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Post by 702volleyball on Jul 8, 2014 18:01:26 GMT -5
If ASU plans on making a jump this season will depend on the incoming class. BreElle Baily can only get better and versatile on her hits, Macey will need to stay healthy, Whitney continues to improve, Mercez Binns needs to be fed more and be more of an effective blocker, the setter needs to be more consistent and run a better offense that is not so predictable. Of these pieces, ASU needs another offensive threat if they plan on making a jump this season, and whoever takes Stephanie Preach's position has big shoes to fill. There home page has yet to post the incoming freshmen class.
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Post by baywatcher on Jul 8, 2014 23:23:51 GMT -5
Is she the head coach there now? Nellie is the asst..... Seeing as a single win would be an improvement, no way to go but up. Put in that UCLA defense and a few wins will come calling.
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Post by vballfreak808 on Jul 8, 2014 23:24:27 GMT -5
Arizona State is a fun team to watch but they have to be able to replace their backrow. They lose a pretty good libero in Stephanie Preach along with defensive specialists Caitlyn Francis and Jenny Teslevich. They return Genevieve Pirotte who is a redshirt freshman and setter or defensive specialist Shannan McCready only and bring in liberos Halle Harker (she was announced but they removed the release a day after) and junior college transfer Mia Mazon from Phoenix College. Harker was named MVP for one of the 18s Division at Junior Nationals so hopefully she is able to contribute.
However offensively the Devils should be fine. Gardner will continue to lead as an all around player. Follette and Binns are good middles who should be able to contribute more.
What I wonder is if Bailey will continue on the left side. She was terrific the first half of the season on the right but Watson thought she needed more swings so they moved her to the left. Willey and Tuoti-Mariner are good players but better on the left rather than the right. They also have redshirt freshman Kwyn Johnson who is a 6'4 lefty and I wonder if she can contribute. I watched Willey with the collegiate national team in Minnesota and she looked pretty dominant there playing all six rotations.
Arellano is fine at setter. She can be inconsistent at times then she can be really good. McCready is a good backup and their only other freshman is Madison McDaniel from Texas. She is around 6'0-6'1 so that is a boost in the height department.
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Post by Ralph Kramden on Jul 9, 2014 2:12:24 GMT -5
Both Rutgers and Maryland will be making big jumps this year
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Post by postitagain2 on Jul 9, 2014 8:18:17 GMT -5
I think St Louis is in a position to jump back into the national conversation this year. Miller has brought in solid recruits the last couple years and it's time to step forward again for this program.
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Post by codigger on Jul 9, 2014 8:51:49 GMT -5
Here are the top ten RPI increases for 2013 over 2012. Rank 2013 2012 Team Overall RPI Gain 10th 155 270 Radford 115 9th 106 223 Toledo 117 8th 88 206 SMU 118 7th 74 192 West Virginia 118 6th 50 173 Colgate 123 5th 153 284 Appalachian St. 131 4th 86 221 Jacksonville 135 3rd 30 175 American 145 2nd 77 222 Milwaukee 145 1st 54 287 Tulane 233
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Post by codigger on Jul 9, 2014 9:03:16 GMT -5
Here is the other side of that equation. The top ten drops in RPI last season. It can be argued that these teams have the biggest opportunity to make a big positive move this coming season:
2013 2012 Team Drop in RPI 270 95 Cincinnati -175 313 153 UMES -160 184 26 Tennessee -158 285 130 Rutgers -155 220 75 Towson -145 272 147 Columbia -125 181 58 Northern Colo. -123 266 144 Ill.-Chicago -122 209 96 Texas Tech -113 286 176 Montana St. -110 276 166 South Dakota St. -110
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Post by blastingsand on Jul 11, 2014 2:58:15 GMT -5
Oregon losing Finley is a massive massive loss. I think this brings them from contending for middle of the Pac, to contending to be in the middle of the Pac-12. I almost don't see how they even recover from this, unless Brenner turns into Logan Tom this year.
