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Post by hammer on Jan 19, 2015 19:26:05 GMT -5
SCVA Qualifier #2: McKenna played well while I was watching. She is still learning the libero position. Right now to me it is a toss-up between McKenna, Benjamin, and Chang for libero next year. Benjamin slightly better at receiving serve. McKenna and Chang better at digging hard driven balls. The best libero would be Burgess. Hodson served well, played well in all phases of the game, and is definitely hitting harder than last year. She has slightly changed her hitting mechanics since last season. She is getting more power from body core than exclusively from armswing and wrist snap. Plummer played much better than when I briefly saw her two weeks ago. She hits as hard as Hodson. Plummer dominated in blocking at times; of course blocking prep players is different than Pac-12. This is the first time I really had time to watch Plummer. She is going to be really good. Mark me down as a fan. Which ever school ends up with Plummer will be lucky. Coaches at Qualifier: Dunning and McLaughlin were talking and laughing together for the longest time. It wouldn't surprise me to see Notre Dame on Stanford's schedule in the next couple of years. Haley, Dunning, Mary Wise, and Russ Rose glued to the Coast 18s court. Can anyone guess who they were watching? People have told me Lexi Sun has decided on USC. I don't think Wise and Rose would fly across the country to watch a player unless they thought they had a chance to recruit her. While Sun may end up at USC it doesn't seem like a done deal at this point in time. If Sun wants a chance at a NC, Penn State seems like a better choice than USC based on last season's results. I talked to Russ Rose during one of the matches. I asked when he was was going to let Stanford win a NC. He said he will let Stanford win in September. I was surprised to learn Rose lost some volleyball recruits when the Paterno scandal surfaced in the news. It didn't seem to make much difference. While I was talking to Rose, Sun's parents came up to say hi to him. It was clear he is on familiar terms with her parents. The report on McKenna sounds encouraging ... I don't see Benjamin as Stanford's L based upon what I saw in 2014. I've only seen Chang in a couple of videos but I liked what I saw regarding her ability to react to the ball and dig it off the floor. I'm still hoping that Sun goes to Stanford ... I fear MIck will not make the best use of her talents in the moon ball O. Stanford's all around approach and faster offense would be a better fit and better training for the NT.
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Post by jsn112 on Jan 19, 2015 19:32:50 GMT -5
^ Could be Kathryn Plummer. I hope she stays in the west though. I don't why you guys are teasing us Penn State fans like this. I don't ever remember a high caliber player from the west coast has ever come to the east. Tom was courted but that was a close as it ever gets.
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Post by hammer on Jan 19, 2015 19:36:25 GMT -5
^ Could be Kathryn Plummer. I hope she stays in the west though. I don't why you guys are teasing us Penn State fans like this. I don't ever remember a high caliber player from the west coast has ever come to the east. Tom was courted but that was a close as it ever gets. It looks like you did necessarily need them anyway with six of the last eight NCAA Championships. And, to look at a different way, 2/3rds of US population is East of the Mississippi and you are clearly the BIGGEST FISH in that pond.
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Post by c4ndlelight on Jan 19, 2015 19:41:16 GMT -5
^ Could be Kathryn Plummer. I hope she stays in the west though. I don't why you guys are teasing us Penn State fans like this. I don't ever remember a high caliber player from the west coast has ever come to the east. Tom was courted but that was a close as it ever gets. Texas and Florida have had a few.
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Post by sandnut on Jan 22, 2015 13:33:10 GMT -5
Have seen Plummer numerous times on beach, "BEAST"! Her indoor game, I've been told, is equally impressive. It's amazing how she has such control over her body size, 6'6" and strong, on the sand. With the recent announcement that sand volleyball is an official NCAA sport, will the Cardinal go "all in"? What I mean is with the new facility will they hire a legitimate sand coach, fully fund the program and compete a full schedule? If Plummer is academically admissible, what a catch that would be. Assuming Penn State has no plans to enter sand legions???
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Post by akbar on Jan 22, 2015 13:49:06 GMT -5
College Sand Game. If you have to sell a kid to come win an indoor championship by offering a sand box to play in, I doubt the end result will be what you want.
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Post by paloalto on Jan 22, 2015 15:55:17 GMT -5
College Sand Game. If you have to sell a kid to come win an indoor championship by offering a sand box to play in, I doubt the end result will be what you want. That is the answer for the question, “What is the opinion about sand volleyball for a fan of a school that will probably never field a sand volleyball team?”
