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Louisville vs Stanford

First set over Cards win 25-22 we played better than Stanford but both teams made mistakes Stanford just made more of them.
 
Louisville wins the second set 25-20 much better played set. Cresse, Khan, Luper and DeBeer are really pounding the ball. I like Glock as the setter she is doing a great job on the sets.
 
13-7 Stanford to start the 3rd set it almost looks like we have lost interest because this is a very lackluster performance by us so far. I know this set is do or die for Stanford but you don’t let them hang around.
 
We got wiped out in the 3rd set 25-14 we didn’t even look like the same team. I hope we play a lot better in this next set or it will get really stressful.
 
Stanford is just playing a lot better going into the 5th set and we are really struggling
 
We lose to Stanford for our first loss in the 5th set 15-12. We did not play well including the first 2 sets that we won.
 
Agreed. They came out great in the 3d set like the football team did for the 2d half on Sat. Stanford started playing better defense, passing the ball better and just plain getting all the bounces. I really didn’t like decisions made offensively for UofL. Seemed like too many backrow sets and wayyyy too many dinks. Losing to #5 Stanford in 5 isn’t anything to be ashamed of. Fact is after that that 2-0 start they, to me, looked gassed. Plenty of winnable matches coming up with opportunities for some other players to get some court time as well.
 
Just returned home from the match. First, Stanford is very good, but I sensed that after the second set it appeared that we were showing signs of physical exhaustion. Not sure it was responsible for the obvious decline in our performance, but I question whether the emotional win over UK might have taken its toll.

Luper’s power in the first two sets seemed to wain in the 3rd and 4th sets, before reappearing for some of the 5th.
 
To me the weird thing about the match was the play by play announcers. They were breaking down the sets saying everything Stanford was doing wrong. Then Stanford did what the announcers were saying what they needed to do to win. It was like the Stanford coaching staff was listening to the play by play and following their advice, really strange.
 
Agreed. They came out great in the 3d set like the football team did for the 2d half on Sat. Stanford started playing better defense, passing the ball better and just plain getting all the bounces. I really didn’t like decisions made offensively for UofL. Seemed like too many backrow sets and wayyyy too many dinks. Losing to #5 Stanford in 5 isn’t anything to be ashamed of. Fact is after that that 2-0 start they, to me, looked gassed. Plenty of winnable matches coming up with opportunities for some other players to get some court time as well.
We really were dominated in sets 3 through 5.
 
To me the weird thing about the match was the play by play announcers. They were breaking down the sets saying everything Stanford was doing wrong. Then Stanford did what the announcers were saying what they needed to do to win. It was like the Stanford coaching staff was listening to the play by play and following their advice, really strange.
If they weren’t, someone else was. Communication network 101.
 
Agreed, all of us sitting there and witnessing the match each commented in unison; that Stanford dominated us beginning in the 3rd set, all the way through the 5th. That is why I felt like our team energy seemed to evaporate after the 2nd set. Not to take anything away from Stanford, I just believe the UK match on Wednesday consumed a lot of physical and emotional energy.
 
Match went exactly like FB game Saturday. Most everything working to start. Then opponent changes their approach. FB was tale of 2 halves. VB was tale of "halftime" adjustments. Stanford clearly quite good. Cards were shocked in first 7 minutes of 3rd set. Didn't recover.

It was fun to see two straight matches at Yum with really big crowds. VB is so fast and exciting.
 
I try to avoid making predictions about sporting events, but I will make an exception here when I say that Women’s Volleyball will become a major revenue sport for colleges across the nation. As Guardman correctly noted, it is “fast and exciting”; it is no coincidence to see record crowds showing up all over the country, at the same time some other college sports are witnessing reduced fan participation.
 
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One thing I note is that the crowds are becoming VB-smart. They are understanding what great plays are. On both sides. Long volleys are things of beauty. There is so much good coaching.
 
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The thing that will help it grow quicker is more coverage by the networks. In the past ESPN has shown reruns of college football games instead of live action women’s sports. Hopefully they will figure out that viewers would rather watch a live event instead of reruns.
 
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