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Post by audiovol on Aug 31, 2014 15:54:50 GMT -5
In the end it usually comes down to the outsides...so you can extrapolate the season's chances from there
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Post by volleyfan24 on Aug 31, 2014 16:04:21 GMT -5
What's up with Taylor?
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Post by haw2991 on Aug 31, 2014 17:18:48 GMT -5
Elbow injury.... out for the first two tournaments
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Post by haw2991 on Aug 31, 2014 17:23:20 GMT -5
I think I'll enjoy watching the team this year. The freshmen are all going to be contributors. Throw Nikki Taylor on the court and I think Hawaii sweeps. I really like a lineup of Greeley and Olevao on the outside with Nikki Taylor at Opp. Kahakai at libero with Mendoza taking back row for Olevao when necessary. I'm not sold on Higgins as the starter. I love her energy and her serve. But I'm intrigued by the size and skill set of Koelsch. In the limited opportunity to see Koelsch play, I don't think Higgins brings anything to the table that Koelsch doesn't ....and Koelsch has size. One thing is for sure, the setter that finds a consistent connection with both middles should be starting. Looking forward to seeing them in person in a few weeks. Agree, don't think we would have necessarily swept but if Nikki was playing we definitely would have eeked out a win. We were missing our "Macey Gardner" in the match. Still, not a bad loss by any means for a very young Wahine team..... Your point about Koelsch is also spot on, I want to see more of her......
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Post by Wahinevball1234 on Aug 31, 2014 17:49:22 GMT -5
Where is Nikki Taylor?
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Post by ACE on Aug 31, 2014 18:19:02 GMT -5
I think I'll enjoy watching the team this year. The freshmen are all going to be contributors. Throw Nikki Taylor on the court and I think Hawaii sweeps. I really like a lineup of Greeley and Olevao on the outside with Nikki Taylor at Opp. Kahakai at libero with Mendoza taking back row for Olevao when necessary. I'm not sold on Higgins as the starter. I love her energy and her serve. But I'm intrigued by the size and skill set of Koelsch. In the limited opportunity to see Koelsch play, I don't think Higgins brings anything to the table that Koelsch doesn't ....and Koelsch has size. One thing is for sure, the setter that finds a consistent connection with both middles should be starting. Looking forward to seeing them in person in a few weeks. Agree, don't think we would have necessarily swept but if Nikki was playing we definitely would have eeked out a win. We were missing our "Macey Gardner" in the match. Still, not a bad loss by any means for a very young Wahine team..... Your point about Koelsch is also spot on, I want to see more of her...... The thing that's funny is the talk now has moved to how great Hawaii's OHs could be with the return of Taylor. I keep coming back to the thought of Hawaii's offense surrounding the middles, but they struggled last night. Higgins did not fool anyone when she set Adolpho and she got blocked more than a couple of times last night. I think if Magill can touch 10'6 and is very quick, the taller Koelsch can deliver the ball to her faster and more consistent.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Aug 31, 2014 18:26:42 GMT -5
Agree, don't think we would have necessarily swept but if Nikki was playing we definitely would have eeked out a win. We were missing our "Macey Gardner" in the match. Still, not a bad loss by any means for a very young Wahine team..... Your point about Koelsch is also spot on, I want to see more of her...... The thing that's funny is the talk now has moved to how great Hawaii's OHs could be with the return of Taylor. I keep coming back to the thought of Hawaii's offense surrounding the middles, but they struggled last night. Higgins did not fool anyone when she set Adolpho and she got blocked more than a couple of times last night. I think if Magill can touch 10'6 and is very quick, the taller Koelsch can deliver the ball to her faster and more consistent.this may end up being the case ... but i'd want to give it more than 2 matches to see if the connection develops b/w higgins and magill. but i agree, i'd like to see koelsch more, and i suspect we will if the connection b/w higgins and her middles do not improve. adolpho had a great first night... asu saw that and, in turn, had her well scouted ... the mark of a great player is being able to adjust and elevate your game, even when the opposing defense has your tendencies pegged. adolpho did not do that. her struggles last night isn't all her, i think we can also look to higgins' set selection, and the coaches should be able to help adolpho make the right in-game adjustments as well. for instance, the blockers were taking adolpho's line, she needed to cut angle more.
