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Post by mikegarrison on Sept 27, 2014 0:36:43 GMT -5
If Arizona beats UCLA, then I obviously need to add them to my tracked teams list. ... next week.
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Post by tomclen on Sept 27, 2014 0:38:36 GMT -5
How about Arizona. Was not expecting this start from them.
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Post by mikegarrison on Sept 27, 2014 6:07:54 GMT -5
Hmm. At the end of week one there will be four teams 2-0, four teams 1-1, and four teams 0-2.
The shocker, of course is that one of those 0-2 teams is a team the PAC-12 coaches picked pre-season as a solid favorite to win the conference. In the poll, Stanford got (5) #1 votes and a total of 114 points. USC got (5) #1 votes and a total of 113 votes. Washington got (2) #1 votes and 106 points in the poll.
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Post by tomclen on Sept 27, 2014 7:38:09 GMT -5
The twin surprises of the Pac are USC and Arizona. USC surprisingly under-performing and Arizona with two really big back-to-back wins.
When's the last time that both Arizona schools beat both SoCal schools on the same night?
But Stanford, to me, seems to be playing like the only elite team in the Pac. I'd put Stanford and PSU at the top right now. Texas might be close, but they played a clunker against WVU. Much like UW's clunker against Cal. Both won, but both won with big stretches of unimpressive play.
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Post by pacman on Sept 27, 2014 9:56:27 GMT -5
The twin surprises of the Pac are USC and Arizona. USC surprisingly under-performing and Arizona with two really big back-to-back wins. When's the last time that both Arizona schools beat both SoCal schools on the same night? With the matches on the road(i.e. in So Cal). Although the Bruins playing at Pepperdine might be more a neutral court.
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Post by c4ndlelight on Sept 27, 2014 10:08:59 GMT -5
Gotta give credit to Rubio. I really expected to have 3-4 more losses at this point. A lot of role players are stepping up doing what they need to, and Kingdon and Snuka have been big time. I'm really interested to see how they progress over the season.
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Post by baywatcher on Sept 27, 2014 10:13:40 GMT -5
Harris has pretty good stats. A 6'8" OH has got to present unique challenges if she moves around at all.
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Post by FTLOG on Sept 27, 2014 14:42:24 GMT -5
The twin surprises of the Pac are USC and Arizona. USC surprisingly under-performing and Arizona with two really big back-to-back wins. When's the last time that both Arizona schools beat both SoCal schools on the same night? But Stanford, to me, seems to be playing like the only elite team in the Pac. I'd put Stanford and PSU at the top right now. Texas might be close, but they played a clunker against WVU. Much like UW's clunker against Cal. Both won, but both won with big stretches of unimpressive play. This made me laugh a little since, as a Stanford fan, I've watched most of their matches, see their struggling outsides, and think there's no way Stanford is better than Washington. In the end, Penn State will win again and the rest of us will throw up in our mouths.
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Post by Cruz'n on Sept 27, 2014 15:19:53 GMT -5
Hmmm...Stanford is obviously good; but I don't have the sense of overwhelming confidence when I think about them playing other top teams. If Wash or Penn St is playing on all cylinders, I wouldn't like Stanford's chances. Texas or Wisconsin could beat them too, but I'd pick Stanford. I would feel much better if Jordan would regain the form she had at end of last season. It will be tough for a team to win a championship without a dominant outside hitter. We'll see.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Sept 27, 2014 15:37:27 GMT -5
Yeah, Stanford's offensive efficiency and defensive skill make them very hard to beat. The lack of a terminal hitter, however, means they can be over-powered.
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Post by volleyfan24 on Sept 27, 2014 16:39:59 GMT -5
Maybe it is Stanford's recent NCAA tournament woes that have turned the Cardinal faithful into doubters but gosh for so many of their fans to think that they can't win the championship is ridiculous.
Stanford is the best team in the country. Their strength is their defense. They have two very terminal hitters. Inky and Boukather. The outsides aren't what Stanford is used to but Burgess still hit in the middle .200s so they are very good and both are fantastic defenders. Of all teams outside of Penn State they look most likely to get to the Final Four. I think they can win the NC with this team will they remains to be seen but they have a better shot than most teams in the country right now by most I mean they are definitely in the Top four and if you don't like those odds then I have no idea what to tell you.
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Post by indyrun on Sept 27, 2014 16:44:51 GMT -5
Maybe it is Stanford's recent NCAA tournament woes that have turned the Cardinal faithful into doubters but gosh for so many of their fans to think that they can't win the championship is ridiculous. Stanford is the best team in the country. Their strength is their defense. They have two very terminal hitters. Inky and Boukather. The outsides aren't what Stanford is used to but Burgess still hit in the middle .200s so they are very good and both are fantastic defenders. Of all teams outside of Penn State they look most likely to get to the Final Four. I think they can win the NC with this team will they remains to be seen but they have a better shot than most teams in the country right now by most I mean they are definitely in the Top four and if you don't like those odds then I have no idea what to tell you.
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Post by kashi on Sept 27, 2014 16:47:07 GMT -5
That is a horrible thing to say and I bet if it's even true that an alum said that, she would not have wanted you to quote her on volleytalk. Stay classy, cardvbfan.
Also - did you see Brittany play last night? The velocity on her attacks was much improved and her passing was solid.
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Post by Cruz'n on Sept 27, 2014 16:51:45 GMT -5
Hmmm...Stanford is obviously good; but I don't have the sense of overwhelming confidence when I think about them playing other top teams. If Wash or Penn St is playing on all cylinders, I wouldn't like Stanford's chances. Texas or Wisconsin could beat them too, but I'd pick Stanford. I would feel much better if Jordan would regain the form she had at end of last season; or if Brittany would play like she did freshman year? A former Stanford player said to me the other night "Brittany is one of those players who will be worse when she leaves Stanford then when she arrived." That is a horrible thing to say and I bet if it's even true that an alum said that, she would not have wanted you to quote her on volleytalk. Stay classy, cardvbfan. Also - did you see Brittany play last night? The velocity on her attacks was much improved and her passing was solid. You're right. That was poor of me to say. I edited my comment.
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Post by indyrun on Sept 27, 2014 17:00:54 GMT -5
VF24 - Too early to make to much of a fuss over someone's pic as best team in country, but was wondering if you had the chance to see the Penn St/Wisc (#s 1 & 2 @ end of last year) match this past week. PS probably played as close to the most perfect match I a team could possibly have, walked all over Wisc who, I believe, was #4 or 5 at that time. They made every play, "lasered" virtually every hit, kept the ball in play the best of any I've seen, AND had a stat at the end that stunned - 7 players with 7 or more kills. EVERYBODY can do virtually everything, and very well. They, to me, appear to have everything, including 3-4 non-starters that can be, and are interchangable with starters, with inserts totally seamless. Just interested in who you really think will beat this team this year. And know they had an early pre-conference loss but, the way Rose coaches, pre-season is for learning, developing, AND making sure you are ready for conference schedule - I think they are, IN SPADES, A magnificent VB machine, that I truly expect to roll over all opposition this year. Again, too early to be placing bets, but I'm close.
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