Would 12 be the magic number? As part of the No. 1 ranked group of recruits in the nation last fall, Jenna Gray joined a Stanford volleyball team bursting with potential. But there had been other illustrious freshman classes before hers, and the results over the previous 11 seasons had always fallen short of a national championship, despite otherwise commendable records. What would the journey be for her?
She got part of the answer quickly. “We all collectively felt a little bit of pressure and a lot of nerves about the transition,” she recalls. But when fifth-year senior Inky Ajanaku so badly flubbed a hit in practice that everyone cracked up, Gray recognized the spirit that drove the program: “I learned very quickly that it was more focused on learning than jumping right in and trying to fulfill your expectations right away.”
Right away came anyway. Gray, a setter from Shawnee, Kan., was familiar with the chemistry of success after three state titles in high school. But the Stanford squad clicked, well, magically. “There’s just this bond,” says Gray, “between all the freshmen and even the upperclassmen that I wasn’t expecting.”
Photo: John Todd/isiphotosPresto? Sort of. That elusive national championship was captured in what turned out to be a sublime swan song for longtime coach John Dunning, who announced his retirement a few weeks later. Four of the six freshmen—Gray, outside hitter Kathryn Plummer, middle blocker Audriana Fitzmorris and libero Morgan Hentz—stepped into starting roles. Ajanaku, playing what Dunning called “the best volleyball of her career” in the biggest games down the stretch, filled the leadership billet. And when the classic test-of-character moment presented itself, the women met it with tenacity.
When they were down two sets to nothing in an Elite Eight showdown with Wisconsin, the conversation in the locker room, remembers Gray, was about going back out and playing every second based on how “we all had each other’s back.” Three straight winning sets later, they were on to the Final Four, where they tore through Minnesota and Texas for the program’s first NCAA title since 2004.
They basked in the triumph just long enough, says Gray, to decide, “Let’s do this again.” So maybe the magic number next season is 1.
Photo: Walt MiddletonOut on Top
John Dunning’s retirement in January as women’s volleyball coach, on the heels of December’s NCAA crown, puts the spotlight on extraordinarily consistent achievement. In his 16 seasons, the Cardinal won three national championships, got to the title game another four times and had an overall record of 451-83. Dunning also won two national championships at University of the Pacific in the 1980s and never had a team miss the postseason in his 32 years as a head coach. What did Dunning say in retrospect? “I am a very lucky person.” The successor challenged to maintain that standard of accomplishment was named before the month was out—Kevin Hambly from the University of Illinois. In eight seasons as head coach, Hambly guided the Illini to six appearances in NCAA regionals and the 2011 title game (lost to UCLA). Attracted by Stanford as “the premier university and athletics department in the country,” Hambly said, “there was just no way I could pass it up” when offered the job.
