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Post by mnsports255 on Aug 23, 2014 15:30:08 GMT -5
Take that back. Rosado is libero on red team. Yep, Rosado has the nod at libero from what I know, so that makes sense. I know you're occupied at the scrimmage right now, but go to the "Future of Minnesota" thread to see the news on our newest commit as of this afternoon!
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Post by mplssetter on Aug 23, 2014 15:51:26 GMT -5
What's up with Wilhite? Is she nursing an injury? She had 8-10 attempts that first set and tipped them all.
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Post by snickers on Aug 23, 2014 16:57:31 GMT -5
What's up with Wilhite? Is she nursing an injury? She had 8-10 attempts that first set and tipped them all. Yes
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Post by craftylefty on Aug 23, 2014 17:07:50 GMT -5
Just got done; some quick impressions:
Beal: Awfully nice player. Played all the way around. Reminds me a lot of Hailey Cowles for some reason. Natural athlete, powerful swing. Received a lot of sets and led team yellow in the third set in kills (if we don't count Tori Dixon, who also played). Should challenge for opposite playing time with Nora.
Bohl: Received Santana's serve nicely. That says a lot. Put up settable balls consistently for the most part. Seems more of a safe bet for passing than last year. Still not the quickest player but got some good touches.
Jack: Honestly impressed me a lot. Played libero for yellow team in third set. Seemed to be a reliable passer. Got some great stops and digs.
Rosado: One easy serve from Lohman that was shanked, but otherwise impressive. Extremely athletic, flexible, and quick. Was clearly the go-to passer when Goehner was not in back row. All DSs really did a nice job. Passing seems to be coming together but is not perfect.
Carly Rasmussen: played extensively at DS but did not receive as many serves. Did well overall, put up a couple nice assists as well.
Lohman: Had a long serving streak in set two. Solid serving but not over the top. Had some tangling when blocking tight balls, it seemed. Played well overall.
Goehner: Second in kills for maroon team after Santana. Super passing, powerful attacks; pretty much what I would expect.
Write more later, gotta fly!
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Post by spikerthemovie on Aug 23, 2014 18:02:13 GMT -5
It's not clear how much firepower the Gophers will have, other than Nora and Santana (who looked good) but the first glimpse of Rosado was really impressive -- she may be the covers-a-ton-of-court libero the Gophers haven't had in a long time.
I guess I have to stop burying my head in the sand about the two unwelcome additions to the league, since their logos are now up there. The new scoreboard/jumbotron thing is nice.
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Post by goldengopher12 on Aug 23, 2014 18:16:07 GMT -5
How did the setting look?
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Post by mplssetter on Aug 23, 2014 22:44:45 GMT -5
Both setters looked fine. There's not much of a difference in the quality of sets really. I do think Shau is better at defense and quicker getting to bad passes, while Handley is a little better attacking and dumping as a taller lefty. I'm still leaning towards Shau because I like the fire she brings to the court.
I will agree with "craftylefty" on Beal. She was a nice surprise.
Santana has gotten better, passing better, hitting harder, and serving harder.
With Wilhite injured (I still haven't heard what's up), I guess Goehner will be our L2 at least at the beginning. She passed really well and had some nice kills. Hopefully Wilhite is ready to go by the time the B1G season starts.
I was also impressed with Jack. She made some really nice digs and passed nails most of the match.
I think Paige Tapp is still ahead of Molly Lohman at this point.
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Post by craftylefty on Aug 23, 2014 23:02:58 GMT -5
How did the setting look? I thought it was fine. In set three, the maroon team (Santana, Goehner, Bohl sub for Nora, H. Tapp, Rosado, and Handley), made things pretty easy for Handley. In particular, Handley has good connections with the outside and has made good connections with Nora. Still waiting a little on the middles. There was one very strange instance where there was a ~not bad~ pass and Handley set the ball to the middle but a bit off the net. Not sure if she was looking for more of a kill out of the backrow or what. Anyway, no one pursued the ball and the ball just dropped. Again, odd. Heard some muffled "oh"s from the crowd. Not sure if it was more her issue or poor communication amongst the hitters. Speaking of this particular lineup: this could very well be our starting lineup, give or take Schau or Handley. I like the prospect of seeing setter dumps with Handley's height, but didn't see much of that today. I believe she tried a couple but both were ultimately unsuccessful. Schau is crafty. She had a little less to work with for passes with the yellow team in set 3, maybe, but she is still quick and athletic and able to get to the ball in most cases and make something of it. She had a great relationship with the middle from her yellow team in set 3 (Paige) but mostly fed Maddie (RS) and Tori Dixon, who played outside hitter and has graduated, as we all know. I guess I would say that she has the slight edge in my book, but I would honestly feel very comfortable with either Handley or Schau on the court. No major liabilities either way. Mad props to both.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2014 23:05:00 GMT -5
Rosado and Goehner passed great (yes, I made it). I second the comments about Beal. Much better player than I expected.
I think this team will be very good as long Nora and Santana are very good offensively, but I am really not sure that's going to happen. Daly is still making too many hitting errors and Nora will struggle if there isn't a middle or outside option. Unless they can spread the offense around, that would take the pressure off those two.
The middle play was not very good today, but part of that was the inability of the setters to set the slide. I think Schau is the better setter of the two, but she still needs to step up her game for this team to succeed.
The setters switched for game 3, with Handley getting the benefit of Rosado and Goehner's (and Daly's) passing. Their (Rosado and Goehner's) team won 2 of 3. At this point, I don't see how they can afford not to have Goehner play all around. Not sure what that leaves for Wilhite, but, as others mentioned, she obviously isn't 100% either.
