Huskies Looking To Serve Up Upset Over Huskers
December 09, 2010 | Volleyball
Dec. 9, 2010
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NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS • REGIONALS
SEATTLE, WA • HEC EDMUNDSON PAVILION
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10
Washington vs. (2) Nebraska • 7:00 p.m. • Live on UWTV • Live Video
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 • 8:30 p.m. • Live on ESPNU
» Husky Hitters Earn All-Region Honors
NCAAs Thus Far:
1st Round: Huskies Defeat Michigan In NCAA Opener
2nd Round: Huskies Get Sweep Of Hawaii To Reach NCAA Regionals
By Gregg Bell
UW Director of Writer
SEATTLE - Whenever Kindra Carlson wants to get her mind into match mode, whenever the kills leader for the 11th-ranked Huskies volleyball team may not feel totally up for working out, she watches a video.
It's more like a horror flick: Washington's five-set loss at home to Nebraska in the Regional final of the 2008 NCAA tournament. Carlson was a sophomore playing when Washington was denied a return to the Final Four by the Cornhuskers after being up 2-0 in sets, and then 9-3 in the final set.
"Yeah, it sucked," Carlson said this week, before the biggest match of her four-season career at UW: Friday's semifinals of the loaded Seattle region between the unseeded Huskies (23-8) and second-seeded Nebraska (29-2) at 7:00 p.m. in Hec Edmundson Pavilion. UWTV has the live game broadcast, and GoHuskies.com has a live game chat and statistics.
"It's motivation for me," Carlson said of that loss to Nebraska in the '08 NCAAs. "Whenever I don't want to practice or I'm just not feeling it, I watch that game."
Seventh-seeded California (27-3), the Pac-10 co-champion, meets No. 10 seed Minnesota (26-8) Friday at 5 p.m. in the other regional semifinal. The winners among these teams, all of which have recent Final Four experience, meet Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU TV for a return trip to the national semifinals.
Carlson thinks that loss to Nebraska two years ago has had a redeeming value for her Huskies.
"After that loss, we learned a lot about ourselves," the 6-foot-1 outside hitter said. "We learned to focus on our hitting, and not worry about the blocks. And we learned just about finishing. I think that's something we've struggled with, especially coming into this year. But this year, we've set our minds to finishing stronger."
It's worked. The Huskies ended the regular season with consecutive, three-set sweeps of Oregon and Oregon State.
Then they swept Michigan and Hawaii to get into their sixth regional semifinals in the last eight seasons under coach Jim McLaughlin. Carlson led Washington with 18 kills and dazzling, jumping top-spin serves in last weekend's second-round win over Hawaii, the national No. 15 seed and a 2009 Final Four participant, in UW's most complete match of the season.
Now they get yet another NCAA tournament collision with Nebraska, which has won 10 consecutive matches - all in three-set sweeps.
The Huskies swept the Cornhuskers in 2005 to win their first national championship. Nebraska avenged that loss three years later by beating Washington in what the Huskies consider their own home meltdown.
UW senior hitter Becky Perry downplays the revenge factor for Huskies-Huskers, Round Three.
"While it's the same programs, it's different players," Perry said, knowing that seven of the 13 current Huskies weren't on the team when the Huskies last played the Cornhuskers.
What is the same: Nebraska is still big. So Carlson's lesson of just hitting and not worrying so much about the blocking will come in handy Friday night. Cornhusker right-side hitters Lindsey Licht and Morgan Broekhuis are each 6-5. Captain and middle blocker Gina Mancuso is 6-4.
And volleyball is big in Nebraska. How big? (Kids, close your eyes).
"Nebraska volleyball is bigger than Santa - because everyone there believes in the volleyball team," Cornhuskers coach John Cook said with a straight face Thursday, relaying a quote that a former Husker who beat Washington in 2008 sent this week to NU's team.
But the Huskies are a big deal, too. They've been in the top six in the nation in attendance this season at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, and Washington is hoping the crowd Friday night perhaps doubles its per-game average of about 3,000. Over 2,900 tickets had been sold for Friday through Thursday, when sales of weekend passes ended. Single-day tickets are still to be sold here at GoHuskies.com or at the Husky ticket office through Friday's matches.
"I hope the crowd's huge," Carlson said, smiling devilishly.
McLaughlin keeps saying the key to advancing in the NCAAs is serving and passing. Strong serving is what helped Washington topple Hawaii last weekend.
That makes Carlson, from Eaton, Colo., and sophomore Kelcey Dunaway especially important against Nebraska. Carlson brings the power as Washington's only jump server who sends the ball across the net with darting top spin. She learned the new serve before her sophomore season, while messing around teaching kids in McLaughlin's UW summer camp.
She felt to fulfill her aspirations of playing on the national team she would eventually need to be a top-spin jump server. When she he told her coach she wanted to try the serve in Huskies matches, McLaughlin responded, "OK, but you have to stick with it."
She has - to great results. Her fastest serves have been clocked at about 60 mph. That's fast, but not the blistering aces of former Husky great Jill Collymore, who hit them in excess of 65 mph at UW and played this year for the U.S. national team.
"I think it's huge. It can get on some hitters quickly and get them out of rhythm," Carlson said of her top-spin serve.
Dunaway is Washington's changeup specialist. Listed as a middle blocker, she has settled into the role as UW's designated server as a contrast to Carlson's power. Dunaway, from Bainbridge Island, Wash., sends jump-float serves with a flatter trajectory that tie up the opposition like a catcher trying to field a knuckleball.
"It's a little different," Dunaway said of having just one role Friday - serving. "But I love serving."
With a newfound unity vibe the Huskies say they found in the middle of this up-and-down season, Washington feels primed for the Cornhuskers.
"I think we have the best competition in the world in our gym," Washington senior hitter Becky Perry said.
"We'll take on anybody."
