA sport. If you hadn’t heard about it, you’re not alone.

Here, then, is a primer:

SAND=BEACH

If you know this two-person sport as Beach Volleyball, you probably live near a beach. The NCAA uses the term Sand Volleyball to allow those who live in mountains, prairies, swamps or tundras to field a team. And, yes, indoor sand courts are permitted.

SUN BELT FOCUS

That said, only 16 schools will field teams this season, most (not all) near beaches, and none farther north than Malibu (Pepperdine):

HAWAI’I

• University of Hawai’i

CALIFORNIA

• USC
• Pepperdine
• Long Beach State
• Loyola Marymount

FLORIDA

• Florida State
• Florida Atlantic
• North Florida
• Jacksonville
• Stetson
• Webber International (NAIA)

LOUISIANA

• Tulane

ALABAMA

• Alabama-Birmingham

GEORGIA

• Mercer

SOUTH CAROLINA

• College of Charleston

PAC-12 SITS IT OUT

Only one Pac-12 team—USC—is fielding a team this season. Washington considered it, ever so briefly, but the lack of enthusiasm from other Pac-12 schools created a chicken-and-egg stalemate. Why field a team if there's no one else to play?

THE SUMMER ROSS FACTOR

Summer Ross was a home-schooled athlete from San Diego who was the best junior volleyball player in the world; she won two international titles, each with a different partner, and was the first junior player ever named USA Volleyball Beach Female Athlete of the Year. Even so, she accepted a scholarship to play indoor volleyball at Washington, where she started as a freshman.

Summer Ross

At the end of the season, Ross told Washington Coach Jim McLaughlin she wanted to play sand ball, and eventually transferred to Pepperdine (Ross also cited the desire to be closer to her family—her brother plays on the Pepperdine men’s team—and to attend a Christian college.)

At Washington, Ross was a three-tool player: great server, great passer, great defender. Her blocking was adequate, but she was not yet an offensive force on the right side; the cut shots and off-speed attacks that work so well on the beach were not terribly effective against elite indoor competition.

At Pepperdine, Ross will be the early favorite to be national sand player of the year. She could try to snag a beach spot at the London Olympic Games, and will have to determine whether to join Pepperdine’s strong indoor program in the fall (Pepperdine and Washington were among the few teams to defeat national champion UCLA.)

The Ross Factor? If a sand player can also excel indoors, then coaches at indoor powers may worry about losing recruits to schools offering both sports. That alone could encourage schools to add sand, though it might create conflicts during August, when teams are in training. It may not be much of a factor at the moment: The US Professional Beach Tour is a mess, and a lot of elite indoor players make good money playing overseas.

WHO’S COACHING/ WHO’S PLAYING?

Of the 16 sand teams, 9 will be coached by the school’s indoor coach (Pepperdine, Long Beach, Loyola, Jacksonville, Stetson, Webber, North Florida, Mercer and Charleston.) At UAB, indoor coach Kerry Messersmith’s husband, Hal, will coach the sand team.

USC’s indoor team has reached the Final Four the past two seasons, and it’s sand roster will include several members of last season’s indoor team. All-American setter senior Kendall Bateman and libero Natalie Hagglund are the biggest names; Kirby Burnham, Eve Ettinger, Katie Fuller, Sam Hirschmann, Sara Shaw and Emily Young are the other indoor athletes playing sand. Anna Collier will coach the team (not indoor veteran Mick Haley, who played pro beach ball in his younger days.)

USC sand volleyball

Pepperdine’s indoor team reached the Elite 8 last season, and every athlete on that team is listed on the roster of the Waves’ sand team. Summer Ross and Caitlin Racich round out the roster, both with sand scholarships.

Most other teams, including Hawai’i, Long Beach State and Florida State, follow the Pepperdine model, and list most of their indoor team on the sand roster.

FIVE SAND TEAMS THAT SHOULD BE CONTENDERS

1. Pepperdine
2. USC
3. Hawai’i
4. Long Beach State
5. Florida State

WHO PLAYS WHERE AND WHEN?

