November 23, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Stanford is all set for finale

by Rick Eymer

Kristin Richards appeared exhausted and ready to collapse after fifth-ranked Stanford's gritty 30-24, 26-30, 30-27, 24-30, 15-10 victory over visiting California in the Big Spike on Friday night.

Who could blame her? Not only was she the focus of the Cardinal offense all night, she seemingly chased down every loose ball in every corner of Maples Pavilion, even crashing into the scorer's table at one point in a vain attempt to rescue a wandering ball.

At times she would get up to four attacks before finally nailing a kill, or three digs to keep a ball alive during a rally. She seemed to grind out every point, and in the end helped Stanford maintain its share of second place in the Pac-10 as it heads to Los Angeles for the final weekend of the regular season.

The Cardinal (12-4, 23-5) has been facing adversity all season, and it was no different on Friday night. Despite its worst hitting match of the season at .162, Stanford somehow found a way to win.

It was as though Richards, a junior outside hitter who has taken on additional responsibility since the season-ending injury to Cynthia Barboza, willed the team to victory.

"We're doing everything we can to put ourselves in a good position for the (NCAA) tournament," Richards said. "We've had to face adversity as far as injuries and we're working hard to find the dynamics that will allow us to be as consistent as possible."

What Stanford needed was a career-high 71 total attacks, featuring more attacks from the back row than usual, from Richards, and a game-high 22 kills. She's collected 22 or more kills in each of her past four matches, and reached double figures for the 13th straight match.

In addition, Richards recorded a game-high 19 digs, the 21st time she's reached double figures in that category. Richards has recorded 10 of her 19 double-doubles in the past 11 matches.

"Whatever it takes," she said.

Stanford can ill afford to relax at UCLA on Friday night or at USC on Saturday night. The Cardinal is still playing for a good seed in the NCAA tournament, and for the chance to possibly play its first four matches at home.

"Those are the two most important matches of the season as far as I am concerned," Richards said. "They are both talented teams and we have a week of practice to get ready. It's not going to be easy."

But then, as Richards pointed out, it's never easy in the Pac-10. And playing without two of its top players have made it even more difficult. Stanford is 5-2 without Barboza, and 3-2 without starting setter Bryn Kehoe.

While others have taken up the slack for Barboza, the setting duties have fallen to senior Katie Goldhahn, who along with Courtney Schultz, played her final regular-season match at Maples Pavilion.

Goldhahn, who replaced a member of last summer's U.S. Junior National Team, has been superb in her return to the middle.

"She's great," Richards said. "We're lucky to have her."

Goldhahn was Stanford's main setter during her sophomore season but was eventually moved to defensive specialist last year, and was again in the back row at the beginning of this year.

She never lost her setting skills, though, and they've been needed the past few weeks.

"I haven't had as many reps in practice but it's fun out there and it's natural," Goldhahn said. "All I had to do was change my mindset. I had a day to shift my role. I jumped into the position and just went with the opportunity."

Even with Richards getting the majority of looks, Stanford does vary its attack and Goldhahn has distributed the ball to other hitters like Nji Nnamani (11 kills against the Bears) and Foluke Akinradewo (14 kills and a .367 hitting percentage).

With Kehoe likely out again this weekend, Goldhahn will be back in the spotlight.

"We have a lot on our plate and we know we have to win," Goldhahn said. "We're going to work hard because I think we're still going to do good things. This is such a diverse team, that people can step up and play positions they don't normally play. Everybody is willing to go out of their comfort zone."

The day was a little emotional for Goldhahn and Schultz, who both received calls and e-mails from well wishers.

"It's amazing the people who have supported me," Goldhahn said. "Being part of this program the past four years makes me so proud. There's been a rush of emotion."

Stanford still has a few more stops left this season, and a chance to reach even higher goals.

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