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Post by wang pu on Aug 25, 2007 4:36:23 GMT -5
Let's keep the post game analysis to a new thread...
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Post by hwnstunner on Aug 25, 2007 4:47:41 GMT -5
POST GAME ANALYSIS?
"defeat deflates the fans' morale"
ahh.... I'm being so sour balls right now.
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Post by ACE on Aug 25, 2007 4:53:15 GMT -5
Mafua's location of her sets weren't great tonight. Brandt did a much better job connecting with all hitters. One area of improvement form Brandt, she needs to set the slide more often. I like her offensive mind-set. I was hoping she'd dump the ball when Hawaii was up 14-12 in game 5.
Otineru is a stud! The hype surrounding her was met. Ka'aihue is a great passer even though she did make a few mistakes.
Middles looked good.
I also questioned why the heck wasn't Kaufman running the slide to the right side like she did last year. She's a freaken high jump athlete and don't they take off similar to the step-out?
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Post by shai87 on Aug 25, 2007 4:55:39 GMT -5
POST GAME ANALYSIS? "defeat deflates the fans' morale" ahh.... I'm being so sour balls right now. pretty sour here as well. no doubt, but they are champions in training, they'll only get better. but this is a heartbreaker, but they girls especially the ones who made their debute, well they should be proud of themselves, they made me happy. i think otineru should replace houston, and Kaaihue replace lee, it only makes sense.
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luke96792
Junior
Hawai'i Volleyball: The Tradition Continues....
Posts: 440
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Post by luke96792 on Aug 25, 2007 5:02:16 GMT -5
Otineru just proved to me that "smalls" like her can definately compete as OH's in DI. Which in turn makes me real upbeat that another supposed "small" in Kanani Herring is coming to UH. Hopefully Tabi Love commits to UH also because height is definately needed on the Outsides.
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Post by ACE on Aug 25, 2007 5:10:52 GMT -5
Hawaii's defense will carry them this year. I really want to know how many digs they got tonight.
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Post by VollyDolly on Aug 25, 2007 5:24:57 GMT -5
A really entertaining night of volleyball despite the loss. I think Hawaii can take a lot of this match. Passing and defense are very much improved over last season. Block looked solid and when the offense was in system, they looked great.
Aneli was very fun to watch. I liked the emotion she brought to the court. Very fluid player, wonderful armswing and can absolutely crush the ball. Played amazing defense, passed well, and she'll be around for 3 more years?
Sanders was solid. Gregory and Kaufman need to be set more, both looked good. Gregory is a monster blocker and I'm glad to see that Kaufman can hit more than a slide. She also passed a couple of balls in serve receive pretty well too.
Setting will be fine this season. Hawaii didn't lose the first two games because of Mafua. She played fine, wonderful soft hands, great footwork, just needs game experience.
Loved Brandt! Liked that she was so vocal and fiery. Not a flashy setter, but distributes the ball well. Liked her offense and backrow defense. Pretty solid blocker too for 5'9.
I agree that our defense will carry us this season. After a shaky start (and after changing into the long sleeved black jersey) Ka'aihue passed wonderfully and played some great floor defense. Felt bad for Lee, similar situation to last season, except she ended up on the bench.
Hittle showed flashed of brilliance, especially hitting out of the row, but her passing was only so-so. Don't know what to say about Houston. After her first 3 errors, just got really negative. She's got all the physical tools to succeed, but her mental and emotional game need lots of improvement. Didn't much like her attitude thorughout.
As for Michigan: great setter, unstoppable slide, terrific libero, I think they could surprise some teams this season.
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Post by shai87 on Aug 25, 2007 5:30:15 GMT -5
Hawaii's defense will carry them this year. I really want to know how many digs they got tonight. i just saw stats from the game hawaii total was 80, and michigan got the same amount as well. 4 players with 10+ hittle with 17, Kaaihue with 19, otineru with 15 and brandt with 10.
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Post by sasa on Aug 25, 2007 5:39:31 GMT -5
Agree about Brandt's leadership. You could tell she was trying to rally the team when she came in and get a positive feel amongst the group. Otineru was great to watch both in the front and back row. I see her as the L2. I'm not sure about starting Hittle on the left, as she had some difficulty putting it away...although not as much difficulty as Houston. I have more confidence in Otineru. Houston will get over this disaster of a showing, hopefully, and take the L1 spot. Ka'aihue did well too, although there were a couple of drops where I could picture Lee saving with a dive. If Lee isn't the libero, I think she should still see the floor in front of Duggins.
Gotta' give it to Michigan tonight. They were playing great, especially out of the middles. Great chemistry and connection with the middles on their first game and with a freshmen setter even. Their setter was awesome!
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Post by naitsric on Aug 25, 2007 6:05:02 GMT -5
Aneli kicked butt. I feel a little more relaxed with the left side. In contrast, all night I kept thinking - Houston has nice pink shoes, nice body, funky nice hair, more than enough athleticism but baby, if you don't get those numbers up what good are you on the court. She still is my girl though! But I'm glad Shoji pulled her out. It seems like he's come to his senses and cutting when the cutting is needed, immediately. I think it was good for Houston to sit out like this.
Right now, Aneli just rocks my world!!! She's not tall like the others but boy can that girl put it down...and put it down HARD!!! She's an awesome LS and I love her back row. Collectively, the girls all did a wonderful job except Houston. Hopefully she snaps out of it!!!!