The first matches are this week; the NCAA Championships (co-sponsored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association) are April 27-29 in Gulf Shores, Alabama

Teams play a combination of head-to-head matches sprinkled with 3-4 team tournaments; there are no conferences and no divisions and the schedule is not balanced (some play more opponents than others.) While schools like USC and Florida State are D1 athletic powerhouses; little Webber International (Winter Haven, Florida) is a member of the NAIA.

LOOKING AHEAD

Four schools have tentatively announced plans to field teams in 2013: State College of Florida (Sarasota), University of Louisiana-Monroe, Florida International University (Miami) and Georgia State (Atlanta.) Seattle University has had some discussions about adding sand; other schools looking to ensure Title IX compliance may look to sand as a way to offer more athletic scholarships to women.

Washington Coach Jim McLaughlin clarifies Summer Ross comment (Terry Wood)

By Terry Wood

Special to Volleyblog Seattle

Washington volleyball coach Jim McLaughlin wants to clarify one of his comments included in a Seattle Times report regarding the departure of freshman outside hitter Summer Ross. (Summer Ross transfers from Washington volleyball team, December 28)

Ross, an international beach volleyball junior champion, transferred out of UW in December after one indoor season at Washington in order to focus on sand volleyball.

During an interview last week for The Times report, McLaughlin mentioned, "At one point she wanted to come in late to training to allow her to play on the beach, and I said no, unless we redshirt you. You've got to be here for the team. We can't have a kid coming in at the end of August. (UW started fall practice Aug. 7.) We need to train."

Jim McLaughlin
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

Following the report’s publication, McLaughlin says the excused absence Ross was seeking was more precisely a five-day span, Aug. 30-Sept. 4, to play in the FIVB Beach Junior World Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She won that event with partner Tara Roenicke in 2010 in Alanya, Turkey.

The Huskies opened their 2011 season Aug. 26-27 with three matches at the Long Beach State Mizuno Invitational, then played three matches Sept. 2-3 in Spokane, Wash., at the Northwest Challenge, hosted by Gonzaga. The Gonzaga matches conflicted with the world championship dates.

McLaughlin says he understands attempting to play indoor and outdoor is a challenge for any volleyball athlete. Ross, he believes, gave it her best shot. “Summer enrolled early at Washington and trained with us in the spring (2011) quarter,” he says. “She put in a lot of work, and she’s very talented.

“But when the indoor season is on, we need every player to be totally committed to it. She’s a great kid, and we’ll miss her contributions, but she’ll be able to focus full-time on the beach game now, and that’s a good deal for her.”

Terry Wood is a freelance writer who regularly contributes to The Seattle Times.

_______________________

Volleyblog Seattle has made initial efforts to contact Summer Ross and her family for comment.

Summer Ross departure: initial thoughts

She promised to be a sportswriter’s dream: talented, charismatic; an unmistakable one-of-a-kind personality more complicated than she might first seem.

Summer Ross wore jersey #99 because it’s “a big number for a big player.” Somehow, she uttered those words without a hint of arrogance.

During endless August workouts in Hec Ed Pavilion, the gym echoed with excited exclamations: Summer! Summer! Her teammates all but squealed as they marveled at her uncanny ability to keep the ball in play, and to flash a grin that often bordered on goofy.

Summer Ross (right)
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

Ross has a quality that coaches love: the ability to leave behind the previous play—good or bad—and focus entirely on the moment. She never seems to dwell, she never wastes energy gloating.

Some will say she isn’t the offensive force she needs to be to excel in the indoor game. But her full range of skills are a joy to watch: serving, serve-receiving, digging, blocking. Her sand volleyball experience trained her to pursue any ball—and find a way to put somewhere that a teammate can make a play. Some of her defensive saves were flat-out amazing.

If she had stayed in Seattle, it would have been fun to watch her grow. It seemed her skills might be the perfect complement to the fierce power of fellow freshman Krista Vansant.

How much will her departure hurt the Huskies? Keep in mind that USC lost last year’s Freshman of the Year, Falyn Fonoimoana, yet won the Pac-12 and reached the NCAA Final Four. Two seasons ago, UCLA lost two previous Freshmen of the Year--Lauren Cook (who transferred to Nebraska) and Amanda Gil (to Washington)--yet went on to win this year’s National Championship.

