This weekend, #11 Stanford women’s volleyball (3-1) will head to Minneapolis, Minnesota for two matches against #20 Penn State (6-0) and #3 Minnesota (3-1). Both matches are part of what’s being dubbed the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge. #18 Oregon is the other Pac-12 team. Stanford’s first match will be on Friday against Penn State at 3:00 PM PT on Big Ten Network. Their second match will be on Saturday against Minnesota at 5:00 PM PT on BTN+ (Big Ten Network Plus).
Last time out: On Sunday, Stanford lost to #1 Texas 3-0 (18-25, 18-25, 20-25). Kendall Kipp (14 kills & 4 digs) was the top performer for Stanford.
RECAP: #12 Stanford WVB gets swept at home by #1 Texas
On Penn State and Minnesota: Starting with Penn State, they are undefeated though they are yet to face a ranked team. This weekend they’ll face two in Stanford and Oregon, so this is a big test for them at a neutral site.
The Nittany Lions have three players averaging 3+ kills per set in sophomore outside hitter Anjelina Starck (3.0), senior outside/right side hitter Zoe Weatherington (3.0), and graduate student outside hitter Kashauna Williams (3.06). Graduate student setter Seleisa Elisaia averages 11.24 assists per set while junior middle blocker Taylor Trammell leads the team with 26.0 blocks on the season (1.24 blocks per set).
Switching gears to Minnesota, their lone loss is to #1 Texas, a match they lost 3-1. Given how well Texas is playing, to take one set off them is a big accomplishment. Against Florida, they won 3-1, so they’ve done better against common opponents than Stanford if you look at the set record. Minnesota has a 4-4 set record against Texas and Florida while Stanford has a 3-5 set record.
The Golden Gophers have two players averaging 3+ kills per set in junior outside/opposite Jenna Wenaas (3.13) and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Taylor Landfair (4.0). Junior setter Melani Shaffmaster is averaging 10.2 assists per set, doing a solid job of setting up her teammates for easy kill opportunities.
Keys to the series: For Stanford, the key to this series starts with a strong start against Penn State. They need to take that first set and not let the loss to Texas linger. It can be hard to shake off a loss against a team like Texas, but it’s crucial that teams find a way to approach each new match like it’s a new day without any thought of the past. If Stanford can take the opening set against Penn State, that will go a long ways towards them having a good performance in the Twin Cities.
Secondly, Stanford cannot overly rely on Caitie Baird and Kendall Kipp. As good as those two players are, Stanford has to find ways to get others going and not rely too much on them. Sami Francis and Elia Rubin are two players who have the most potential to step up and take some of that pressure off of them. Just in terms of getting kills and generating offense. If those two can get going, that will be huge.
Finally, Stanford needs to play cleaner than they did against Texas. This is something they talked about after the match. If Stanford can do a better job of executing their assignments and not committing unforced errors, they should be in a good position to find success in this series.
Prediction: I like Stanford’s chances of beating Penn State, but Minnesota is another matter. I do think Texas is a cut above everybody right now and so I do think Stanford will have a chance to win both matches. That said, I’m going to say Stanford gets a split. I think they’ll take care of business against Penn State 3-1 and fall to Minnesota 3-2 in a tight five-set match. I think the home court advantage will push the Gophers over the top.
To connect with CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook and Twitter, click here.
To connect with Ben Parker on Facebook and Twitter, click here.