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Post by c4ndlelight on Jul 11, 2014 4:36:59 GMT -5
Oregon losing Finley is a massive massive loss. I think this brings them from contending for middle of the Pac, to contending to be in the middle of the Pac-12. I almost don't see how they even recover from this, unless Brenner turns into Logan Tom this year. I'm glad you were able to come on and make your bimonthly prediction of doom for the Oregon program. I like Finley a lot, and it was a shame to see her go. She's an intriguing prospect, and with her hops and length you could easily see her as an impact player. However, she never put together that type of production on the court--she hit .201 in conference last year on a pretty light offensive load. The Ducks will recover from this. They've got some players coming in who can replicate that scoring, and the lefty back-up has similarly tantalizing athleticism and is closing the experience gap. Brenner will shoulder a big load this year it's true, but did you watch the team last year-that'll be nothing new. I don't see this being a loss that capsizes a season. (Though I do wish Finley well and hope she is able to put it together at USD).
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Post by blastingsand on Jul 11, 2014 6:02:51 GMT -5
Finley could not get in a rhythm at all last year, but you know this is a big loss. And if the back ups were better, they would have been ahead of .201 Finley in the lineup. Oregon will be expecting three freshman in Shebby, Agost and Scott to make up Plum/Finley/Williams contributions. This isn't Penn St or Stanford we are talking about. They are going to have a big learning curve. And we don't even know if Agost is Pac12 caliber, she routined Oregon hs/club volleyball matches like Bettendorf did and she should be a Portland State player.
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Post by jjmac13 on Jul 11, 2014 9:36:05 GMT -5
Im hoping that my Canes will improve with Haley Templeton coming in. She is amazing and definitely a difference maker. I watched her most of the club season and she is the reason why that A5 team were able to compete at 18 Open
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Post by gulo2 on Jul 17, 2014 7:50:32 GMT -5
jjmac13, you are right about one thing, Haley Templeton is amazing and definitely a difference maker. She was just named PrepVB Second Team All-American for this club season. There it ends though. No need for you to hope your Canes will improve this year with her joining the U roster as setter - they certainly will be better because of her play, especially attacking skills. And, she had stellar A5 teammates, which as a tight knit team did much more than just compete (three Open qualifier medals 1st NEQ, 2nd MEQ, 3rd Big South, 6th at AAUs, and bronze at Nationals), including some great hitters (Jess Sloan, off to Dayton, is a beast) and First Team All-American libero (Annika Olsen, now a Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket). Other than Neo there is no The One. Think team.
I see above that last year Michelle coached Jacksonville to the 4th best RPI gain. There may be good reasons to believe GT may make a bigger jump up the ACC standings than Miami this year; they certainly have more room to ascend than the U. Perhaps even Phaedrus could get on board with the Yellow Jackets again, or at least be optimistic for good things to come.
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Post by spikeninja on Jul 17, 2014 8:22:43 GMT -5
Seeing as a single win would be an improvement, no way to go but up. Put in that UCLA defense and a few wins will come calling. A system is nothing without the personnel in it. Do you think Phil Jackson could go to Sacramento Kings right now, put in the triangle, and win another title? Great player, great pedigree, does that equal great coach? Time will tell. Or a bigger salary with less stress will come calling and we will never know. Or a visit from the stork.
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Post by baywatcher on Jul 17, 2014 8:48:33 GMT -5
Both Rutgers and Maryland will be making big jumps this year Off a roof.
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Post by baywatcher on Jul 17, 2014 8:49:38 GMT -5
Seeing as a single win would be an improvement, no way to go but up. Put in that UCLA defense and a few wins will come calling. A system is nothing without the personnel in it. Do you think Phil Jackson could go to Sacramento Kings right now, put in the triangle, and win another title? Great player, great pedigree, does that equal great coach? Time will tell. Or a bigger salary with less stress will come calling and we will never know. Or a visit from the stork. Don't need to be great, just help win one match.....
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