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Post by Keystonekid on Aug 17, 2006 13:57:35 GMT -5
Um.... pretty good!
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Post by w2l on Aug 17, 2006 14:02:25 GMT -5
Nikki Fawcett is a very talented player, all she need is someone to throw that ball in the air and she'll take a swing at it. She was amazing last season as a freshman, she will be a superstar by the end of her career at PSU.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2006 14:24:51 GMT -5
This would be a dropoff from 2005. Can we count on this?
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Post by Go Iowa on Aug 17, 2006 14:27:12 GMT -5
This would be a dropoff from 2005. Can we count on this? I'll agree with this. ;D
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Post by abcd098 on Aug 17, 2006 15:08:48 GMT -5
I'm suprised MSU is ranked so high, I would have put Michigan ahead of them. MSU has a ton of question marks, 8 out of their 16 players are newcomers. However, if the middles can deliver this season and the blocking improves, I think they can upset some teams. Anyone know who their middles are going to be?
Also, how was Marisa Main not unanimous?
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Post by bigtenfred on Aug 18, 2006 12:10:10 GMT -5
I think all the hitters will have a rough time just as the hitters did when Sam was a freshman.
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Post by bomber on Aug 18, 2006 13:00:12 GMT -5
I think all the hitters will have a rough time just as the hitters did when Sam was a freshman. I agree with Bigtenfred. I've seen how the Badger hitters, particularly the middles, struggled with timing during Pete's experimentation using two different setters in a match. And they have some pretty good hitters. But here's a telling statistic. In 2003, the last year that Morgan Shields, a former All Big Ten setter (though not in Totorello's class) set the Badgers, future All-Americans Sheila Shaw and Jill Odenthal, and outside hitter Aubrey Meierotto hit .313, .307, and .288 respectively. In 2004, the first year that freshman Jackie Simpson set the Badgers, those hitting stats dropped to .291, .275, and .225! Except for 2004, Shaw never hit for less than .310 her entire career!! Even more indicative of how even great hitters can struggle with a freshman setter is the fact that both Shaw and Odenthal finished in the top 5 career wise for hitting percentage at Wisconsin. It's pretty hard not to conclude that the young guns at PSU are going to have their own challenges with one of two frosh teeing it up for them. End of story...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2006 13:05:04 GMT -5
AM's stats are a little misleading aren't they? Didn't she play a lot more in 2004 and 2005?
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Post by bomber on Aug 18, 2006 13:17:28 GMT -5
AM's stats are a little misleading aren't they? Didn't she play a lot more in 2004 and 2005? To answer your question, no. In 2003, Aubrey led the team in attack attempts with over 1000 while playing in 118 games. You're grasping at straws on this one, Ruffda. And what about the examples of Odenthal and Shaw? They all started in 2003 as well. By the way, during this same year year of adjustment for freshman setter Simpson (2004), TR still managed to hit .317 to lead the team in this category as a frosh middle. This was not a point I set out to prove during my last entry, but those stats came up when I dug out the other ones on Shaw and the rest. I wonder how she might have hit with Totorello setting her up had she been at PSU. Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it???
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2006 14:17:55 GMT -5
I'm not grasping at straws. I didn't remember AM playing that much. I think you made a valid point, I was just wondering about AM.
I agree that frosh setters tend to struggle in top conferences. Heck, the Gophers were 7-13 in Berg's first year.
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Post by bomber on Aug 18, 2006 14:30:31 GMT -5
I'm not grasping at straws. I didn't remember AM playing that much. I think you made a valid point, I was just wondering about AM. I agree that frosh setters tend to struggle in top conferences. Heck, the Gophers were 7-13 in Berg's first year. Thank you. I think I did too. It will be really interesting to see how those glossy hitting stats that PSU hitters put up last year get affected when they have rookie setters bumping it to them.... I don't buy at all the statements made above like "Fawcett's so great, just get it close and she'll put it away" etc, etc,. This will be a better year to evaluate how good those hitters really are.
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Post by bigtenfred on Aug 18, 2006 14:32:54 GMT -5
well said let the games begin!
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Post by bomber on Aug 18, 2006 14:53:20 GMT -5
I think all the hitters will have a rough time just as the hitters did when Sam was a freshman. I agree with Big TenFred But here's a telling statistic. In 2003, the last year that Morgan Shields, a former All Big Ten setter (though not in Totorello's class) set the Badgers, future All-Americans Sheila Shaw and Jill Odenthal, and outside hitter Aubrey Meierotto hit .313, .307, and .288 respectively. In 2004, the first year that freshman Jackie Simpson set the Badgers, those hitting stats dropped to .291, .275, and .225! Except for 2004, Shaw never hit for less than .310 her entire career!! Even more indicative of how even great hitters can struggle with a freshman setter is the fact that both Shaw and Odenthal finished in the top 5 career wise for hitting percentage at Wisconsin. It's pretty hard not to conclude that the young guns at PSU are going to have their own challenges with one of two frosh teeing it up for them. End of story... Hey, come to think of it, the very same issues apply to Purdue this year. Good luck to those Boiler hitters, they're going to need some.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2006 14:59:56 GMT -5
I brought that up, back when I was whining about the AVCA rankings.
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Post by The Bofa on the Sofa on Aug 18, 2006 15:09:26 GMT -5
Hey, come to think of it, the very same issues apply to Purdue this year. Good luck to those Boiler hitters, they're going to need some. Perhaps that is why I am less convinced it is as big of a problem as you folks think it will be. Apparently the Big Ten coaches don't think it as much of a problem, either, as they had no problem expecting Penn St to win the conference. They didn't seem to penalize Purdue too much for it, either, although you could argue that with an experienced setter Purdue could be ahead of Ohio St (although Ohio St fans would probably disagree).
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