The Stanford Cardinal women’s volleyball team won the Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic with a five set victory over the determined Florida Gators. Stanford appeared to be heading for a straight set victory after front running, opening sets victories of 25-17 and 25-20. The Gators must have corrected their problems during the break. Playing with renewed energy, Florida drastically improved the effectiveness of their attack and avoided a straight set sweep by a 25-20 margin. Florida maintained their competitive advantage in the fourth set and forced a fifth and deciding set with a 25-21 victory.
In the final set Stanford scored the first three points and Florida called a timeout to regroup. When play resumed, Florida scored two consecutive points and eventually tied Stanford at 7-7. After that point there were six ties and four lead changes. Neither team was able to gain more than a one point advantage until a Florida attack missed with Stanford leading 14-13. Stanford won the fifth set and the tournament by the 15-13 score. Stanford defeated Penn State in four sets and Florida outlasted Texas in five sets to advance to the title match... Texas defeated Penn State in five sets to win the consolation match.
The Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic as with all early season tournaments gives fans an opportunity to see teams outside their conference and showcases the teams in a unique competitive environment similar to the NCAA Championship bracket. It is by no means, an indication of which teams will qualify for the NCAA Championship, must less an indication of an eventual champion. It does provide a quantitative and qualitative measure of a team’s relative abilities.
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