UW v NU

[NamelessHusker]

From Seatle Post (requires registration to view article)

 

UW comment rankles Nebraska

Tomasevic's 'crush them' remark draws fire

 

By TED MILLER

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

 

 

SAN ANTONIO -- Is there bad blood between Washington and Nebraska? Apparently, for the Big Red.

 

A TV reporter from Omaha opened the questioning after Washington swept Tennessee 3-0 by asking the Huskies if they were excited about playing Nebraska (which had just started its game), noting that one of them had said they were going to "crush" the Cornhuskers earlier in the season.

 

UW coach Jim McLaughlin said he didn't know what the reporter was talking about.

 

But the Nebraska players did. Their coach, John Cook, made sure they read an article that appeared in the Post-Intelligencer, particularly the following quote from Huskies outside hitter Sanja Tomasevic.

 

"Obviously, we feel dominant," Tomasevic said in the story. "We know we're better. We know if we do everything we should, we know we're going to crush them."

 

It's not clear if Tomasevic, a native of Serbia and Montenegro speaking her second language, was talking specifically about Nebraska. But that apparently doesn't matter to the Cornhuskers.

 

"We do have a little tiff against Washington, thinking they should be number one," Nebraska setter Maggie Griffin said. "But we've been number one all year and we're going to bring it Saturday night."

 

Said UW libero Candace Lee: "We've been looking forward to playing them all year."

[Eric the Red]

Better bring it Huskies, you've got a lot to prove with all the trash talking you been doing.

 

With all this muscle on the court at once the court might cave in.

 

 

GO BIG FRIGGIN RED

[BigRedDallasTexan]

I believe the saying goes "defense wins championships" and we have the superior defense. Everyone knows it but UW.

[StuckinChicago]

We average a block more per game than any team in the country, and that is pretty darn impressive when we average about 4.5, which means that its is equivelent of a football team averaging about 65 points a game compared to USC's 50.

[Amy]

So what’s everyone predicting for the match?

 

I say a sweep with scores of about:

30-27 30-21 30-24

 

Hitting % of about .567 to UW's .320

[Roy CO HSKR]

Has anyone heard about an analysis from a coach regarding a comparison? I've picked up from the commentator at last nights game that UW is quick and NU is strong. Can NU handle the quick kills of UW, as in their sliding 31s? Can UW handle the blocking of the Huskers? Maybe those 2 are intertwined.

 

I noticed last night that NU was working on offensive plays that were unpredictable as in the 31s, the setter spiking and the lobs as an off tempo rather than an attempted kill?

[StuckinChicago]

The quickness that the analysts are referring to on the part of Washington is meant to accomplish one thing, insure one on one situations at the net. John Cook is the premier blocking coach in the country and will in some measure limit the one on one's as much as he can, but it will still come down to their hitter's ability to beat our blockers one on one, and I will take Elmer, Stalls, and Pavan in that match any day to the week. Defense is the name of the game in volleyball, which why you will consistantly find the best defensive teams playing for the title.

[HANC]

I have seen these girls play a handful of times this season (like most of you), and this group is as talented as any team that NU has had....

 

I think that NU wins, but a sweep may not happen... Both of these teams are too good to expect a sweep by either team..... NU will win in 4 (3-1). If we can survive the 1st game, things will roll.

 

 

Go Big Red

[NamelessHusker]

Very rare that a number1 goes up against number 2 in the polls when it comes to volleyball. I expect this game to come down to 5 games with NU pulling it out in the end because they are better conditioned. If you look at NU's last few games, you can see NU usually kills its competition in the second match. I expect Washington to take game 1, NU game 2, NU game 3, Wash game 4 and NU will win it 15-12 in game 5

[formerfan]

Very rare that a number1 goes up against number 2 in the polls when it comes to volleyball. I expect this game to come down to 5 games with NU pulling it out in the end because they are better conditioned. If you look at NU's last few games, you can see NU usually kills its competition in the second match. I expect Washington to take game 1, NU game 2, NU game 3, Wash game 4 and NU will win it 15-12 in game 5

I might be wrong, but I thought that UW was #3??

 

Anyhow, GBR!!!!

[StuckinChicago]

They were seeded number two for the tournament, but were ranked third in the avca poll.

[Eric the Red]

I have seen these girls play a handful of times this season (like most of you), and this group is as talented as any team that NU has had....

 

I think that NU wins, but a sweep may not happen... Both of these teams are too good to expect a sweep by either team..... NU will win in 4 (3-1). If we can survive the 1st game, things will roll.

 

 

Go Big Red

I am worried about that also. No matter the team, the Huskers comeout slow.

[Eric the Red]

Huskies set for big-time match

 

By Terry Wood

 

Special to The Seattle Times

 

Jim McLaughlin is 59-4 the past two seasons.

