2012 Illinois Volleyball

[brucks]

Well, Luhrsen did tie Johnson for the team lead in blocks vs. Dayton. Through the two matches, only the two middles have more blocks than she does. Not bad for a setter.

[itsallrelative]

Aug 25, 2012 12:40:35 GMT -5 notpriddy said:

Illinois looked pretty anemic again today against Pepperdine. Can't say anyone played particularly well. It is sad that through two matches Illinois has not won a game. I can't say they really even threatened to win a game.

I didn't want to harp on this (but I will)....Illinois really needs to give the freshman setter the opportunity to make a difference against Ohio. Luhrsen has been a severe blocking disadvantage in both matches. Last nite against Dayton was particularly telling. Whenever Luhrsen was in the front row, the Dayton attackers would hit right over her or "use her like a kitchen appliance" as Illinois announcer Loane (sp.) likes to say. Also, I often wonder if Luhrsen takes into account who is blocking where on the other side of the net. Last nite against Dayton she would set Johson a backslide right into Krechbacher, or whatever the name is of Dayton's premier player. She did that at least twice.

At least with the freshman setter, Viliunas, who is 6'1"....the opposition would not be able to so easily hit over her. Luhrsen's setting decisions and location have just not been good.

I love you Coach Hambly, but make the setter change sooner rather than later.

Isn't picking your setter based on blocking a little like picking a middle on back row defense?

(yeah, it matters, but it's less an 5% of their contacts)

[smiley]

+1

[rocwest]

Well I'm definitely not ready to throw Lurhsen on the trash heap either. And wasn't her blocking last year at least adequate? I think a big issue going forward that's hard to quantify is leadership or lack thereof. There doesn't seem to be a single player - excepting perhaps Beltran - who might have the personality, the moxie and the seniority to assume that role. When the team huddled last year it spoiled us all to see Ward, Bartsch, Feldman, Beltran et al.

[jgrout]

A likely third place finish (with two 0-3 losses) at the Dayton tournament is a real shock to me. Hate to say it, but that finish is a lot closer to where the B1G coaches put the Illini than it is to where the national coaches put them in the AVCA poll.

Pepperdine was Coach Hambly's stiffest challenge, as the Waves play in a far tougher conference (the West Coast Conference) than either Ohio or Dayton and they made the Elite Eight last season. Being swept by Pepperdine is a disappointment. Being swept by them and by Dayton is a significant cause for concern.

Three months from now, are we going to be worrying about the Illini's seed or about the bubble? Too soon to panic, but I'm not even a little bit "situation under control". A team with bad ball control can lose a lot of B1G regular season matches and has no chance at a national championship (those of you who had the misfortune to watch the Olympic WVB gold medal match know what I am talking about... the USA's ball control, never particularly good, completely vanished against Brazil... once Brazil calmed down and stopped making silly errors, they blew the USA off the court).

P.S. Those of you have been around long enough know that I am an Illinois alum who lives near Stanford... so I can (and do) identify with both programs. At the Stanford regional both teams played in a few years ago, I wore my bright orange Illinois jacket before and during the Illinois-Hawai'i match. During warmups, Coach Dunning (Stanford's head coach) noticed and smiled... he seemed amused to see me in orange and blue.

[fbjr]

Nice game by everyone against Ohio.No one ever said throw Annie out..simply that Alexis could be out there as well.

[smiley]

All the coaches at 101 said the problem was going to be ball control. If it's not good neither are we. As good as Alexis might be do you want her as a sub this year and a 3 year starter or do you want her as a 4 year starter??? Kevin wants her to be a 4 year starter. With bad passing you really think she would have won the 2 0-3 matches???

[jgrout]

If 2012 turns out badly for the Illini, it may be the loss of ball control from 2011 that was the key, not the loss of hitting. That was true for Stanford in 2000... losing Kerri Walsh tore a giant hole in their ball control (and their backup setting), and, even with a healthy Logan Tom on their roster, they missed the Sweet Sixteen for the first time ever.

As I think about it, there are more parallels... the 1999 Cardinal lost in the national championship match, the 2000 Cardinal had serious ball control problems and the 2001 Cardinal won the national championship with a setter who redshirted in 2000 (the parallel isn't perfect... I don't think Illinois has someone like Ogonna Nnamani coming in next season and Stanford's setter in 2001 was a redshirt senior... but it is cause for hope for 2013).

