Hodge vs. Hooker vs. Engle

[utvballfan]

An update on the stats for some of the Freshman of the Year candidates.

This table shows the AVCA guidelines where available for the primary and secondary criteria. The guidelines vary in some cases for outside hitters vs. right side hitters.

The stats are as of November 11.

Taylor Carico was mentioned as a good candidate in several posts. The criteria for setters is quite different, and so her stats don’t really fit into this table for easy comparison.

Criteria	AVCA	Megan	Destinee	Ashley	AVCA
-	Guidelines	Hodge	Hooker	Engle	Guidelines
-	Outsides	Outside	Outside	Right Side	Right Sides
Primary	-	-	-	-	-
Hitting %	.225	.269	.275	.254	.250
Kills/Game	3.25	4.72	3.44	3.96	2.50
Kill %	.325	.433	.421	.423	.325
Blocks/Game	0.50	0.67	0.63	0.73	0.60
Secondary	-	-	-	-	-
Serving	-	-	-	-	-
-Aces/Game	-	0.36	.05	0.27	-
–SE/Game	-	0.53	.06	0.36	.-
Points/Game	-	5.47	3.96	4.62	-
Passing	-	yes	no	yes	-
–RE	-	16	1	14	-
Digs/Game	2.50	2.66	0.70	2.99	2.00

[tito99]

cool table...

is kill% the kills per attempts without the penalty for errors?

[tito99]

it looks like hodge is still the clear winner...the only category she's behind in is bpg (and not by much), but engle on the right is expected to get more blocks

[utvballfan]

Tito99,

Yes, that is correct.

Kill % = Kills/Attempts.

Hitting % = (Kills-Errors)/Attempts.

[utvballfan]

By the way, I don't think it is anything as clear cut as you make it out to be.

For example, Hodge was set 100 times more than Engle. Their kill % is essentially the same. If Engle had been set as many times as Hodge, she'd have had essentially the same number of kills and would be much closer in kills/game and points/game.

I think it says, Hodge is a slightly more efficient hitter who gets set a lot more, and Engle is a more well-rounded player who blocks better, digs way better, and sets way better.

[pogoball]

I'm not a fan of PSU or UT. I like both schools.

Hodge is the superior player on paper by that table. Right sides are supposed to hit with higher efficiency. Players who get set less are supposed to hit with higher efficiency. However, Hodge hits with a higher efficiency than Engle. That's a _very_ clear win for Hodge.

(In case you were unsure, look at the AVCA guidelines for hitting percentage of left vs right. The reason for this difference is that left side hitters get the garbage sets while right side hitters generally only get good sets)

Getting set 100 times more is a further argument in favor of Hodge by itself. It means that she is more important to her team's offense.

The passing stats slightly favor Engle and the blocking stats slightly favor Hodge given that she is a left side.

These stats emphasize that Hodge makes a bigger impact on a game than Engle. If I were to pick a player based on these stats alone, I'd quickly pick Hodge.

The one thing that could possibly sway me in favor of Engle would be to see more detailed serve-receive stats. These are almost worthless. If we could see some sort of scaled stats and if Engle proved to be a clear winner there, then I could reconsider. I doubt these are available, though.

[texas22]

I am not sure about PSU offense, but how often is Hodge set in the back row?

Engle is set a lot from the back row. Her hitting % would be much higher, but she is forced to just roll shot a lot of balls b/c the set to her is so low.

[rudepa]

I think Engle is the more talented all around player for sure. Hodge terminates the ball so well, but she really doesnt do very well in the back row. Hooker is great raw talent stepping up and making a huge impact, but not the same quality a player as Engle and Hodge.

[OverAndUnder]

I suspect if the stats were re-done to reflect just the last six weeks, the numbers would be very different. The first few matches still had last year's starters Magee, Acevedo, and Armstrong to take a lot of swings. All three are no longer part of the offense. Engle actually does get all the garbage sets. Engle doesn't jump as high or hit the ball as high, but she gets more snap on the ball. She isn't able to go over blockers like Pavan. Hodge's attacking is clearly more powerful than Engle's, although after seeing her play a couple times I'm surprised at how stunted and flat the end of her armswing motion looks. If she would swing all the way through the ball and get a stronger snap I think she could begin to approach Ogonna level.

As for Hooker, I've been told she has made several back row appearances in the last few matches and didn't look nearly as horrible as was first expected. I hope Jerritt gives her as many back row reps as the team can get away with.

And yes, any time Hooker gets blocked it's because Moriarty either doesn't have the arm strength or the technique to push the ball high enough. If you watch game tape and after seeing Moriarty set Hooker a few THEN see a transition play where Moriarty digs and Engle takes the second touch you'll see the difference in the set's speed, angle, and location. Hooker doesn't get blocked with Engle's height and strength to push the ball all the way.

[howdyhoes]

i thought it was just that hooker/engle dont have the reps/chemistry for hooker to expect something faster n lower from engle? or maybe engle doesn't want to bullet one out to hooker to instead safely make the most of the moriarty dig with the high ball? thats just what it looks like to me tho, i aint at practice.

every time i see UT it seems that engle will run the slide in transition more than she lasers 'em outside. (the high outside to hooker is money tho.)

[OverAndUnder]

Moriarty sets it lower, but not faster. Engle sets almost the same ball with a slightly flatter arc. The difference is that because of her height and arm length the ball leaves her hands already a foot higher than Moriarty's release point.

[volleysean27]

I say Engle. She does so much for the team and is great all around

[vbobsessed]

Since TEXAS' 10/18 loss to #1 Nebraska, they have gone 7-0. Beating 2 teams that they lost to in the first half of Big12 play (OU & MU). Penn State, since that same time, has 2 losses (to ranked OSU & UW).
I'm not sure if more weight should be added to the second half of the season, but if they do, Engle would win.
Both Hodge & Engle are deserving.
Hooker, on the other hand, may turn out to be the best in the end, but not this year. I loved seeing her in the back row against Mizzou_and_serving during very critical end of game one loss. She was very poised like an elite athlete should be.