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Post by paloalto on Jan 22, 2015 15:57:19 GMT -5
Have seen Plummer numerous times on beach, "BEAST"! Her indoor game, I've been told, is equally impressive. It's amazing how she has such control over her body size, 6'6" and strong, on the sand. With the recent announcement that sand volleyball is an official NCAA sport, will the Cardinal go "all in"? What I mean is with the new facility will they hire a legitimate sand coach, fully fund the program and compete a full schedule? If Plummer is academically admissible, what a catch that would be. Assuming Penn State has no plans to enter sand legions??? This is what I hear in the way of speculation. Dunning will coach this spring’s sand team. All returning indoor players will be asked to participate. For spring 2016 (spring 2017 at the latest) Stanford will have a dedicated sand coach and will be giving out the maximum allowable sand scholarships. Keep us Stanford fans posted this summer about her beach tournaments. Thanks sandnut.
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Post by #skoskers on Jan 22, 2015 16:22:07 GMT -5
Are all of the Stanford indoor players participating in sand this spring?
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Post by akbar on Jan 22, 2015 16:43:25 GMT -5
College Sand Game. If you have to sell a kid to come win an indoor championship by offering a sand box to play in, I doubt the end result will be what you want. That is the answer for the question, “What is the opinion about sand volleyball for a fan of a school that will probably never field a sand volleyball team?” No it was the answer to the previous posters question of if a program goes "all in". They eluded to the hope it will be the determining factor of a Blue Chip Indoor player choosing Stanford. Promising equal development in both is unrealistic. By going "all in" it is my belief it will NOT have the desired impact that some people believe in achieving a National Championship in the indoor game. Energy and focus equally divided to the two arenas will be difficult to manage. It's an opinion.
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Jan 22, 2015 16:56:08 GMT -5
Have seen Plummer numerous times on beach, "BEAST"! Her indoor game, I've been told, is equally impressive. It's amazing how she has such control over her body size, 6'6" and strong, on the sand. With the recent announcement that sand volleyball is an official NCAA sport, will the Cardinal go "all in"? What I mean is with the new facility will they hire a legitimate sand coach, fully fund the program and compete a full schedule? If Plummer is academically admissible, what a catch that would be. Assuming Penn State has no plans to enter sand legions??? This is what I hear in the way of speculation. Dunning will coach this spring’s sand team. All returning indoor players will be asked to participate. For spring 2016 (spring 2017 at the latest) Stanford will have a dedicated sand coach and will be giving out the maximum allowable sand scholarships. . Yeah, that seems to be consistent with the grapevine on SoCal beaches. To take the rumor mill once step further, the story is that Kerri Walsh will retire after Rio and become the Stanford sand coach in 2017. While that's still pretty much at the rumor stage, it is being talked about by some pretty knowledgable folks. We'll see how it shakes out down the road.
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Post by pacfan on Jan 28, 2015 10:58:26 GMT -5
Hear Hodson is a talented sand player also. Several years owning the youth age divisions with Crissy Jones and now training with the Elite Sand Volleyball Club. Would love to see her and Kathryn Plummer pair up. It would be interesting if they could figure out blocker/defender reads together. They are indoor teammates so their schedules should be very similar to squeeze an open tournament or two in early in the season. If both play at the Farm they could be a logical pair. Too bad NCAA won't recognize a pairs champion.
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Post by sandnut on Jan 28, 2015 12:00:17 GMT -5
That is the answer for the question, “What is the opinion about sand volleyball for a fan of a school that will probably never field a sand volleyball team?” No it was the answer to the previous posters question of if a program goes "all in". They eluded to the hope it will be the determining factor of a Blue Chip Indoor player choosing Stanford. Promising equal development in both is unrealistic. By going "all in" it is my belief it will NOT have the desired impact that some people believe in achieving a National Championship in the indoor game. Energy and focus equally divided to the two arenas will be difficult to manage. It's an opinion.
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Post by sandnut on Jan 28, 2015 12:19:49 GMT -5
Agreed! I believe it would/will be very difficult for any player to fulfill equal development in two, or more, sports. Liz Brenner/Oregon is an example. Very good athlete, but has her development been compromised by doing too much? Have no idea what Plummer's aspirations are regarding volleyball future. Just know she's fun to watch on the sand. Saw her and partner, Zana Muno, walk through competition in Huntington Beach last weekend. Monster block, termination capability from anywhere on court and surprising agility make her a special player. Zana's no slouch. In fact, highest level ambidextrous player I've ever seen. Those two could do special things if trained together. They won't play together in USA pipeline though. Zana will be U21 while Plummer is U19. Plummer/Tunnel would be nice U19 pairing this spring/summer. Their game(s) would seem to compliment each other.
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Post by johnbar on Jan 28, 2015 18:13:39 GMT -5
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