What do you want in a sporting event? Action? Athleticism? Drama? Skill? Tension? Excitement?
You get all of that and more at a Stanford men’s volleyball match.
For many people, volleyball is not the most attractive sport in theory, especially when the participants aren’t attractive women in skintight shorts. But there’s so much more to volleyball, men’s or women’s, than attire, and it only takes one match to see that.
Take last Saturday’s match against UC-Irvine, for example. Just walking into Maples Pavilion and seeing over 1,000 raucous fans is something special. Sure, it’s not a sport like football than can approach 50,000, but volleyball is much more about close, intense crowds than large swarms of people.
The fans make up for the quantity with quality. What is quality fandom? Painted chests, Star Wars costumes and clever jeers are as much a part of volleyball as a kill or a dig. And when a hundred costumed frat guys are yelling your name in unison from 10 feet away, it makes a difference. Nowhere was this more effective than with UCI’s Austin D’Amore, who noticeably trembled amid jeers from the crowd before missing serves. What’s not to like about a sport where fans can impact the game?
Along with the heckling students and costumes, there is even more action on the court. Volleyball has the special combination of being easy to understand (don’t let the ball hit the floor on your own side, etc.) while featuring athletic achievements that almost every fan cannot do. This makes for very exciting points that even an inexperienced spectator can appreciate.
Several of these were on display Saturday night, including a particularly long rally that involved UCI’s best player, Carson Clark, crashing into the press table in order to keep the point going. Stanford had its share of athletic feats, including a number of diving digs by sophomore libero Erik Shoji (of Youtube and SportsCenter fame for his kick save) as well as a remarkable assist to MPSF Player of the Year Brad Lawson that brought the house down. These dives contrast with the sky-high blocks and emphatic kills provided by front-line players like Lawson and senior opposite Evan Romero.
What makes volleyball more than just an athletic display, though, is the skill and precision involved. Players can smash the ball and dive all over the floor, but it doesn’t mean anything unless the passes, kills and blocks are accurate. Particular credit has to be given to the head coach, and Stanford has one of the best in John Kosty, who was named MPSF Coach of the Year. Kosty has perfected his rotations and called crucial timeouts to keep UCI from building too much momentum.
Tactics also matter for players, and senior setter Kawika Shoji is one of the best in the country at making decisions along with his athletic play. He expertly produces perfect assists out of slightly misplaced passes, and he always catches opponents off-guard by sneaking in kills off “dumps.” Kawika did everything for Stanford on Saturday, including a couple vital aces.
Volleyball is intriguing because a few players have a large impact, but a team cannot win without a complete team effort. Hitters like Lawson, Romero and junior Spencer McLachlin cannot get kills without assists, and Kawika Shoji cannot make good sets without good passes from the back row, especially from his brother Erik. These players cannot get to all the balls without good blocking, which Stanford has in the form of sophomore Gus Ellis and senior Garrett Werner, who both had resounding blocks and kills to fire up the team and the crowd on Saturday. The Cardinal gets important contributions off the bench as well, and all these players are important to the overall success of the team.
If these are not reasons enough to go watch volleyball, consider this: Stanford is the No. 1 team in the nation, and last Saturday’s win was the first postseason victory for the Cardinal since 1997, when Stanford won its last national title. As the top team, Stanford will play host to the rest of the MPSF Tournament, and the NCAA Tournament, which will take place in Maples Pavilion as well. The Cardinal needs only four more wins to secure its first national championship in over a decade and the first national title for any Stanford varsity sport this year.
Its quest continues Thursday, and the team and sport need your support, whether or not you have a C-3PO costume.
Jacob Jaffe has a special costume for Thursday night’s volleyball game. E-mail him to see what it is at [email protected].