May 6, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - Somewhere around the end of the first NCAA tournament semifinal at Maples Pavilion – about the time a young man in a long-sleeved buttoned shirt, white cotton socks, sunglasses, and no pants, walked nonchalantly into the gym in front of a perplexed Ohio State crowd – it became apparent this would be no ordinary night.
Far from it, as top-ranked Stanford bullied its way into Saturday’s NCAA championship match on its home floor by dominating the Buckeyes, 30-25, 30-26, 30-17, in a Thursday semifinal before 3,815 at Maples Pavilion.
The Cardinal (23-6) will play No. 3 seeded Penn State (24-7), a surprising 30-21, 30-23, 30-28 winner over Cal State Northridge in the first semifinal, on Saturday at 4 p.m. for the NCAA championship.
Indeed, this was no ordinary night, not with a parade of Star Wars imperial stormtroopers following Darth Vader around the Maples Pavilion floor. And not with a Stanford team that refused to let a single ball land on its side of the court without a fight.
“This is the fun part,” Stanford coach John Kosty said. “On Saturday, we get to play for a national championship. And that’s what everybody dreams about.”
Stanford got to this stage – its first championship appearance since its 1997 title season – by building a foundation over the past four years that began with an abysmal 3-25 season for a freshman class who would become the torchbearers for the team’s “Worst to First” drive to the top.
Look at their example: With Stanford pulling away in the third set, a deflected Ohio State attack seemed headed out of play for a Buckeye point. But Kawika Shoji and teammate Spencer McLachlin gave chase and nearly collided while Shoji managed to pop it up across his own side of the court.
Freshman Jake Kneller gave chase for the second ball, and got enough of it send it back toward the net, where Romero was able to pound it for one of his match-high 15 kills.
In the second set, sophomore All-American libero Erik Shoji stated his case for the play of the day, by diving and somehow reaching the apparent money shot of a long rally, only to pop it up enough to allow Kawika Shoji to provide a controlled feed to Romero for a kill.
“We preach it from Day One,” Kawika Shoji said. “We go after every ball in practice. We never give up. The characteristic of our team is that we’re a resilient defensive team. We don’t give up easy kills.”
Now, the Cardinal has played itself into the NCAA final, where it will play against big, solid Penn State team led by the “Hebrew Hammer” Max Lipsitz in the middle, and outside hitter Will Price, the brother of former Stanford volunteer assistant coach Andy Price.
“We’re going to face a tough Penn State team that has a lot of weapons,” Kosty said. “I think we’re ready for it.”
Stanford had early trouble with Ohio State (22-8), which led 21-20 in the first set, only for the Cardinal to bolt to a 10-4 surge to close out the set and take command, partly on the momentum-changing plays it takes pride in -- plays made by the likes of Gus Ellis (eight blocks) and Erik Shoji (12 digs), and Lawson (14 kills), and Romero (.500 hitting percentage).
“You win the long rallies, you’ve got all the momentum on your side,” Kawika Shoji said. “We’ve been good about it all season, we’ve won the most long rallies.”
McLachlin and Brad Lawson took most of the early sets from Shoji, who sought to bring balance to the Stanford offense by loosening up the defense for Romero. By keeping the ball concentrated on the Cardinal’s two outsides, the block backed off Romero at opposite.
It worked. Romero had four kills in the first set, and nine in the second – without an error throughout.
“I’ve got the easiest job,” Romero said. “I just jump high and hit hard. They do all the passing and, when I get my opportunities, I want to make sure I take advantage of them. And I was able to take advantage of most of them tonight.”
Encouraged by its boisterous and costumed crowd – including Romero’s Tom Cruise “Risky Business” buddy from Florida – Stanford finished off the Buckeyes with its third consecutive postseason sweep and 11th consecutive set victory.
“When we started our freshman year, coach Shibuya, Big Al, and Kosty were the only three fans, and maybe my grandma if she came over,” Romero said. “But now they come dressed like cows, Pac Man, whatever it may be. Today, we had stormtroopers, with Darth Vader. That was awesome. But, you know what, that’s what college sports are about. It’s about showing school spirit, being proud and supporting your team.
“While we may not have the quantity of a Hawai’i or BYU crowd, I would say our quality’s pretty impressive with how loud and supportive they are. It’s a blessing out there. I think we’ve laid a foundation, and I’m expecting this to continue on. I don’t think I could’ve asked for anything more.”
Except, perhaps, for a pair of pants.
And a championship.
“We’re ready to play right now,” Romero said. “At the same time, we have to take a step back and prepare ourselves for a very good team and get ready for a final battle.”
-- David Kiefer, Stanford Athletics