Stanford winces at close loss at home

By Quwan Spears

- Sacramento Bee

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The saddest part of it all for Stanford was the disappointment took place close to home, before a partisan crowd and before a lot of friends, family and fans.

As a result, senior setter Bryn Kehoe stared into space, junior middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo covered her face with her hands, and freshman reserve Stephanie Browne kneeled down and consoled some of her brokenhearted teammates.

Losing the national championship match to Nebraska was tough last season, but easier to digest because it took place at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb, about an hour from the Cornhuskers' campus in Lincoln.

Losing the national championship game Saturday for the second consecutive season, to Penn State at Arco Arena, was heartbreaking for Stanford.

"Just kind of a double whammy," Cardinal junior outside hitter Cynthia Barboza said after her team fell to the third-ranked Nittany Lions 30-25, 30-26, 23-30, 19-30, 15-8 in the 2007 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship.

"It would have been nicer to win it here. It would be nice to win it anywhere, to tell you the truth. Next year in Omaha, I hope."

Favored to win it all entering the Final Four, the top-ranked Cardinal (32-3) failed to showcase its normal dominance that helped it win its previous 12 matches and one over Penn State (34-2) in the Yale Classic final in New Haven, Conn. on Sept. 15.

In that match, Stanford surged early and then rallied late to win 3-2 in a thrilling match. Barboza had 21 kills and 10 digs.

This time, the Cardinal fell behind early, rallied late and stumbled at the finish. In a match that featured six first-team All-Americans, three from each school, the Nittany Lions jumped a little higher, moved a little faster and blocked a little better, especially in the decisive fifth game.

The Nittany Lions failed to contain Akinradewo, the 2007 Division I National Player of the Year. She finished with 18 kills (as did teammate Alix Klineman) and produced a .425 hitting percentage.

However, the rest of the Cardinal couldn't solve the Nittany Lions' defense, which thwarted several Stanford attacks at the net.

As a result, Cardinal compiled a hitting percentage of .256 through the first two games and .294 for the match.

The Nittany Lions also held Barboza to 16 kills for the match.

"I noticed that they were committing maybe two blockers to the middle some times, showing why they're such a great blocking team," Akinradewo said. "Our goal in the fifth game was to be aggressive. And when you're aggressive sometimes you make errors and that's what happened."

Penn State, however, proved to be the better team, showing great poise in the final game. The Nittany Lions had four players produce double figures in kills, led by sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (25). She also had 10 digs and earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.

"In that fifth game, I thought we took control," Penn State coach Russ Rose said. "When we got the touches, it's all about converting during that time. We picked up the paced and played really hard during that stretch."