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Post by volleyballfan99 on Aug 31, 2014 18:40:43 GMT -5
There is talk that Nikki Taylor's elbow injury may be more serious then expected. To that end the talk now is turning to quite possibly medically redshirting her.
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Post by volleyballfan99 on Aug 31, 2014 18:52:36 GMT -5
People need to start thinking about the best combination on the Outside, if Nikki does not return this season which is a great possibility. But not only when it comes to hitting, but also blocking. So when it comes to blocking to get points, which setter gives the Wahine the best possibility for that.
If Nikki does not return this season, then the Wahine will have to look at other ways to gain points besides hitting. That would be serving, and blocking. Blocking is where the Freshmen come into play, with their height. Kendra is a way better blocker then Tayler, which is Kendra up side. Kendra is also a better offensive threat as a setter. Not to mention, sets a quicker ball.
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Post by honore on Aug 31, 2014 19:05:14 GMT -5
I'm a bit puzzled about all the pre-season hype over Passi. Still early in the season but I'm not impressed with her. What's that white things on her ears? What a difference a night made for Mendoza. Where was she last night? Would like to see Kendra set more and see Greeley get inserted into the lineup more often. That mostly all-freshman group in the last set was kind of fun to watch and was hoping they'd pull that one out. Not really upset over the loss as I kind of expected this to happen. Gardner reminded me of Stacey Gordon, pretty much same build, powerful swing and carrying the team on her shoulders. Reminder to self: Expect 8-10 losses, be patient with the freshman, drink sensibly.
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Post by ACE on Aug 31, 2014 19:05:35 GMT -5
There is talk that Nikki Taylor's elbow injury may be more serious then expected. To that end the talk now is turning to quite possibly medically redshirting her. If this is the case, then I would redshirt her and not try anything foolish and reinjuring her elbow further. Speedy Recovery to Taylor, but more importantly, a full recovery.
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Post by X-Play on Aug 31, 2014 20:00:33 GMT -5
I am sure Nikki will be redshirted by Shoji if there's any chance of worsening the injury to her elbow if she plays this season. She's already going to miss a lot of matches so it might be best to let her fully recover for sure this season. It's a rebuilding year anyway so this would be the time to do it. She and Greeley would then have three years to play together.
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Post by karrietfan on Aug 31, 2014 20:06:00 GMT -5
There is talk that Nikki Taylor's elbow injury may be more serious then expected. To that end the talk now is turning to quite possibly medically redshirting her. If this is the case, then I would redshirt her and not try anything foolish and reinjuring her elbow further. Speedy Recovery to Taylor, but more importantly, a full recovery. Most of these posters are probably just watching tv and guessing at Nikki's elbow condition, so let me make mine from what I see from courtside. Watching her every move during the practice before the two matches, you wouldn't even think that she has an injury to her elbow. Her right hand movement looks normal to me. I don't see her favoring her right elbow at all. Saying that, I'll make a bold prediction, she'll be cleared to practice the second week of next month, if not the third. If that happens she should have her game legs back the first Big West home match against Fullerton.
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Post by purpleiceangel on Aug 31, 2014 20:44:33 GMT -5
mendoza doesn't seem to have the libero mentality imho
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Post by watufaka on Aug 31, 2014 21:12:51 GMT -5
Higgins is a good player but her connections with the middles are off. Matter of fact her connections with the whole team is off. She had a couple of nice dump shots but she needs to work on where her hitters want the ball. It's not there yet. The season just started and i know she'll get better. I'm still not impressed with the highly touted Greeley and Passi. They're basically non-factors, so far. Long and Olevao just don't have what it takes imo to be good reliable OH's. Yeah they have flashes of brilliance here and there but they aren't consistent. They have a tendency to float the ball which is easy for the other team to pick up. They need to destroy it and put it straight down or learn how to hit high hands without going too high. We lost so many points because they kept hitting out. Both Mendoza and Kahakai struggled last night too but they're probably the best players on the team right now. They're pretty much the only two i have any confidence in. But the season is still very young and the girls will eventually get their kukae together, i just hope they don't lose too many games before that happens.
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