#3: 11/20/1999
"The Big Game--not quite?!"
Who has the longest blonde hair on the Cal Women volleyball team?
Today is the day of the Big Game. Usually San Francisco's Big Game refers to the
University of California, Berkeley vs. Stanford football game. Cal and Stanford have a
long history of intense rivalry for the symbolic trophy, "the Axe." Click here
for the story about the football Big Game.
Guess what? This is not a story about the football Big Game. Instead, this is a story
about college women volleyball. You may guess that this is a story about Logan Tom of
Stanford playing against Courtney Guerra of
Cal, who are the most promising freshmen outside hitters on their respective teams. They
are also two of my favorite new players. Guess again! Those games have happened already.
Here are the re-caps. 1999 Game 1 at Berkeley. Game 2 at Stanford.
You just have to wait until Sept and Oct of 2000 to read about the Cal vs. Stanford
women volleyball Big Game. Right now you have to be satisfied with the Cal vs. Washington
State game on 11/20/1999. I know, I know. This is the Big Game--not quite!
 This was the 5th game of the
California Golden Bears vs. the Washington State Cougars at Cal's Haas Pavilion
(previously known as Harmon Gym). For the past several weeks Cal has been on a 4-match
losing streak. After winning 2 games each, Cal and Washington State were playing the
deciding 5th game. At this point Cal Bears were ahead 13-12 and ready to serve. Can they
go on and win?
However, let me first tell you how I became to love volleyball. The first time I
touched a volleyball was when I was at Alice Deal Junior High School, Washington D.C. I
was in the 8th grade. In fact, it was my first month in United States after immigrating
from Taiwan. Here I was in a gym class, and the teacher was trying to teach us how to
play. We broke into small groups and played. The way it worked was that a team of 6 was
playing against another team of 6. Well, when it was my turn to play I was on a team of
one person! No problem. I proceeded to play alone against a team of 6! So I was initiated
into volleyball for the first time.
In high school I was really not much into exercising. Hitting the books and getting A's
seem all time consuming. My deepest regret of my high school was not continuing to
participate on Bishop O'Dowd High School's (Oakland, California) track and field team
after my freshman year. I do remember that I played on a co-ed intramural volleyball team.
I really don't remember who was on my team. I do seem to recall that I did get a small
trophy. After that, I did not touch a volleyball for many years.
After college and working at Intel for a while, I decided to get in shape. One of the
birthday presents I gave to Theresa when she turned 29.99 :-) was a membership at Club
Sport at Fremont (http://www.clubsportfre.com/clubsport/default.htm).
So we started to exercise. After many months I realized that I didn't know anyone there
even though I was there several times a week. I thought, "Why not sign up for
volleyball to get to know a few other people?" Even since then I've been an avid
volleyball player. I have always signed up for the Thursday evening recreational
volleyball league. In fact, I have a whole drawer full of T-shirts that I got at the
conclusion of each league--I never have to buy another T-shirt for the rest of my life.
:-) At work I get to play on a sand court once in a while. I like playing so much that I
recently decided to start a game every Thursday during lunchtime. It's also in Nov, 1999
that I realized that I should really go to one of the Cal women volleyball games. I must
admit that Cal is not one of the top PAC-10 teams. However, how can I turn down a
date night with Theresa at Berkeley? Since Theresa works at Berkeley, it's convenient for
me to take BART to meet her for dinner and then attend a game. What a life--to
combine a gourmet dinner with Theresa followed by a volleyball match!
 So on Friday, Nov 20th, 1999, I sneaked out of work early. Here I was on
BART, which would take me from Fremont to the downtown Berkeley station in less than an
hour.
 Yes, I know you are here to read about
volleyball. However, I must say that a great way to get ready to cheer the lady Golden
Bears to victory is to eat a gourmet meal. I figure that a well-fed fan is a fan who can
yell, scream, and clap like a mad man :-) Besides, I needed a good dinner and a fine glass
of wine just in case Cal loses again, like the way they lost to USC in three straight
games several weeks ago. :-(
  Theresa insisted that I try out the
specialty of the house, which is a spit-roasted half chicken. I must say that I was
impressed, and the chicken was delicious when paired with a nice glass of Robert Mondavi
Fume Blanc. For sure we will be back to Santa Fe Bistro.
