Post by Ye Olde Dawg on Oct 7, 2006 2:45:46 GMT -5
I said to my friend early on that it wasn't pretty. The teams traded service errors to open game one, and that kind of set the tone for the night. 
To be fair, it did get better after that. There was some very good hustle shown by both sides, and plenty of drama as the coaches used time outs and subs to either break the momentum or build some of their own. I'd say most of the time the hitters got good swings on the ball, but it looked like neither team was really clicking. I saw a lot of unforced errors on both sides all night long.
Oregon sets a very fast offense when they get a good pass. They were getting hitters alone with one blocker fairly often. The Huskies had some serious trouble with that, and I'd say serving -- keeping the setter from getting that good pass -- was what allowed the Huskies to win the match. But the Huskies weren't able to find a way to win at first, and Oregon took game 1, 30-26.
Oregon's serving can be spectacular. A couple of the players have massive jump serves, and when a serve is in play, it can be very tough to pass. Fortunately for us Husky fans, many of those serves went out or went into the net.
BTW, If someone figures out Oregon's system, please let me know? All three setters played. I thought it was a 6-2, but when I was trying to keep track of the setters there were times when it seemed like they didn't have a setter on the floor! I'm sure I missed something, but what?
As the match went on the Huskies went to more of what I think of as situational subs. The first was Megan McAfee, a DS who came in to serve for Swarbrick starting in game 3. It's the same role Aratani had for a long time. She just concentrated on her serve -- and served an ace. Now that's my kind of role player!
Role player #2 was Jill Collymore, who came in in game 4 to play front row (!) for Mussie. She got a couple of kills with no errors (thank you!) and just seemed to have an easier time getting over the block than Mussie had. Her serve was the turning point for that last game though. She used that moon-ball jump serve that others have talked about, mixing up the locations she served to, getting one outright ace and several bad passes. She finally served it out, but after five straight points I won't complain.
Oregon never pulled it together after that. They'd side out, but then give a point away. Their next two serves -- and Washington's next three points -- were service errors. Washington did win a point on Morrison's serve and earned a side out on Collymore's kill. McAfee came in to serve match point -- a role player's golden opportunity. Oregon passed the serve well though; there was one of those quick back sets and Washington wasn't able to close the block -- but then Djuric hit the ball long cross court.
You know what? This isn't volleyball the way champions play it. It's still good, but it's nothing like last year. But I've been watching the Huskies for a long time, including times when they'd be the underdog in a match like this. I enjoyed cheering on the underdog (or underdawg) and relishing the wins when they came. So I think I'm going to stop expecting them to win every match or to play like champions. If they can just finish with a winning record, make the NCAA tournament, and play their hearts out when they get there it will be a good year.
To be fair, it did get better after that. There was some very good hustle shown by both sides, and plenty of drama as the coaches used time outs and subs to either break the momentum or build some of their own. I'd say most of the time the hitters got good swings on the ball, but it looked like neither team was really clicking. I saw a lot of unforced errors on both sides all night long.
Oregon sets a very fast offense when they get a good pass. They were getting hitters alone with one blocker fairly often. The Huskies had some serious trouble with that, and I'd say serving -- keeping the setter from getting that good pass -- was what allowed the Huskies to win the match. But the Huskies weren't able to find a way to win at first, and Oregon took game 1, 30-26.
Oregon's serving can be spectacular. A couple of the players have massive jump serves, and when a serve is in play, it can be very tough to pass. Fortunately for us Husky fans, many of those serves went out or went into the net.
BTW, If someone figures out Oregon's system, please let me know? All three setters played. I thought it was a 6-2, but when I was trying to keep track of the setters there were times when it seemed like they didn't have a setter on the floor! I'm sure I missed something, but what?
As the match went on the Huskies went to more of what I think of as situational subs. The first was Megan McAfee, a DS who came in to serve for Swarbrick starting in game 3. It's the same role Aratani had for a long time. She just concentrated on her serve -- and served an ace. Now that's my kind of role player!
Role player #2 was Jill Collymore, who came in in game 4 to play front row (!) for Mussie. She got a couple of kills with no errors (thank you!) and just seemed to have an easier time getting over the block than Mussie had. Her serve was the turning point for that last game though. She used that moon-ball jump serve that others have talked about, mixing up the locations she served to, getting one outright ace and several bad passes. She finally served it out, but after five straight points I won't complain.
Oregon never pulled it together after that. They'd side out, but then give a point away. Their next two serves -- and Washington's next three points -- were service errors. Washington did win a point on Morrison's serve and earned a side out on Collymore's kill. McAfee came in to serve match point -- a role player's golden opportunity. Oregon passed the serve well though; there was one of those quick back sets and Washington wasn't able to close the block -- but then Djuric hit the ball long cross court.
You know what? This isn't volleyball the way champions play it. It's still good, but it's nothing like last year. But I've been watching the Huskies for a long time, including times when they'd be the underdog in a match like this. I enjoyed cheering on the underdog (or underdawg) and relishing the wins when they came. So I think I'm going to stop expecting them to win every match or to play like champions. If they can just finish with a winning record, make the NCAA tournament, and play their hearts out when they get there it will be a good year.
