Volleyball collapses against Stanford, 3-2

ERIC M. JUKELEVICS/Arizona Daily Wildcat

UA senior opposite side hitter Jill Talbot attempts a kill against Stanford Saturday in McKale Center. The Wildcats lost the match 3-2 after winning the first two games of the match.

The UA women's volleyball team was one game away from defeating No. 3 Stanford and assuring themselves a top seed in the NCAA tournament.

It didn't happen.

Up 2-0, the Wildcats couldn't hold on and lost the third game, then the fourth.

Before they knew it, the Cardinal had beaten them in the fifth and deciding game, ending Arizona's run at top billing in the tournament.

Before the loss to the Cardinal, things went according to plan for the Wildcats Friday as they manhandled California 3-0 (30-17, 30-22, 30-21).

The Wildcats then faced off with Stanford, which earlier in the season defeated Arizona in a thrilling five-game match. Saturday's match would prove to follow suit.

The win for Stanford 3-2 (30-22, 30-18, 21-30, 14-30, 11-15) assured them at least a tie for the Pacific 10 Conference and a No. 1 seed in the tournament.

The Wildcats came out of the gates strong, dominating Stanford with their service game.

UA accumulated nine aces to Stanford's one. Stanford also had five more service errors in the first two games.

"They kicked our butt the first two games," Stanford All-American outside hitter Logan Tom said. "We knew that we could not go out like that. We have been down like this before, and it came down to our execution level. Even though the scores were as dominant, I was surprised because it was a real battle on each point."

Things changed in the next two games, as the Cardinal held the Wildcats to a .015 hitting percentage.

UA managed to stay close in the third game for a while, pushing the score to 10-10, but the attack errors finally took their toll.

"The momentum swings are great in volleyball, and it showed against Stanford," UA head coach David Rubio said. "Game three really set the tone. We got stuck on a rotation and - before our eyes - the pendulum swung towards Stanford. I have never seen a team manhandle us the way they did in games three and four."

Another factor that helped Stanford turn the match around was the play of Tom. The former Olympian finished the match with 20 kills on a .419 hitting percentage.

Stanford head coach John Dunning said the difference in the third and fourth game was Stanford's ability to contain UA's dominant service attack.

"We were intimidated by Arizona's strong start and their great crowd," Dunning said. "These are two of the best teams in the country and it was a great match. For us, we were able to serve better in games three and four and I think that was the difference."

With UA lacking confidence, Stanford came out in the fifth and deciding game and jumped out to an early 4-0 lead.

The Wildcats managed to make a small run, but were unable to overcome the deficit, and Stanford took the match with a 15-11 game-five victory.

"We put some pressure on them," Rubio said. "We missed some critical serves and that hurt us. They ran their offense really smoothly and defensively we could not find an answer for their offense.

While the Wildcats have probably lost out on a top seed in this year's NCAA Tournament, Rubio reminded his players that the 1997 UA men's basketball team was able to win the championship as a No. 4 seed.

"I made sure that the team realized that this is only one match,' Rubio said. "I told them that the 1997 basketball team lost its last two games and they still won the national championship."