Washington can win without her. But those of us in Seattle have all lost a little now that we won’t see Summer each autumn in the gym.

Seattle Times: Summer Ross is leaving UW (Terry Wood)

Summer Ross (99)
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

The Seattle Times' Terry Wood has the exclusive scoop: freshman volleyball star Summer Ross is leaving the University of Washington to transfer to a school (possibly Pepperdine) where she can play sand volleyball.

Summer Ross transfers from Washington volleyball team

All Pac-12: Rowland, Vansant, Ross

Bianca Rowland & Krista Vansant
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

Washington's Krista Vansant was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, and senior Bianca Rowland was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference first team today.

Vansant was also named All-Conference Honorable Mention. Outside hitter Summer Ross was honorable mention for the Freshman team.

USC swept all the other major awards: Mick Haley, coach of the year, Alex Jupiter, player of the year, Kendall Bateman, setter of the year, and Natalie Hagglund, libero of the year.

From where we sit, two players on the All-Conference honorable mention team belonged instead on the First Team: Correy Johnson and Robin Rostratter, both of Cal.

Summer Ross should have been on the All-Freshman team. Hitters are too often evaluated only for their hitting, but Ross is an exceptional server, passer and blocker, and she played nearly every single second of the season.

Lauren Barfield--one of the nation's top blockers and a vastly improved hitter--deserved Honorable Mention consideration.

The Pac-12 press release and full list of honorees: Pac-12 Postseason Honors Announced

Ask Washington: Never say die is more than a cliche

It was the third set in Pullman. Washington State—a huge underdog—won the first two sets, and had two match points.

• Trailing 22-24, with WSU’s Meagan Ganzer serving, Washington’s Bianca Rowland and Kylin Muñoz combined to block WSU’s Jaicee Harris
• Trailing 23-24, with Jenna Orlandini serving, Washington’s Krista Vansant got a kill, one of 25 on the night. WSU called a time out.
• Tied 24-24, Vansant got another kill, once again on a Jenni Nogueras set.
• Leading 25-24, Washington scored its fourth consecutive point—and won the set—on Ganzer’s hitting error.

Washington's Bianca Rowland
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

Volleyball is one of the few sports where a team can come back literally from the brink to win. When a basketball team is down by 10 with one second remaining, it’s over. Ditto for football, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, etc.

But in volleyball—as in tennis (and, to a certain extent, baseball and softball)—it’s truly never over until it’s over.

Washington hung on to win set four, then utterly steamrolled the Cougars to win set five.

Over her past ten matches, Rowland a senior middle blocker, is hitting a torrid.457 (97 kills/13 errors/184 attempts). Her coach, Jim McLaughlin, says she ought to get plenty of votes as a first-team All-American. Considering she’s also one of the nation’s leading blockers, that’s not such an unreasonable observation.

Rowland’s teammates put up some pretty impressive offensive numbers in two matches this week against their rivals:

How did Washington beat WSU?

The match was a rout.

Washington State had a reasonable excuse, however, for its 0-3 (25-14, 25-21, 25-14) pasting at the hands of rival Washington. The Cougars were playing their third road match in five nights … a wintry slog through Denver, Salt Lake City and Seattle.

Washington's Bianca Rowland (15) and Kylin Munoz (24) block against WSU's Chelsey Bettinson (12)
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

That kind of NBA-style roadtrip might not happen next season. More on that in a moment.

The first thing the Cougars had to notice on arrival was the large and loud crowd in Hec Edmundson Pavilion: an audience in excess of 3,000 on a cold, dark November Tuesday night. The turnout was unexpected, considering Seattleites were sloshing through a rain-soaked commute, trying to negotiate ever-distant parking lots as Husky Stadium renovation pushes arriving fans further and further from Alaska Airlines Arena. 

[note to Washington AD Scott Woodward: $7 is too steep a price to charge for volleyball parking on dark, stormy nights.]

[further note: The Thanksgiving week crowd was another reminder that volleyball continues a near-decade long pattern as the third-biggest UW sports attraction, behind only football and mens’ basketball. 3,000+ fans are way more than the women’s basketball team attracts, even in good weather.]