[fbjr]

Smiley..why do i get the feeling that no matter what i say you would oppose or take issue with it.Lol. You crack me up.

[smiley]

You give yourself too much credit. I pay far more attention to the posts themselves than to the posters. Evidently you post stuff I tend to disagree with. If we're talking Illinois I don't argue just to argue. I try my best to make sure my OPINION is based on FACT. What bothers me most is the all too common opinion stated as fact. Frankly I don't recall you ever doing it. I'll try to remember if I see one of your posts I agree with I'll make a point of agreeing with it. I would imagine we've agreed on a fair amount but it's easier to notice the ones disagree on. I usually do the same thing. Am I sounding like a sanctimonious jerk or what?

[fbjr]

I dont give myself any credit, lol Im a fan - the girls are doing the hard work, and I am by no means a know it all,apparently that is your role.. In answer to your question- yes- its good that you embrace it though. lol...

[smiley]

Slam... Good job. Keep supporting the team. Don't pay too much attention to the know-it-alls. Unless it's me of course. You have an opinion post it. You may or may not get support but then arguing is at least half the fun.

[notpriddy]

I am one of the major proponents on here of letting Viliunas set this year's Illini team. I am basing this on reputation and one match: the alumni match where clearly to my untrained eye, Viliunas was the better setter. I am one of those posters who do not necessarily research statistics before I post my comments. Many of my posts just come from the heart, but only after I actually witness a volleyball match.

I admit to still holding a grudge against Luhrsen for the National Championship loss. I think she made a series of critical decision-making mistakes in the game where Illinois had the lead, and I suppose I will never let that go. How often does a team like Illinois get into the championship match? Will they ever again? My opinion of Luhrsen is that she is one of those setters who has personal friends that she tends to set when maybe she shouldn't. I have seen other setters behave that way in my 20 years or so of watching women's volleyball at Illinois State and Illinois. Setting choices should be based on a setter's assumption of success. During Volleyball 101 Coach Hambly suggested that Luhrsen is more of a "socialist" setter: she likes to let all the hitters in on the action. That may be okay in a set where you are swamping the other team, but not in highly contested matches.

This isn't rocket science nor life and death. It's just volleyball, and VT is where we Volleyball addicts come to get more of our fix.

[Phaedrus]

OK fellow Illini, here is what I saw in Dayton.

Outsides are big and physical but made a lot of hitting mistakes. They'll get it soon enough.

Having both outsides and McMahon playing backrow because of their backrow attacks, eh. Right now I think we are losing more easy points from their defense than we are getting from their backrow attacks. I don't have any stats to back me up but I saw a lot of easy balls dropping. The staff started using backrow subs more often as the tournament wore on.

The two OH in serve receive is a problem too. Not that they shank every ball, the passes are just not of good quality. Which brings me to Luhrsen. She played it safe whenever the balls were off the net, not a lot of variety. When she finally started to go middle more consistently, the Illini had better success.

Beltran can't do it alone in the backrow. She isn't that kind of Libero, she works extremely well with someone else.

Blocking is troublesome. People aren't getting to the pins quickly enough and leaving huge seams. It was also surprising to see the big blocks go up straight with their hands rather than penetrate the net. Dayton was a better blocking team because they were more consistent on closing the block and penetrating the net.

McMahon had problems hitting different shots. She hit so consistently in one direction that the blockers just camped out on top of her and the defenders just sat there waiting.

NONE OF THIS IS FATAL.

One thing that is really troublesome is having the team figure out that Bartsch, Ward, and Feldman aren't going to walk out of that locker room. The Illini started to play relaxed until the third game against Ohio. That was when the feeling from the court was positive and the players just went at it. This isn't to say that they didn't play hard, they played hard all three matches, they just didn't play like the alpha dog.

[atomheartmother]

I watched part of what I could before I had to go to my own practice. Phaedrus you are spot on with your assessments. I will also add that I don't think the Illini were expecting to pick up where they left off last year. They are working on getting better and finding out what kind of team they are right now. They will be just fine come December. I honestly didn't expect much from them this first weekend. Hopefully this shakes some cobwebs and gets the jitters out of the youngins.