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Post by gstring on Aug 25, 2007 6:18:55 GMT -5
Aneli kicked butt. I feel a little more relaxed with the left side. In contrast, all night I kept thinking - Houston has nice pink shoes, nice body, funky nice hair, more than enough athleticism but baby, if you don't get those numbers up what good are you on the court. She still is my girl though! But I'm glad Shoji pulled her out. It seems like he's come to his senses and cutting when the cutting is needed, immediately. I think it was good for Houston to sit out like this. Right now, Aneli just rocks my world!!! She's not tall like the others but boy can that girl put it down...and put it down HARD!!! She's an awesome LS and I love her back row. Collectively, the girls all did a wonderful job except Houston. Hopefully she snaps out of it!!!! jayme lee got aced twice...sorry but she lost her spot
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Post by ooreo46 on Aug 25, 2007 7:11:11 GMT -5
The way how the Wahine were playing tonight made me pretty irritated. They are lacking a "go-to" hitter. I never believed in Mafua and tonight proved it. She never played setter in high school, so why was there a need to turn her into a setter for college ball? Yeah, she got the "touch" and trained under Kamanao, but she lacks leadership. Someone had said on these boards that Mafua is more athletic than Kamanao - WRONG. Kamanao moved MUCH more fluidly and seemed quicker than Mafua. Brandt impressed me a lot - I think I have a new favorite player on this team . I think she demonstrated some great qualities at setter and surprisingly, she didn't have much difficulty blocking at the net - which was my biggest concern about her. No doubt she starts tomorrow. I thought Houston would atleast have some bombers, but she screwed up big time. Her drop off in performance from last year has got me concerned. She got a reality check tonight. Cubi-Otineru had some nice bombers, but let's be real - she will not put up these offensive numbers against the big name schools. She hits smart, but she cannot single-handedly lead this team. I think she is what Sarah Mason was to the team last year - a stabilizing force. But I think offensively and defensively, Mason had the ability to take over a match, even from behind the service and three meter line - and those block solos on the left (I sure miss em). I don't see that same ability in Cubi-Otineru. Hittle seems out of sorts but I think she has the most potential to become the go-to on the left side. She just needs to get in the groove of things and she'll be back to form. Hawaii's middles are pretty solid - they are doing their job well and I think they connected much better with Brandt. Kaufman had some nice hits and I liked the new approach she developed. I feel that the setters should also have her run the slide so she can get some air and hammer the ball. Like Hittle, she just needs to get into a rhythm and she'll be fine. I feel sorry for Jayme Lee. She is a hustler out there on the court and needs to see court time. Kaaihue is a natural but I think Lee has a better serve and a better first step to the ball. Maybe Lee will see some time at defensive specialist? I stick to my opinion that this season is a rebuilding year. Next year should be great. For now, let's not set any expectations and let the Wahine develop as a team and as individuals - whether they win or lose.
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Post by wolverine on Aug 25, 2007 8:45:30 GMT -5
Well, that was a refreshing 3.5 hours of sleep I just had after staying up all night to watch that game. I'm ready to "greet the day". I think what's important for Michigan is not so much that they won but they didn't lose after taking a 2-0 lead and losing the fourth game on eight straight points at 22-27. The Wolverines were 0-4 last year in five set matches and generally couldn't "close" - doing things like missing serve at the most inoppurtune times or starting the season 13-0 and then losing to Indiana in the conference opener. If UH had completed that comeback , I think the UM team psyche would be in a terrible place this morning given the manner in which UM would have lost. (Of course, it's always possible UM could now lose to both Colorado State and Oregon State.) As for Hawaii, it's not the end of the world. It's just an upset loss in which they almost pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind victory. There should be no permanent scarring. On another note, were it that Michigan volleyball was popular enough to warrant online videostreaming. That was an absolute treat last night and regrettably, a rare opportunity to see the Wolverines on a screen, TV or computer. Now it's back to online audio and live score updates. Whoopie. You're fortunate, Wahine fans. Anyway, way to go, Michigan! Bring on Nebraska in the NC
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Post by bucky415 on Aug 25, 2007 9:06:53 GMT -5
Congrats to Michigan on a huge win. I guess Zimmerman lived up to the hype on her first night. I thought that would be a good move for them to insert her in the lineup and move Selsky back to libero. It also looks like the middles did a great job for the Wolverines. I thought it was better for them to have Miller back in the middle, instead of at the outside where she was some of last season.
As for Hawaii, it is only the first match, so strange things can happen to you, especially with new players playing. Is Houston okay physically? I hope she just got pulled for being startlingly ineffective, not due to any injury. They will really need her to return to form to get where they want to be this year. Also, did the ball control limit the sets to the middles?
As for Michigan, they will need to avoid a letdown and win their other matches this weekend, but this has to give them confidence going into the Big Ten. They haven't always played the toughest non-conference schedule, like last year when they started 0-4 in the league after going 13-0 to start, but playing in a tougher tournament gave them the shot at the big win. I have to give them credit for pulling out the fifth game when they easily could have folded.
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Post by 5100 on Aug 25, 2007 9:23:30 GMT -5
Stats are up. So Keefe and Ferrell also played. How long were they in for? And Gregory only got 15 sets in five games?
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