Lohman's serve was very good and Paige Tapp is improving. Still has a ways to go.
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Post by craftylefty on Aug 23, 2014 23:16:07 GMT -5
More thoughts from today's scrimmage, then off to bed: Paige Tapp: Played solidly. Had good connections with setter Katie Schau. Inspired confidence in several instances and seems improved over last year. Seemed vocal on the court, happy, and encouraging. Not much to write -- she simply did her job and did a nice job of it. Hannah Tapp: Probably our most reliable and stable player in terms of hitting percentage. Had some nice overpass kills and excellent blocking. Creates an excellent blocking tandem with Adrianna Nora. Blocked Tori Dixon (who played OH for the other team) several times. Like Paige, she doesn't draw a ton of attention, but does a fine job of most everything. Sarah Wilhite: Did not play at all in set 3. Not sure if she is injured or ill or both. In set 2, she received many sets at the OH position but tipped virtually all of them. The other team caught on quickly. Played with little energy today, although she was likely ill, as I mentioned. Still ended with around five kills for the two sets. Nice, reliable passer and always a good blocker with great height. I would really like to see her fire up when the season comes around and see what she can do when healthy. If she can put some heat on her attacks, she will be an excellent player in virtually every aspect. Adrianna Nora: Same old Nora as last year. Gotta love a player that just pounds through the block with no regard for human life whatsoever. Generally hits a hard ball but mixed it up quite a bit today. Ended up with not many kills (6-8?) but around 12 digs (!). Not sure if we will see her playing backrow during the regular season, however. Great tandem blocker with Hannah Tapp. Hard to find a seam. Tori Dixon: (Haha!). She played at the OH position for the yellow team today. Hit heavy but not up to her normal level. What impressed me most is that she was blocked several times by Hannah Tapp and Adrianna Nora. Dalianliz Rosado also successfully dug and controlled several of her heavier balls, which I think says a lot about her. It was nice to have a player of her caliber on the court to see how the other players respond around her and adjust. Ended up leading the yellow team in kills after the third set, with opposite Maddie Beal close behind and Paige Tapp right after that.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2014 9:19:14 GMT -5
What's with all this "yellow" and "red"?
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Post by craftylefty on Aug 24, 2014 10:06:51 GMT -5
What's with all this "yellow" and "red"? Haha, whoops. I think I slipped in a few "yellows" when I meant gold. I know better than to speak of the color "red" in a Gopher topic, however.
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Post by craftylefty on Aug 24, 2014 10:30:47 GMT -5
Some more thoughts from yesterday:
I realize I forgot a player! So, last but certainly not least:
Daly Santana: Led all players in kills from what I recall. Her passing and serve receive seem to really be coming together, but had occasional lapses on serve receive. What I liked most about her is that she never held back much from her attacks, but she seemed to be making wiser choices about when to tip or take a roll shot. Like Adrianna Nora, she is one of those players who is so powerful that she can blast through many weaker blocks. I have to tip my hat to Paige Tapp and Maddie Beal who put up some good blocks against Daly and really made her work for some of her kills. The blockers ended up causing several forced hitting errors for Daly. Daly also had a few unforced hitting errors - hitting too long, too wide, etc. Her serve is similar to years past. Impressive, and always causes the crowd to "ooh" and "aah." There were a few instances where she sent it far too long, but the greater the risk...you know how the saying goes. I was impressed with how the other Minnesota backrow players handled her serve. Bohl in particular did a nice job with it. I think Daly will be our kill leader this season, or at least in the top three. She seems to have made little improvements all around her game. I won't say it will be a breakout year for her: she is still not perfect and doesn't always play "clean," but she is powerful and brings a lot of spirit and energy to the court.
What else: Like everyone else who attended, it seems pretty clear to me that Dalianliz Rosado will be our starting libero. If she isn't, she'll see a lot of time as a DS. I was extremely impressed with her in several aspects. She is still young and not perfect, but she is adjusting quickly to this level of play, it seems. She racked up a ton of digs yesterday - I believe she might have led all players, probably with around 25-28 digs. She effectively handled Tori Dixon's attacks, which says a lot about her. Passed a lot of 3's. She also set well when the team was out of system. Pleasant surprise. Seems pretty confident on the court right now.
Alyssa Goehner is right up there with Rosado when it comes to passing and digging. She also passed a lot of 3's and is athletic and willing to sacrifice herself for a tough dive. She also has great hops and makes jumping look absolutely effortless. She may be only about 5'10" but hits over much taller players. Comparing her to Ashley Wittman (the 2013 one), Wittman might have a slight edge in attacking (choices, shot selection, hitting through and around the block, finding a seam) but Goehner has the advantage in the backrow. Both are extremely good in any spot. Alyssa's serve is about average - it looks a lot like Sarah Wilhite's. Nothing to write home about, but nothing that will cost us several points either. Goehner is a great asset to the team and should see lots of playing time and a lot of points.
At the end of the scrimmage, Hugh game a little talk to the audience. He mentioned several times that the team is not perfect and has many things that can still be cleaned up, which I would agree with. The team's tempo of play was fairly slow yesterday, which he also mentioned will need to be amped up a bit.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2014 11:23:35 GMT -5
Does this team finish in upper half or bottom half of B1G?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2014 12:32:20 GMT -5
That's easy. NO WAY do they finish 8th or lower.
5th or 6th would be my prediction.
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