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Post by Garand on Sept 24, 2014 2:21:24 GMT -5
Who knows the story behind Consani? Last year she was a decent Big West setter on a relatively weak Fullerton team, and now she's setting UCLA to unexpected heights. Kind of reminds me of the Van Orden thing. What gives? Was she this good all along? If so, why didn't she shine more at Fullerton?
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Post by FOBRA on Sept 24, 2014 2:24:26 GMT -5
Setting Lowe helps quite a bit. She's also improved quickly even from her first starts at UCLA, so that seems to be just taking lessons from the coaching staff quickly.
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Post by network155 on Sept 24, 2014 2:40:44 GMT -5
I'm going with the Bruins. Unlike last year, this year the Bruins are very balanced. Karsta Lowe is playing all-world. Zoe Nightingale is much improved + 2 incredible freshmen outside hitters. Their backcourt is way better than the Women of Troy. I'm a Bruin fan and I don't agree with your assessment. Zoe is not improved. Her hitting numbers are down this year and she should be doing better in this year's system compared to last year's. Also, the two freshmen outside hitters are not "incredible." They may be significant to the team, but not incredible. Strantzali hasn't played well against most of the top teams UCLA has faced. USC will probably have the block ready for all of the sets to Lowe, therefore UCLA needs the two freshmen to have a chance at winning. If Lowe isn't having a great night, hopefully UCLA figures out to feed Felix on the slide because we all know that's what teams have been doing to them. Congrats to the Bruins!
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Post by mikegarrison on Sept 24, 2014 4:13:43 GMT -5
If ASU was watching tonight Do you think there is any possible chance they were not?
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Post by volleytology on Sept 24, 2014 6:41:13 GMT -5
Lowe is the real deal; definitely a player of the year candidate. USC has the bad combo of sketchy setting, average libero and inability to kill the ball. They will improve though when they get completely healthy and figure the lineup out
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Post by GoUCLA on Sept 24, 2014 7:33:53 GMT -5
Stats: www.uclabruins.com//ViewContent.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=30500&CONTENT_ID=980465Buechler had a nice game with 10 kills hitting .348. If you look at the stats, she basically played better than most of the SC girls. The exception is Bricio who had more kills but a worse hitting percentage. Interesting to see that Bricio and Nwanebu got about the same number of attempts. Before, Bricio was getting about 30-40% of USC's attempts. I wonder if that was the game plan to get Ebony more involved.
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Post by tomclen on Sept 24, 2014 8:09:22 GMT -5
Attendance almost 2,000. (1,913)
Not bad considering it's on TV and it's a Tuesday evening match.
I love being able to see more volleyball on Pac12 Network, but I think it's a real challenge for local fans to attend these weekday evening games.
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Post by texasnewbie on Sept 24, 2014 8:26:43 GMT -5
Congrats to UCLA! Karsta has NPOY mentality this season. WOW! What an impressive player. 22 Kills and hit a .357 clip! Bricio 12 kills at .233 and Ebony 6 kills at .071, basically Karsta took care of business at USC. Before this season started I looked at USC as a powerhouse this season, but they just haven't hit it yet. Crone looks worse than last year, I feel bad for Ebony and I hope she heals 100%, Bricio may have the serve to run off points but that won't win a title. Karsta won't win a title either, alone, but they will be that team to pull off some upsets. I wish Abercrombie would get it together, I love watching her play. It was fun match to watch, congrats to UCLA, keep it up. Stanford, watch out, I could see UCLA taking them out too. Cal is not very good at all and they almost took set 2 off Stanford. Stanford clearly the better team than Cal, but Stanford is beatable for sure. I'm a Texas fan, but I love watching Pac-12 and B1G showdowns. Powerhouse conferences. Good luck to all this season!
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Post by bballnut90 on Sept 24, 2014 9:58:27 GMT -5
Lowe is the most impressive hitter I've seen this season. She has height, good jumping ability, and good hitting mechanics as a lefty which make her difficult to defense. She snaps the ball really well, there were so many times that she pounded a kill that landed just in front of the defender, or where the defender could even get a hand on it but couldn't get underneath the ball enough to control it. I'm surprised UCLA doesn't ride her even more than they do already. I would give her 15-20 swings a set until opponents can prove to slow her down. I was really impressed with UCLA's libero, too. Completely outplayed her counterpart at USC.
USC looked really bad. I'm hoping Abercrombie gets more playing time, she has great potential on the rightside and think she is a better option than Young (who brings good energy, but doesn't have the skill set that Brittany does.)
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Post by Stanlifornia on Sept 24, 2014 10:25:04 GMT -5
Amidst all the 2014 NPOY candidates that always get mentioned (Carlini, Inky, Hancock, Vansant, etc.) I always feel like Lowe is on the -low- end of the totem pole. I know a big part of the award is contingent on how far you make it in the tourney, but really, she's elevated her game to another level this season.
The kills I was expecting, but her dedication to improving in the back-row should be commended just as much allowing her to be left out there for 6-rotations and not be a viability. She's quietly turning into a complete-package player and a legit candidate for NPOY this early-on.
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Post by volleytology on Sept 24, 2014 10:28:25 GMT -5
Did anyone notice that Young was setting in the front row in the 3rd set with Crone setting in the backrow ? Pretty interesting; has USC done this before ?
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Post by psufan613 on Sept 24, 2014 11:06:57 GMT -5
I'm so bummed that I don't get the Pac 12 network. I wonder if this match will get uploaded to Youtube?
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Post by mikegarrison on Sept 24, 2014 11:20:25 GMT -5
Amidst all the 2014 NPOY candidates that always get mentioned (Carlini, Inky, Hancock, Vansant, etc.) I always feel like Lowe is on the -low- end of the totem pole. I know a big part of the award is contingent on how far you make it in the tourney, but really, she's elevated her game to another level this season. The kills I was expecting, but her dedication to improving in the back-row should be commended just as much allowing her to be left out there for 6-rotations and not be a viability. She's quietly turning into a complete-package player and a legit candidate for NPOY this early-on. The thing is, AVCA NPOY almost always goes to a player whose team is in the Final Four. So any serious prediction of NPOY is also a discussion about which teams can be expected to advance in the tournament. My opinion of UCLA has been steadily rising, but I'm not sure they are good enough to have a real shot.
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Post by cardcounter on Sept 24, 2014 11:35:07 GMT -5
What an interesting match to watch. No way would I have predicted a sweep at Galen Center.
UCLA looked really good. That was the best I have seen Buechler play. I didn’t know anything about Consani when she joined UCLA. Her connection with Lowe was in sync throughout the match. IMO Consani is in the discussion of PAC-12 premier setters for this season. UCLA can survive this year if Moenoa were to go on medical redshirt.
It was UCLA’s floor defense that made the difference. They were digging USC’s best shots with an attitude of “Is that all you got?” I think UCLA’s floor defense got into the head of some of USC’s hitters.
On USC’s side of the net, Bricio was off her game. I have seen Abercrombie hit some bombs in club. I have also seen her make many unforced errors in club. Abercrombie needs a year of college ball to smooth out her game. USC’s setters had a disappointing performance.
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Post by jordan on Sept 24, 2014 11:36:12 GMT -5
What I like about Lowe besides her playing ability is that she's having a great time on the court and doesn't get flustered. Even if she gets roofed her next swing she puts the ball down.
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