 After the dinner we walked to the Haas Pavilion (I wonder how much they
donated in order to get the place renamed from Harmon Gym :-). How many sporting events
can you go and get a great seat -- first row at exactly mid court -- by paying only $5 per
person even though we arrived 20 minutes late! What a deal! I took a picture of this ball
girl, because she had a nice Pac 10 volleyball t-shirt on. However, for the rest of the
evening she annoyed me greatly as she always stood just in-between my camera and the
action on the court! It drove me nuts!
 How can you tell who is #6
Courtney Guerra? Simple. She has the longest blond hair on the court. Here she was scoring
a kill.
 The Haas Pavilion, previously known as the Harmon Gym, was
completely remodeled. The last time I was inside here I think I was taking a final
examination during my junior year in college. The lobby was not even finished yet.
However, it's a great court. The following is a 5-frame panoramic shot of the Haas
Pavilion. Let's see if you can find Theresa! I'll give you a hint. She is by the middle of
the court on the second row toward the right.
 Here was Cal's defense at work. Was anyone going to dig the ball up?
 Yes, a nice save by the Cal's defense. At this point the match was all
even with one game each. Cal won the first game 15-9 but then lost the second game 10-15.
 Another nice set by Cal. Cal handily defeated Washington State with a
score of 15-3 in the third game.
 These ladies sure could jump! I'm envious. Cal narrowly lost the 4th game
13-15. Now it's time for a very exciting 5th game, where rally scoring is enforced.
Instead of getting a point only when one is serving, during rally scoring every side-out
is also counted as a point. It's fast and exciting.
 Even though it was exciting to see a hard-driven spike, it was also
thrilling to see a great block against the opponent. My arm was sore after all evening of
pumping my fist! Now I know how Tiger Woods feels when he makes a great putt!
 The fifth game was exciting
to watch. After Washington State came really close, Cal was able to maintain their
composure and win the game 15-12 when the final ball was driven out of bound by a Cougar
outside hitter. Here was the lady Golden Bears celebrating.
Here was the story on the net that evening when I got home:
BERKELEY, CA - The University of California women's volleyball team (11-15,
6-11) broke a four-match losing streak with an impressive 3-2 (15-9, 10-15, 15-3, 13-15,
15-12) victory over Washington State (13-13, 7-11), Friday evening at Haas Pavilion on the
Cal campus. It was the first time Cal had defeated WSU since the Bears won 3-2 Oct. 25,
1991 in Harmon Gym. Cal's 11 overall wins are the most since 1995, and the Bears six
conference victories are the most since 1992.
Cal was led by junior outside hitter Alicia Perry, who had a triple-double with a team-high 21 kills with
only five errors in 50 attempts for a .320 hitting percentage. Perry also was the Bears
setter in a 6-2 office and had a career-high 31 assists and finished with 19 digs. Senior
middle blocker Kellie Alva and junior outside hitter Laurel Kokaska also had fine matches. Alva had 15 kills with five
errors in 29 attempts for a .345 hitting percentage, while Kokaska had 15 kills with four
errors in 36 attempts for a .306 hitting percentage. Senior Brook Coulter led Cal with 21 digs. LaToya Harris and Joy Sperry led Washington State with 22 and 21 kills, respectively.
"The key to our victory was that we got excellent team play," said Cal
assistant coach Lee Maes. "A large number of people had a chance to contribute
and when they had the opportunity to make big plays, they took advantage. This was a great
win for this team."
 Of course I could not give up the chance of absorbing some of that great
volleyball energy by begging Theresa to take a picture of me in front of the Cal banner.
Maybe I can jump a little higher now!
 You know my adventure will not be complete without having a satisfying
dessert to top off the evening. Theresa and I enjoyed a piece of pecan chocolate pie at Au
Chocolate, and I drank a glass of hot tea to calm my nerves down after that exciting game.
What was the most memorable part of the evening? Had a nice date night with Theresa?
Enjoyed a delicious roast chicken? Watching Courtney Guerra hitting? Enjoying a tremendous
block against Washington State? Nope. During intermission there was a guy that threw out
some freebie, cheap mock volleyballs. At first I was very disappointed that I was not able
to get one--despite me jostling for a good position against these 10-year-old grade school
girls :-) Well, the goddess of women volleyball was smiling on me and actually sent a ball
rolling my way! I triumphantly took home my trophy!