Washington's Kylin Munoz (24)
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

With an energetic crowd offering support and the Cougars looking tired, Huskies hitters had a field day.

• Washington hit .506 (45 kills, 5 errors on 79 attempts) … its highest conference average since hitting .533 against Arizona State in 2005—the year Washington won the National Championship.
• Junior outside hitter Kylin Muñoz hit a decent .333 (6 kills, 1 error, 15 attempts). UW’s other five attackers all hit better than .400, led by freshman outside hitter Krista Vansant (14/1/19, .684), senior middle blocker Lauren Barfield (6/0/9, .667), and senior middle blocker Bianca Rowland (7/1/10, .600). Over the past nine matches, Rowland is hitting an incredible .458 (88/12/166).

This match was originally scheduled for the first week of the conference season, back in September. Both teams agreed to move it to this final week of the conference season, to avoid playing three matches that first week. [see: Pac-12’s wacky rivalry week is upon us)

Volleyblog Seattle has learned that the Pac-12 plans to eliminate two conference volleyball matches next season, in part to avoid weeks when three matches are scheduled in six or fewer nights. We’re awaiting an official response from Pac-12 officials to answer questions about how the league will determine which two matches will drop from each team’s schedule, and whether volleyball will adopt North/South divisions, a la football.

The lessons from this match are more urgent than for most … these two rivals will square off again on Friday in Pullman. So, as the Cougars return home and try to figure this one out, let’s also consider: How did Washington beat WSU?

THE HUSKIES DOMINATED SERVE/SERVE RECEIVE

Washington setter Jenni Nogueras (9)
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

By now, all regular Volleyblog Seattle readers know Washington Coach Jim McLaughlin’s mantra: the team that wins the serve/serve receive battle almost always wins the match. Great serves force an opponent into either an error or a free ball; great serve receives allow a team to run all options in its offense.

Washington’s serve last night was consistently strong. Junior Jenna Orlandini had 4 of the Huskies’ 11 service aces. Junior setter Jenni Nogueras created a couple of serving runs with a beautiful float serve that drove Cougar passers all the way to the back line.

“She puts up a still ball that doesn’t rotate,” said Washington freshman Summer Ross about Nogueras, “and it just floats all over the place. It’s so hard to pass.”

When WSU served, it rarely rattled the Huskies, who guided most passes right to the setters.

“Krista and Jo (Orlandini) were passing really great,” said Ross. “Everyone’s really locking their elbows, like Jim taught us to. And getting our angle out. It’s pretty sweet.”

WSU's Meagan Ganzer
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

Meagan Ganzer, the Cougars’ talented outside hitter, agreed.

“I think the passing and serving is the base of our problem sometimes,” Ganzer said. “I know we have a good offense, we’ve just got to be able to run it.”

This was Ganzer’s last collegiate appearance at Hec Ed. The senior from Tahoma High School is one of the nation’s premiere hitters, currently sixth in Division 1 in kills per set.

“I love playing in this area (Seattle), I do,” she said. “In club volleyball, I played in the Emerald City Classic every year with my club team—I played on this floor as a 16s, 17s and 18s player. WSU/UW is a big rivalry for any Coug. I’m really excited to play them again on Friday.”

THE HUSKIES’ ATTACK CAME FROM EVERYWHERE

In the first set, WSU served with UW leading 16-10. After a good pass, Rowland sped around behind Nogueras, looking for all the world like she was going to hit a slide. The Cougar blockers planted, Rowland cocked her arm … but never pulled the trigger. The set kept rising until Vansant soared—seemingly from nowhere—to clobber the ball down the line.

When passing is near-perfect, it’s up to setters to keep the defense off balance by disguising which hitter they will set. Teams practice combinations all the time, but only the most confident teams actually employ them in matches.

Too often this season, setters Nogueras and Evan Sanders have pushed the ball out to Vansant and Muñoz—or tried to connect with middles Barfield and Rowland—when hitters Ross or Gabbi Parker were available on the right side, or when Vansant or Ross might attack from the back row.

