Preview: (2) Stanford Women’s Volleyball to face (3) Wisconsin in Sweet Sixteen
On Friday at 11:30 AM PT on ESPN, (2) Stanford Women’s Volleyball will face (3) Wisconsin in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. Stanford comes in at 29-4 overall with an 18-2 record in the ACC while Wisconsin comes in at 26-4 overall with a 17-3 record in the Big Ten. The winner of the match will face either (1) Texas or (4) Indiana in the Elite Eight.
Note: Stanford is a No. 6 national seed. I’m not sure what national seed Wisconsin got, but they are ranked No. 10 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. Just to give you a sense of where the two teams stack up nationwide. I’m choosing to just list their seeds at the top for this preview since that’s easier to figure out.
Last time out: Stanford defeated Utah Valley 3-1 in the first round last week at Stanford and followed that up with a 3-1 victory over Arizona in the second round. Freshman setter Logan Parks did not play. Whether or not she plays this coming weekend is to be determined. If she can’t go, sophomore Taylor Yu will once again man the setting duties.
RECAP: No. 6 Stanford Women’s Volleyball powers past Utah Valley after rough start
RECAP: No. 6 Stanford Women’s Volleyball advances to the Sweet Sixteen
On Wisconsin: The Badgers are one of the top programs in the country, defeating Eastern Illinois 3-0 in the first round and North Carolina 3-0 in the second round. Three of their four losses came with their setter Charlie Fuerbringer out (No. 25 Penn State, No. 14 USC, and No. 1 Nebraska). The one team that beat them with Fuerbringer available was No. 3 Texas. She is a big part of what they do, averaging 12.0 assists per set and yes, she is healthy.
The favorite player for Fuerbringer to deliver balls to is senior outside hitter Mimi Colyer, who is averaging 5.3 kills per set. Colyer is an explosive hitter that has no issue being the go-to player time and time again. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Una Vajagic (2.8), redshirt sophomore Grace Egan (2.5), and senior middle blocker Carter Booth (2.1) are all averaging 2+ kills per set as well. The Badgers have nice attacking balance and Fuerbringer does a wonderful job distributing the ball.
As a team, the Badgers average 15.0 kills, 14.1 assists, 1.5 service aces, 14.5 digs, and 2.5 blocks per set while hitting .322. Their opponents average 11.2 kills, 10.5 assists, 0.8 service aces, 12.2 digs, and 1.8 blocks per set while hitting .175.
Keys to the match: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Colyer. She is a phenomenal player and is used to carrying the load each night. If Stanford is able to hold her to under four kills per set, that could make the difference. Holding her under three kills per set would be huge, though of course a very tall order. How well Stanford defends her will have a huge impact on this match.
Secondly, Stanford needs to come out with the right energy. They came out flat footed against Utah Valley last week by dropping that first set. At times, Stanford has had lulls and that has cost them. They cannot expect to beat Wisconsin if they have a lull even for one set. They need to play their best the entire match if they want to come out on top.
Third, Elia Rubin needs to have a big performance. While Stanford does like to spread it around with Rubin (3.3 kills), Julia Blyashov (3.1 kills), Jordyn Harvey (2.4 kills), and Lizzy Andrew (2.4 kills) all doing their thing, Rubin being the senior has to lead out and play a great match. If she gets going, everyone should feed off of that.
Finally, Stanford needs to win the service pressure battle. Stanford averages 1.7 service aces per set while their opponents average 0.7. Whichever team wins the service battle will have a huge edge in this match.
Prediction: I would love to be wrong but given the momentum Wisconsin has combined with Stanford playing a tad shaky last week, I think Wisconsin winning in five sets is the smart pick. This is a match I could see going either way, but I’ll give the Badgers a slight edge in this one.
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