 Forget about the Axe for the football Big Game, I got my prize tonight!
From Cal Women Volleyball's site: (http://www.calbears.com/sports/w-volley/)
 Cal's #6: Courtney Guerra. Freshman. From Simi Valley, Ca. 6-0. Outside
hitter
Enters her first season as an outside hitter for the Golden Bears. (Okay, I admit it.
She may not be the strongest hitter on the squad, but you must come to a game to find out
how long her blond hair is!)
Here is a story from (http://www.fansonly.com/schools/cal/sports/m-footbl/)
Pre-Game
Cal Looks To Spoil Stanford's Rose Bowl Hopes
Bears attempt to retrieve the Axe at 102nd Big Game.
Cal-Stanford: The Series
Stanford and Cal will battle for the axe for the 102nd time since the two teams began
meeting in 1892. Stanford leads the series 51-39-11, and has held onto the axe for four
consecutive years. Last year, Stanford beat Cal 10-3 at Memorial Stadium after the
Cardinal defense held the Bears to minus 36 yards rushing and 198 total net yards, Cal's
lowest offensive output of the season. The Bears have not won since 1994, a 24-23 win at
Berkeley. The rivalry has a history of tight scoring games, with forty-eight Big Games
having been decided by one touchdown or less. Only 97 total points separate the scoring in
101 games as the Cardinal has scored 1,574 points to Cal's 1,477. The 101 games played
between the two schools ranks 10th in the NCAA record books in total games between two
college football teams.
Post-Game
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - The Big Game turned into a big party for Stanford, which
wrapped up its first undisputed Pac-10 title and is heading to the Rose Bowl for the first
time since 1972.
Cal (4-7, 3-5) managed just 130 yards total offense. The Bears had eight first downs,
three in the first three quarters.
Stanford, which has lost its only two non-conference games this season and has a game
remaining next Saturday against Notre Dame, will face Big Ten champion Wisconsin in the
Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.
as they say, there is always next year...
Sept. 21, 1999
BERKELEY, Calif. - Freshman outside hitter Logan Tom (Salt Lake City,
UT/Highland HS) had 20 kills, 15 digs, five blocks and four service aces to lead
seventh-ranked Stanford (6-1, 3-0) to a 15-5, 11-15, 15-4, 15-7 win over host California
(4-4, 1-2) on Tuesday night at the Recreation Sports Facility Fieldhouse. Stanford has now
beaten California 33 straight times dating back to 1982, and leads the all-time series
45-4.
Tom, who was named Pac-10 Player of the Week on Monday, has already recorded 90 kills
(18.0 per match), 52 digs (10.4), 21 blocks (4.2) and nine service aces (1.8) since
joining the team on September 6. Tom missed the Cardinal’s first two matches of the
season while representing the U.S. Junior National Team at the Junior World Championships
in Canada.
Senior Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, CA/Archbishop Mitty HS) also hit a match-high .500
for the winners, to go along with 18 kills and 14 digs. Freshman Ashley Ivy (Arlington,
TX/Lamar HS) and senior Sarah Clark (Kamuela, HI/Hawaii Prep) added 12 and 10
kills, respectively, for the Cardinal.
Cardinal beats Cal for the 33rd straight time in front of third straight crowd over
2,000.
October 22, 1999 (Stanford, CA) – Seventh-ranked Stanford (16-2, 9-1 Pac-10)
rolled to a straight-game 15-2, 15-7, 15-6 victory over California (8-11, 3-7 Pac-10) in a
Pac-10 Conference women’s volleyball match on Friday at Maples Pavilion. The
Cardinal, who have won 15 of its last 16 matches including an exciting five-game victory
over #3 Pacific last Tuesday, will face undefeated and #2 Hawaii (17-0) in a showdown of
two of the nation’s best teams this Sunday in Honolulu (8:00 pm, PDT).
The Cardinal extended its home win streak to 37 in a row tonight and has now won 87 of
its last 88 home matches. Stanford has also beaten the Golden Bears in 33 straight
matches.
Cal was led by junior outside hitter Alicia Perry (Lakewood, CA/Lakewood HS) and
freshman outside hitter Leah Young (Visalia, CA/Golden West HS) with six kills each.
| 
