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Post by badgerbreath on Sept 19, 2014 9:56:25 GMT -5
My feeds haven't been great, and that has made it really hard to tell then apart sometimes. The BTN announcers certainly couldn't tell either. Bates does kind of look like Ellen's little sister. Doesn't play so little though.
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Post by bballnut90 on Sept 19, 2014 10:17:35 GMT -5
The Badgers are the best team I've seen this year (I've seen all top 10 teams play besides Colorado State, Florida State, and Texas.) The on court chemistry is outstanding. Rare that you see players working this well in unison so early in the season. Carlini is far and away the best setter in the nation. She can take virtually any ball and put up a great hittable set. She has the upper body strength to set either pin at any location on the court, and does a terrific job of mixing up tempos to create one on one opportunities for her hitters. Courtney Thomas is vastly improved as a hitter/defender. She's a smarter attacker and looks better defensively. Chapman looks good on the left, Bates feels like another Morales, just a few inches taller and a little more athletic. Not sure what happens when Kriskova comes back. The middles are outstanding, Nelson looks so much stronger offensively and Thompson is one of the quickest middles in the nation. Defensively Morey looks confident at libero. Maybe last night was their best night of the year, but they played so well together in unison. If their defense can slow down Vansant, I think Badgers win tonight.
For USC, they need someone to nail down the 2nd RS hitter spot. Abercrombie is definitely the better hitter (over Young) but is a freshman and was caught out of position defensively so she was yanked. Nwanebu looked just okay, give her a few weeks and she'll be back in top form. Gillis has really struggled this year with passing and hitting. Not sure who they have at OH to replace her if she tanks, but she has been a liability in the matches I've seen. Both middles (Dunn and Ogoms) are fine but neither are stand out blockers or big point scorers in the middle. Pizzasegola looks improved this year but neither her or Crone are All-American caliber setters, and I thought Whittingham looked great defensively. USC is young and just needs more time to gel and improve. I think by the end of the season they'll be a serious Final Four threat, but right now they are in the 10-20 range.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Sept 19, 2014 11:23:09 GMT -5
Am I the only one having a little trouble telling Bates and Chapman apart on the court? Yes, I know there is a 5 inch difference, and they wear different numbers. But when the match is fast moving and they are partially obstructed, I don't know right away. Similiar build, both blonde pony tails, and both wear wide headbands. If you look at the Pike Place vimeo I thought it was pretty tough at first to determine Bates vs. Chapman. Last year Chapman's hair was a little darker. I think Arias last night was having the same problem. Ask Penn State players whose roles change (or spend all 4 years on the pine): if you are winning under that formula, it doesn't take much to buy in. Nope, you're not the only one having trouble telling Bates & Chappy apart. I don't have as much trouble in the Field House because we sit so close to the court, but on TV I usually rely on the headbands they are wearing. However, last night Chappy wore yellow and Bates wore white, so it was really hard to tell, even in HD. If it weren't a violation of NCAA gift rules, I'd send them very differently colored headbands. Remember the sparkly silver headband that Dolgner wore her senior year? IIRC, a camper gave it to her and there was a spat with the compliance office over it. ETA: We have to remember that we as fans only see the results of all the hard work the team puts in. We do not see the day-to-day contributions of everyone in practice. Excellence is truly an ENTIRE TEAM effort. I would, for example, give tons of credit to Erin J., and Jules, and Frick, all of whom are undoubtedly anchoring the B team and giving the starters heck in practice. Competition makes the entire team better. The starters wouldn't be the starters without everyone else.
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Post by bigfan on Sept 19, 2014 12:21:21 GMT -5
Shaw and Hagglund and even olgard really made the loads of difference for this usc team. They went from being top 5, to not even top 10. And it's sad considering they have more top ten recruits than nearly EVERY school in the nation Great post. Sara Shaw was so under-rated as a passer. Great player. Hagglung great, great player.
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Post by bigfan on Sept 19, 2014 12:22:52 GMT -5
I miss Kendall Bateman... Everybody misses her
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Post by bigfan on Sept 19, 2014 12:26:04 GMT -5
Southern Cal even a top 20 club now?
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Post by rainbowbadger on Sept 19, 2014 12:41:23 GMT -5
Anyone else think Mick Haley looks like Saul Tigh from BSG?
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Post by redbeard2008 on Sept 19, 2014 13:46:13 GMT -5
USC's left-side block was like tissue paper, with Carlini running slide after slide on Bricio and Gillis, usually just waving their hands helplessly, isolated on an island. One of the weaknesses of USC's is their antiquated shuffle-and-hop blocking scheme. It can work if they have a great blocking middle, like Olgard. Ogoms and Dunn have potential, but aren't there yet.
UW will hopefully be able to get two blockers out on the slide, to at least slow it down.
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Post by OptimusPrime on Sept 19, 2014 16:08:06 GMT -5
Shaw and Hagglund and even olgard really made the loads of difference for this usc team. They went from being top 5, to not even top 10. And it's sad considering they have more top ten recruits than nearly EVERY school in the nation Great post. Sara Shaw was so under-rated as a passer. Great player. Hagglung great, great player. I agree 100%. And finally the sub-par setting of USC is exposed. Neither one makes the ball better! Taylor Carico they are not
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Post by tomclen on Sept 19, 2014 16:29:07 GMT -5
Southern Cal even a top 20 club now? I don't think losing on a neutral court to the #4 ranked team in the country knocks you out of the top 20. Some poorly timed sloppy play kept USC from taking that match to a 5th set...and in 5 who knows what could have happened. I think once Nwanebu returns to 100% we're going to see a different USC.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2014 16:31:06 GMT -5
Southern Cal even a top 20 club now? I think once Nwanebu returns to 100% we're going to see a different USC. Agreed, she's not in match fitness now, timing is a bit off. And once we see Krisvoka on the floor, we'll see a different Badgers team as well.
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Post by Seahawks 1972 on Sept 19, 2014 16:34:59 GMT -5
USC hasn't been this bad since 2009, they lost three straight matches TWICE that season. But, they were on a 7-match win streak late in the season and were in a battle with Hawai'i that they lost to end their season... That team was "peaking" at the right time. All of these losses are good for USC. San Diego exposed SC last season and they've been exposed the past three matches, hell they were exposed against Pacific. Haley is too good of a coach. They'll get better. Well that just may have sealed another UH/USC 2nd round meeting. ;-)
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Post by bigfan on Sept 20, 2014 12:27:16 GMT -5
Haley is too good of a coach. They'll get better. Well that just may have sealed another UH/USC 2nd round meeting. ;-) This could happen and the Wahine have beaten Southern Cal at Galen in the NCAA'S playoffs before. When The Wahine show up at Galen they might as well be the home team...............they bring more fans.
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