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Post by trampas on Oct 26, 2014 10:06:22 GMT -5
Purdue needs a terminal Left side attack. They also need to set Cuttino more when they get a good pass. They go to the outside too often with really good passes. This did not look like the same time who went 5 sets with Penn State, that's for sure. Agree completely. With how good Cuttino and KIki are in the middle, and Drews banging away on the right side, their sub-standard play on the left side becomes all the more obvious. While I can appreciate the fact that Epenesa abstains from banging cross court shots straight into the block over and over like Birks did in this match (try hitting the the ball down the line Jocelynn!) she tips/roll shots way too often, and her hits are easy to dig (when she's not hitting the ball out). Stahl seems more like a good athlete than a volleyball player. Whoever said Purdue can't win with Annie Drews playing that poorly is right. The road doesn't get any easier for them from here on out, and if they can win two of their next three matches I will be impressed. Illinois for its part has a lot of weapons. I like their strategy of keeping Criswell in the quiver when Birks plays poorly (saw this against Nebraska too), and I thought Liz McMahon played phenomenally well. Looking forward to seeing this team play Wisconsin again, now that they have (rightly) asserted themselves as one of the best teams in the Big Ten.
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Post by badgerbreath on Oct 26, 2014 10:16:55 GMT -5
Low hitting percentage and high hitting error totals does not necessarily mean the team was hitting poorly. I agree that it makes a difference, but Purdue should not have doubled its typical error/set total simply due to the big Ill block, and ILL should have done better than to increase it's error by 50% over its typical average. Blocking numbers for both teams were well above their typical averages, even though these are two good hitting teams. Both teams hit into blocks well above their typical percentages. Both teams typically average >.250 HP, and they typically hold teams to ~.150, so you'd expect the HPs to be between those numbers. But both were were fair bit below that at 0.056 and .116. Both Hambly and Shondell commented on the error rate in the intermission. What it looked like during the first two sets was two teams trying to power through the others' blocks in an attempt to establish dominance. Especially at this time of the year, at which point good (and big) teams have been working on their block for quite a while, that is a tactical mistake. I agree that the fact that they got blocked may have gotten into the hitters heads later in the match, contributing to errors, but they should not have been hitting straight into well formed blocks to begin with. When faced with a well formed block its often better to hit a roll shot or a tip to at least keep the ball in play and make the other team work for their points. You have to pick your moments. Don't get me wrong, the teams were competitive in other aspects of the game, and defensively they did pretty well, especially Donnelly. For me that is where the fourth set was won. The battle within the battle between the liberos serving to each other at the end was interesting. I don't think Purdue's passing was up to snuff. Certainly too many over passes. That was also a bit of a difference.
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Post by badgerbreath on Oct 26, 2014 10:23:45 GMT -5
BTW...I think Criswell was smart, and effective. She was the best hitter out there last night by some way. I really think she was the difference maker on the offensive side...and maybe Drews in a negative sense, obviously.
Also...this was a really close match between evenly matched teams. I can imagine this going differently in Lafayette.
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Post by bucky415 on Oct 26, 2014 11:26:45 GMT -5
I also thought Purdue didn't go to the middles enough on occasions where the passes were there.
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Post by beb12345 on Oct 26, 2014 12:38:46 GMT -5
Purdue needs a terminal Left side attack. They also need to set Cuttino more when they get a good pass. They go to the outside too often with really good passes. This did not look like the same time who went 5 sets with Penn State, that's for sure. Agree completely. With how good Cuttino and KIki are in the middle, and Drews banging away on the right side, their sub-standard play on the left side becomes all the more obvious. While I can appreciate the fact that Epenesa abstains from banging cross court shots straight into the block over and over like Birks did in this match (try hitting the the ball down the line Jocelynn!) she tips/roll shots way too often, and her hits are easy to dig (when she's not hitting the ball out). Stahl seems more like a good athlete than a volleyball player. Whoever said Purdue can't win with Annie Drews playing that poorly is right. The road doesn't get any easier for them from here on out, and if they can win two of their next three matches I will be impressed. Illinois for its part has a lot of weapons. I like their strategy of keeping Criswell in the quiver when Birks plays poorly (saw this against Nebraska too), and I thought Liz McMahon played phenomenally well. Looking forward to seeing this team play Wisconsin again, now that they have (rightly) asserted themselves as one of the best teams in the Big Ten. "I will be impressed"?? Wow!! What a narcissistic statement. I know I live my life for you to be impressed. These players play @ such a high level,,give them a "break". Then I will be impressed with you. (As if that matters)
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Oct 26, 2014 15:58:35 GMT -5
I really don't believe Drews played poorly. Illinois negated her very strong hitting by better blocking. Unless you can hit over a good block as Karsta Lowe (UCLA) can and did do against Illinois, most hitters are going to have trouble with Illinois' block. And if you manage to get around Illinois' block, the Illini backrow defenders Donnelly, Conard, and Davis are the best group that Illinois has had as long as I can remember (and I am OLD!).
