The Stanford women's volleyball team spent most of last year wondering when their nightmare season would end. This fall, they’re living a different kind of dream—of a national title.
Last year, the team stumbled to a 19-12 record and final ranking of 19th—its worst finish ever. With head coach Don Shaw on leave for the year and star outside hitter Logan Tom playing with the Olympic team in Sydney for the first month of the season, the squad never found its rhythm or a consistent lineup. When Shaw announced in June that he was resigning to coach the Stanford men’s team, it didn’t look as though things were going to get better anytime soon.
Enter the troubleshooter: new head coach John Dunning. He arrived from the University of the Pacific with a 437-102 record, two NCAA titles and a reputation as a players’ coach. Under Dunning’s guidance, the Cardinal has won 11 of its first 12 games.
“He’s exactly what the team needed,” says outside hitter and co-captain Michelle Chambers. “He came in the first day demanding a lot from everybody.” Players also applaud Dunning’s focus on the game’s fundamentals, including serving and passing.
What’s made Dunning’s coaching look even better is the arrival of freshman outside hitter Oganna Nnamani, the top recruit in the nation last year. Her combination of physical gifts (Nnamani stands 6-foot-1 and can touch 10 feet, 7 inches in drills) and volleyball instincts has earned her a starting spot and inspired comparisons to former Stanford greats like Kristin Folkl, ’98.
“When people look at her, their eyes open up; they can see the muscle on her,” Dunning says. “[Players like Folkl] have a combination of intelligence, dedication to the game and tremendous physical abilities. If [Nnamani] works and keeps herself focused, she’s certainly talented enough to be like that.”
Nnamani has also made an impression off the court, composing a song about fried chicken for a preseason team talent show. Her enthusiasm and energy, teammates say, fit in well with Dunning’s emphasis on group chemistry.
“She’s probably one of my favorite people on the team,” says Chambers, ’02. “Really modest, one of those people who don’t realize how great they are.”
“She’s a really easy player to set,” says starting setter Robyn Lewis, ’01. “You just throw it up there, and she’ll go and get it. It’s wonderful to have a player like that on the court, especially with her positive attitude.”
Just as important as the influx of new talent has been the return of the team’s brightest star: Tom, who spent the summer leading the United States to a gold medal at the FIVB Grand Prix, the climax to months of international competition. Among the leaders in kills at the Grand Prix, Tom, ’03, has established herself as simply one of the best players in the world.
“She’s clearly not normal—[and I mean that] in a good way,” Dunning says. “She’s realized her potential quicker than all but a few people in our sport ever have.” Does the college game have anything left to teach Tom? Dunning says yes. “She has an opportunity to learn how to be a leader,” he says. “[We can teach her] the mental game—dealing with frustration, distraction. She’s got some really neat things she can learn.”
With starting spots locked up for Tom and Nnamani, finding playing time for the other outside hitters can be hard. Players who might start in other programs, even seniors, have had to accept roles as substitutes. “As an older player, you come to realize that you want the six best people on the court,” says Chambers, who’s coming off the bench after starting 28 matches last year.
“I can’t care whether [a particular player] plays,” says Dunning. “I care about them as people. I care how the team plays. There is a lot of competition for minutes. If managed properly, that’s a really, really good thing.”
Apparently so, because the players say the new faces on the team have made volleyball fun again. As for how the season ends? After only a few months at Stanford, Nnamani knows what she thinks.
“We have so much potential, it’s amazing,” she says. “The sky will be the limit.” Especially if you can jump as high as she can.