Against WSU, the distribution was far and wide.

“I like it when I don’t know where the setters are going to go,” said McLaughlin. “We’ve got a little more confidence where we can play a little faster. So we’re playing a little faster to the pins.”

Jenni Nogueras (9), Krista Vansant, Bianca Rowland and Gabbi Parker
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

“Our setters were amazing,” said Ross. “Both Jenni and Evan were delivering perfect.”

“Jim told me earlier today that I really needed to work to make myself available in the back row,” said Vansant. “I was telling the setters, I’m here if you need me, set me the pipe.”

“I really want to continue to work on it. It can be a good thing for our offense to spread the block out a little bit.”

“She’s learning how to fight,” said McLaughlin about Vansant. “She’s learning how to learn and to make changes. She’s gonna take off.”

NOTES:

• This was the first time former UW assistant coach Pat Stangle has coached against his friend and mentor Jim McLaughlin. Stangle was a McLaughlin assistant at UW from 2000-2003. He was later head coach at Wyoming.
• Ganzer had a nice contingent in the stands for her final Hec Ed appearance. It included cousin Mike Mills, the head coach of Woodinville High School’s volleyball program.
• Pac-12 volleyball matches have four officials: an up ref, a down ref and two linespersons. The up and down refs usually fly in from another state, but since last night featured two Washington teams, all four officials were local. The up ref was Ami Filimaua, the down ref was Allan Chinn. The line judges were  John Bryant and Robyn Filimaua. Robyn is Ami's wife and has been selected to be a line judge at several NCAA Final Fours.

Washington recruits named to All-American teams

Two University of Washington volleyball recruits--setter Katy Beals of Austin, TX and middle blocker Melanie Wade of Palo Alto--were today named first team high school All-Americans. A third recruit--middle blocker Lianna Sybeldon of Shingle Springs, CA--was named a second team All-American.

High School All-Americans Melanie Wade, Katy Beals and Lianna Sybeldon

Those honors place Washington's recruiting class near the top of the nation for the second year in a row. Last year, the Huskies class included high school All-Americans Summer Ross and Krista Vansant; Vansant was national player of the year. Both Ross and Vansant have been starters all season for Washington this year.

Katy Beals' Lake Travis High School teammate, Amy Neal, is also on the first team, and will attend Texas. Lake Travis High--the defending Texas 4A champion--has reached the state Final Four once again this season.

Kameron McLain, an outside hitter from Eastside Catholic High School, was named to the Honorable Mention team. McLain will attend Boston College.

Washington's recruiting class will likely be rated among the top five this season. A summary of the high school All-Americans on today's list, for selected schools:




The complete list is here at the American Volleyball Coaches Association website.

How did California beat Washington?

It was late in the final set. Washington and California were tied, with each team exchanging side-outs. Sometimes points were earned by strong attacks; others were given up on errors.

Suddenly, almost quietly, Cal strung together two in a row, and the match ended.

While that was the script last night in Seattle, it was also the exact same scenario last month in Berkeley. And last season in Seattle. And two seasons ago in Seattle.

The Golden Bears have now defeated the Huskies six times in a row, spanning 2-1/2 seasons. And almost every time, there’s just a whisker of difference, always in Cal’s favor.

“We seem to match up really well,” said Cal Coach Rich Feller after his team escaped with another 3-1 victory (25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23). “Right now, our team obviously has some confidence in playing the Huskies.”

“I thought Cal played well,” counted Washington Coach Jim McLaughlin, as he lamented his team’s inability to close out tight sets against the Bears. “It’s a maturity thing. It gets real tough in the later stages of the set. It takes a lot of fortitude, you gotta have composure. It’s hard. We’re learning how to deliver at the end of sets. But we’re not good enough yet.”

Washington's Kelly Holford (3), Summer Ross (99) and Gabbi Parker (11) celebrate a kill by Bianca Rowland (15)
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

It was Senior Night at Hec Ed Pavilion, and both coaches lauded the career—and recent resurgence—of Washington senior Bianca Rowland. Saturday night, Rowland had 12 kills and 2 errors on 23 attacks (.435) Over the past six matches (Arizona State, Arizona, UCLA, USC, Stanford & Cal), Rowland has a combined 60 kills and just 5 errors on 122 attacks (.451). Considering the competition (the past four opponents are all ranked in the top five nationally), it would be fair to say no one in Division 1 is playing better right now than Rowland.