 

SAN ANTONIO — To borrow Washington coach Jim McLaughlin's favorite phrase, this one is big-time. As big as it gets in this under-appreciated, thrilling-to-experience sport.

 

It's No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 3 Washington today at 3 p.m. in a nationally televised (live on ESPN2) season-ending faceoff for the national championship. It's a matchup as eagerly anticipated by college volleyball fans as USC vs. Texas is by football fans.

 

And while the seedings say it's No. 1 vs. No. 3, volleyball's inner circle views this showdown more like a meeting of No. 1 vs. No. 1A.

 

"It feels like we've been waiting for this for a long time," Courtney Thompson, Washington's All-America setter, said Friday. "If feels like something special. It'll be a dogfight."

 

"I think this is what everybody wanted, Nebraska-Washington," said Cornhuskers coach John Cook, whose team is attempting to become just the third team to be ranked No. 1 from start to finish throughout an entire season. "We tried to play every top-10 team this year, and I think the only one we haven't played is Washington. For us, this the final chance to prove that we are the best team in the country."

 

That is a belief shared by the Huskies, whose team history lacks the glory and grandeur of Nebraska's. The Cornhuskers, for starters, have won two national titles, 1995 and 2000, and have been to nine Final Fours. Washington reached its first Final Four last year.

 

Today's championship match

 

Washington vs. Nebraska,

 

3 p.m., ESPN2

On paper, Nebraska seems to have a slight physical advantage as well. The front line operates within an offensively aggressive "6-2," two-setter alignment that optimizes the amount of time big hitters can spend close to the net.

 

That line includes 6-foot-5 opposite hitter Sarah Pavan, a two-time first-team All-American, 6-2 outside hitter Christina Houghtelling, the 2005 national player of the year, and 6-2 middle blocker Melissa Elmer, a three-time All-American who has led the nation in blocks for two years.

 

They'll face a Washington team that features the nation's premier setter in Thompson, who leads the country in assists.

 

Thompson's precision sets have allowed UW's formidable lineup of big bashers — two-time All-America outside hitters Sanja Tomasevic (6-1) and Christal Morrison (6-2), plus senior Brie Hagerty (6-1) — to post the nation's best hitting percentage at .341.

 

Nebraska, to emphasize offense, plays without a libero, a defensive specialist who plays only the back row and who keys the passing attack that gets the ball to the setter. Washington counters with one of the nation's best at the position, second-team All-American Candace Lee.

 

A clash of the titans? If you like the sport, it's must-see VB.

 

"They have five great hitters out there," said Cook, who Thursday was named 2005 National Coach of the Year, an honor UW's McLaughlin received in 2004. "Second thing is, they have six seniors on their team, so you can see they are very used to their system. They're very comfortable and have a lot of experience out there. They're very good defensively."

 

McLaughlin, the savvy tactician who has swiftly converted Washington's program from doormat to national power since coming to UW in 2001, continued to preach his cerebral, stay-on-task discipline that has served the Huskies well en route to the best season in school history.

 

"Every week we play, there are different challenges," he said. "But every day in practice, we try to accommodate those. With Nebraska, you look at them and they're big and physical and can hit 30 feet. They block well. They're good. They're 33-1.

 

"We really have to approach this from our end and look at the things we do well. Maybe we can disrupt them. If we stay in the system, do the things we're capable of and play to those capabilities, we're an awfully good team. I'm not too worried about them [Nebraska]. I just want to go out and play to our capabilities."

 

He's clearly made his players believers. What new trick might UW employ against a foe with a sizable contingent of enthusiastic fans in the stands?

 

"Nothing," said Morrison, an ascending star who led Washington with 18 kills against Tennessee in Thursday's semifinal. "We'll do what we've been doing all year — hit high, hit hard. We're going to block and be smart. We're going to keep being aggressive, but we're not going to back off because there's a block. We're going to keep bringing it."

 

Game on.

[NamelessHusker]

I just checked the recent polls. I wasn't aware they had dropped in the polls to number 3 after their loss To UCLA 3 weeks ago and Penn St which had 2 losses moved up from 3rd to second. I figured they would give Washington the benefit of the doubt losing to a top25 and keep them second just like they did with NU by keeping them first after losing to Texas at the end of the regular season.

 

Oh well.just another top10 team Nebraska has left to beat to prove it's the number 1 team in the nation

[Eric the Red]

Not good. Huskers get swept in 3. Nebraska was never in any of the matches. They had a spurt or two in game three, but Washington dominated from start to finish. The Huskiesnever made mistakes, they blocked just as well as the Huskers ( a big surprise) and got to ever ball it seemed. Nebraska never got into a rythmn.