Also, Drews is a tremendous server. I don't know how much control she has over powerful jump serve, but she seemed to continually serve at Illinois jr. ds Julia Conard who handled Drews serve extremely well in my estimation. Drews did net her serve on a couple of occasions, but when you have a weapon like that, you continue to go all out as she did. I believe Coach Shondell got a little conservative towards the end of the match and was subbing in a server for Drews.
Purdue is solid. Their weakness is their LS hitting, but just about every team (save two or three) has a weakness.
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Oct 26, 2014 16:08:55 GMT -5
ay's Pac-12 school does play in front of an appreciative crowd of the sort I remember at Huff Hall. Stanford pulls that kind of crowd in for Washington, Penn State and other hot matchups but not otherwise. It used to. I have not been to a Washington volleyball match...but one venue in the PAC12 that draws a good, appreciative crowd just does not come close to the volleyball environments in the B1G. I will post it again, if a high school volleyball player wants to come to a conference where they will play in front of large appreciative crowds come play in the Big Ten. There is just no other conference that compares!
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kabvb
Sophomore
Posts: 155
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Post by kabvb on Oct 26, 2014 17:08:31 GMT -5
Purdue needs a terminal Left side attack. They also need to set Cuttino more when they get a good pass. They go to the outside too often with really good passes. This did not look like the same time who went 5 sets with Penn Sta te, that's for sure. Agree completely. With how good Cuttino and KIki are in the middle, and Drews banging away on the right side, their sub-standard play on the left side becomes all the more obvious. While I can appreciate the fact that Epenesa abstains from banging cross court shots straight into the block over and over like Birks did in this match (try hitting the the ball down the line Jocelynn!) she tips/roll shots way too often, and her hits are easy to dig (when she's not hitting the ball out). Stahl seems more like a good athlete than a volleyball player. Whoever said Purdue can't win with Annie Drews playing that poorly is right. The road doesn't get any easier for them from here on out, and if they can win two of their next three matches I will be impressed. Illinois for its part has a lot of weapons. I like their strategy of keeping Criswell in the quiver when Birks plays poorly (saw this against Nebraska too), and I thought Liz McMahon played phenomenally well. Looking forward to seeing this team play Wisconsin again, now that they have (rightly) asserted themselves as one of the best teams in the Big Ten. I'm confused by this paragraph. Probably too many pronouns or the run on sentence. Are you are implying that Birks or Epenesa hits out too often or her roll shots aren't effective ? I have seen most illini matches if you're going to kick Birks to the curb for struggling in one match,kick her to up north to Wisconsin. I'm sure Carlini would love to set her. The setting to the OH in particular Birks has been less then consistent all season first Palmer,now Vilunis. Criswell is in front with their setter that seems to help her focus on placement therefore better efficiently. She sets well to the op and middles but the easiest ball she struggles with. Vilunis has improved immensely since the start of the season but still a long way to go.. Not to take anything at all away from Purdue a solid well coached team . I thought they both were just on defense mode. See if Birks wants to wear red Side note -Wisconsin seems to be handling Nebraska fairly well.Go Badgers !!
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Post by kylewise1983 on Oct 26, 2014 18:39:21 GMT -5
. And if you manage to get around Illinois' block, the Illini backrow defenders Donnelly, Conard, and Davis are the best group that Illinois has had as long as I can remember (and I am OLD!). I couldn't agree more. And being from the same town as Donnelly, two years ago i would have bet good money she would be playing softball in college. Thrilled Hambley got her to committ Illinois and college volleyball.
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Post by indyrun on Oct 26, 2014 21:00:26 GMT -5
BTW...I think Criswell was smart, and effective. She was the best hitter out there last night by some way. I really think she was the difference maker on the offensive side...and maybe Drews in a negative sense, obviously. Also...this was a really close match between evenly matched teams. I can imagine this going differently in Lafayette. These two teams don't play each other again this year...
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