Cal and Stanford come to visit in volleyball
Seniors have one more chance to get a win at home as No. 3 Cardinal and No. 15 Golden Bears come to town
Lindsay Schnell
Issue date: 11/16/06 Section: Sports
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"It probably won't hit me till we starting warming up," Windell said. "We've just been through so many ups and downs."
For Windell and fellow seniors Brittany Cahoon and Taylor Studzinski, it has been mostly a season of downs.
The three seniors have struggled to integrate eight freshmen this season, and the Beavers (3-20, 0-14) have yet to find a combination that works on the floor: through 14 Pacific-10 matches this year, OSU is winless.
"It's been really hard, but it's made us stronger women," Windell said.
And while Windell will admit it's been a more than trying year, she and her teammates are hardly ready to concede defeat. And it might be the perfect opportunity for the Beavers, as Cal - tonight's opponent - finds itself in the middle of a three-match losing streak. The Bears have lost to three straight top 10 teams.
"Cal will definitely set the tone for these next three matches and we've really been studying our scouting report so we know what to expect."
What the Beavers can expect is for Cal (17-8, 6-8) to set up hitter Angie Pressey, who averages over four kills per game. Senior setter Samantha Carter anchors the offense with 13.17 assists per game and senior libero Jillian Davis leads the defense, averaging close to five digs per game.
"I feel like I feel every weekend - like we have an opportunity," said coach Taras Liskevych. "We want this to happen for our seniors. And we haven't written the year off."
Senior night will come Friday as the Cardinal - who the Beavers haven't beaten in 43 tries - comes to Gill after being swept by USC last week.
Stanford (21-3, 12-2) boasts some of the best players in the nation, including sophomore hitter Cynthia Barboza and senior All-American Kristin Richards.
"If we can just put together against any of these teams what we did against Washington we can win," Liskevych said, referring to the Beavers 30-20, 30-23 and 3-26 loss to the defending national champions earlier this month. "It's tough when you lose because you're not confident, but we hope to bring something to the floor."
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