Can No. 3 Oregon avenge its nailbiting loss against No.2 Stanford?
Last Saturday, No. 5 Oregon raised eyebrows when it defeated the only undefeated team in the nation — No. 2 Washington — in three sets.
Leading by 24-17 in the fourth set with a 2-1 advantage, Ducks’ middle blocker Ariana Williams smashed the ball into Husky territory for the match point.
Though Husky libero Jenna Orlandi managed to stop the ball, her imbalanced footing caused her to hit the ball out of bounds giving the Ducks the fourth set win, 25-17.
That one game has completely changed the rankings — Oregon is now ranked third in the nation and Washington is ranked fifth.
Surprisingly, the Ducks’ No. 3 ranking is second in the Pac-12 to No. 2 Stanford.
Two weekends ago, the Ducks lost to the Cardinal in a nail biter when Stanford managed to beat Oregon with a 3-2 win at home.
But the Ducks have another chance to beat Stanford on Nov. 4 at the Matthew Knight Center, where they are undefeated in seven games.
If Oregon can take conference control in the second half of the season, especially against Stanford, the Ducks have a chance to play in the NCAA national championship game.
Just how good is Stanford?
While No. 1 Penn State has continued to stand at the top of the rankings pyramid, five Pac-12 teams have held the No. 2 ranking at some point this season.
Stanford is now the No. 2 team. The Cardinal takes that spot as the only Pac-12 squad without a single loss in conference play this season.
Looking at its 13-game winning streak, Stanford has taken out top conference teams like No. 3 Oregon, No. 6 UCLA, and No. 7 USC.
Last week, Stanford surprisingly swept the Trojans in three sets at home. The Cardinal’s clutch performances against both the Ducks and the Bruins separated the squad from the Pac-12 herd.
Stanford beat both squads even at 2-2 entering the final set.
What has helped Stanford win is freshman setter Madi Bugg. Bugg leads the team with 550 assists, averaging 8.73 per set.
But the freshmen fire does not finish with Bugg. Outside hitter freshman Jordan Burgess leads the Cardinal with 190 kills. Additionally, freshman outside hitter Brittany Howard is not too far behind Burgess with 134 kills.
With top freshmen starting for Stanford, the Cardinal have a chance to win NCAA championships this season and for years to come.
Can USC’s Samantha Bricio be the best player in the Pac-12?
The Pac-12 is the only place where a team like USC can be 5-3 in conference play and still be ranked No. 7 in the country.
Some may even make the argument that USC deserves UCLA’s No. 6 ranking due to its 3-1 win over the Bruins earlier on in the season. But when you have a phenomenon like 17-year-old 6”2 outside hitter in freshman Samantha Bricio by your side, you do not worry so much about the national rankings.
Bricio has been no struggling freshman this season as she leads her squad with 266 kills. If that number was not impressive enough for USC’s head coach Mick Haley, Bricio recording one kill in every four hits should do the trick.
Since the start of the season, Bricio’s offensive technique has dominated for the most part. In the Trojans’ most recent game, a 3-0 sweep against Cal, Bricio racked in 14 kills–four more than Cal’s senior Correy Johnson.
However, the young freshman is still no experienced college athlete. Against Stanford, in a 3-0 shutout loss, Bricio played one of her worst games due to inexperience.
Give her a few years, and she’ll be right at the top.
Andrew Davis covers volleyball. [email protected]
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