“She’s good all the time now,” said McLaughlin. “She’s just that good. We gotta go to her a little more, to be honest with you.”

“What a great player,” said Feller. “I won’t miss her as a competitor. I will miss seeing her display her skills. She’s fabulous.”

But the Golden Bears have plenty of good players on their side, which helps answer the question: How did California beat Washington?

WASHINGTON COULD NOT STOP CALIFORNIA’S SLIDE ATTACK

California's Elly Barrett (10) sets a slide to Kat Brown (11)
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

A slide play is when a hitter—most often, but not always, the middle—runs toward the pin (antenna) and takes a fairly flat set to hit a sharply-angled attack, often off the block.

“They’re in love with the slide. They run it to death,” said McLaughlin. “They got away from us on the slide, for sure.”

Cal’s Shannon Hawari had 12 kills (.556), mostly off the slide. Correy Johnson, Cal’s right side hitter, added 11 kills (.409), most from way outside the pins.

“Correy’s pretty magical sometimes,” Feller said. ”She’s just so rangey, and she’s got all the shots. She’s got a pretty fast arm that I think people underestimate.”

Although other teams have had success against the Huskies with a slide, McLaughlin is confident his system is designed to handle it.

“You gotta do it by committee; you gotta have people in the right spot blocking,” he said, “and then you gotta have people in the right spots defensively. Middles have to take big steps. And we were drifting, and we can’t drift.”

WASHINGTON COMMITTED TOO MANY HITTING ERRORS

On the night, Washington hit an anemic .135, thanks largely to committing 29 attack errors.

“We were just not getting a good beat,” said McLaughlin. “We were early on our transition hits. We’re not on a first step going to the ball, and we’re running underneath the ball and we’re launching it.”

Running under the ball was a particular problem at crucial times for both Krista Vansant and Kylin Muñoz. Vansant had 10 hitting errors to go with her 13 kills (.061); Muñoz added another 6 errors with her 11 kills (.126) During big rallies at the ends of sets one and four, Muñoz and Cal’s Tarah Murrey were their respective teams’ go-to hitters; Murrey—an All-American senior—far outplayed Muñoz, who sent the match’s final attack sailing out of bounds when she aimed too high for the Cal blockers’ hands.

“Tarah Murrey was good when she had to be,” said McLaughlin.

Besides Rowland, the other bright spot for the Huskies’ attack was Summer Ross. Last month in Berkeley, Ross had 14 kills on just one error; Saturday she added six kills on just one error. McLaughlin was impressed.

“I challenged her a little bit after last night (a win against Stanford) and said, ‘Look, you can pass, you can block, you can serve. But you can hit, too.’ And she’s got a good arm. She did a better job tonight. She’s just gotta go after it a little more.”

THE TWO-SETTER OFFENSE WORKS … EXCEPT WHEN IT DOESN’T

After a rough start, McLaughlin’s mid-season installation of a 6/2 (two-setter) offense seems to be working, especially lighting offensive fires under Rowland and sophomore outside hitter Gabbi Parker.

Kelly Holford digs as Krista Vansant (16)
looks on
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

But teams are allowed only 12 substitutions per set, and a 6/2 burns through substitutions quickly. That, in the end, may have cost the Huskies the fourth set. Unhappy with the play of Parker, libero Jenna Orlandini, middle blocker Lauren Barfield (“they were not meeting their standards”), McLaughlin used extra substitutions to bring in Kaleigh Nelson, Kelly Holford and Kelcey Dunaway. Toward the end of the set, Washington had no more substitutions, McLaughlin was forced to use just two hitters in the front row.

“We ran out of subs in the fourth set,” said McLaughlin. “I think if we don’t run out of subs, we win that set.”

That said, #11 Washington has finally completed a killer four-match march against the nation’s elite: #1 UCLA, #4 USC, #3 Stanford and #5 Cal. They were rarely out of any set, and rallied dramatically for a victory over Stanford. With the team’s final four conference matches against teams toward the bottom of the standings—Utah, Colorado and Washington State (twice)—McLaughlin hopes the lessons learned from playing great teams will allow his team to make another deep run in the tournament.

“I liked our fight. We have some fight in us. Our backs are against the ball and we respond.”

Washington's Austin, TX recruit has Seattle roots

This afternoon, Volleyblog Seattle spoke by phone to University of Washington recruit Katy Beals. The senior setter had just completed the day’s practice at Lake Travis High School, located in Central Texas Hill Country, just west of Austin. Lake Travis is the defending 4A Texas State Champion; the team is undefeated this season, and will play in the state tournament round of 16 on Saturday.

When and where did you sign your National Letter of Intent?

Yesterday at 12:30, I signed along with seven other of my teammates who are seniors. We signed at our school; we had a big ceremony. It was really cool. Parents, grandparents and a bunch of our friends came out.

Washington recruit Katy Beals, flanked by her parents, signing her Letter of Intent during ceremonies at Lake Travis (TX) High School

Why Washington?

I was actually born in Seattle (Swedish Hospital). And even though we only lived there for a year, we have a lot of family and friends who live up there. And I’ve always admired and loved U-Dub, and wanted to come back. As I started playing volleyball, I started following the Huskies’ program, and just knew that I wanted to be there even more. My dad went to WSU, so it’s a big rivalry between me and him!

What do you think of last year’s recruits, Summer Ross and Krista Vansant?

I think they’re awesome. To be able to start at Washington as freshmen, that’s incredible. I look up to them and admire them a lot. I actually got to meet Krista at (Washington Coach) Jim McLaughlin’s summer camp, and she’s really cool, I like her a lot.

Libero Cassie Strickland, who also signed a Washington volleyball letter of intent yesterday, was once a middle linebacker on a boys’ Pop Warner football team.

I know. I heard about that. She must be one tough girl. She was at camp too. I like her a lot, she’s really funny.

Do you know Austin’s Becky Perry, who graduated last season after four years at Washington?

Yes! She trained this past December at Austin Juniors (volleyball club). We talked about U-Dub. We’re Facebook friends, so she liked my status when I decided to commit to U-Dub. I look up to her a lot and admire her.

Coach McLaughlin is using a 6/2 (two-setter offense) this season at Washington. Any thoughts about playing in a 6/2?

In high school we play a 6/2. Whatever works for the team and whatever gives you the best opportunity to win, I think they should go with that. Whatever Jim decides to do, I’ll go along.

SXSW (Austin’s South by Southwest music festival) or Seafair?

I actually have never heard of Seafair. A lot of my friends go to SXSW, but I’ve never been. Maybe once I get up to Seattle, I can go to Seafair and see what it’s like.

* * *

Volleyblog Seattle also spoke about Beals with Lake Travis High School Volleyball Coach Jennifer Kazmierski.

Kazmierski runs a 6/2 (two setters) offense, just like Washington does this season. Beals sets when she rotates to the back row, and hits right side when she’s in the front. Kazmierski likes to take advantage of both Beals’ hitting and her blocking.

“I have a middle who’s 6’2; Katy’s 6’1. And she plays, probably, the highest out of all our kids. If you look at pictures of her blocking, she’s up over the net.”

Other Kazmierski observations:

• “Katy doesn't know the word ‘stop;’ she will run down any ball.”
• “She constantly pushes herself with every touch to get better, and to figure out what her range is, what she can do from different parts of the court.”
• “She’s one of those kids who manages her team so well, which is one of the reasons I think she’s so successful as she is, as a setter. She manages the middles really well; she gets them to drive all the time. She’s got a great relationship with her outsides.”
• “She’s very creative offensively, getting her hitters to move into different zones, running fast sets. She understands the game. I think being a hitter, too, gives her a greater appreciation for her job as a setter.”
• “I’m excited for Katy, she’s gonna have a great career at U-Dub.”

SEE ALSO:

Washington signs 2 recruits; 2 more in the wings

You can't spell Washington without a "K"