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Post by tomclen on Nov 22, 2014 11:05:40 GMT -5
Nice story in the UW Daily by Joe Veyera focuses on Schwan's replacement role last night: Read the full UW Daily story HERE.
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Post by alwayslearning on Nov 22, 2014 11:50:07 GMT -5
Beyond Krista`s obvious dominant contribution to the Washington offense, her every night contribution as the most consistent passer, lots of digs and blocking make her the all-around player that I will miss the most. It says something that you do not see many teams try the `serve the dominant OH to wear her out` (which UW used effectively on Kingdon) on Krista any more. She just makes them pay. Good point, dawgnerd, about how few teams really target Vansant in serve receive. Kingdon is a wondrous hitter but it was very apparent she is not even close to Vansant's level in the back row. And yes, we do tend to take Vansant's contributions for granted and then, when other teams key on her in crunch time, as they did in Boulder and Salt Lake City, we complain because she doesn't hit over .300 every game. Guilty as charged and I will miss the hell out of her next year.
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Post by tomclen on Nov 22, 2014 15:53:47 GMT -5
(Okay, my long-winded-diatribe on the lame broadcast coverage)
Just re-watching this match, the two 'disputed' calls Mike refers to earlier in this thread occurred with the score 6-5 Arizona.
An Arizona tip was called out on the UW side of the net by the line-judge on the Arizona side of the court. The up ref awarded the point to Washington and you can hear the PA announcer call the point for UW. But the down ref went over and talked with the up ref, you can hear part of the conversation, and convinces her to reverse the call.
The two people doing the broadcast had trouble explaining what was being discussed.
Then on the very next play Scambray hits a deep shot that appears to be clearly in. But the line judge, raised his flag.
Washington players and JMac appear shocked and argue briefly before JMac calls timeout to settle everyone down.
But here's the most shocking thing: the utter unawareness of the broadcast crew. First of all, the color analyst says "it doesn't look like Washington got a touch." She did eventually correct herself, because it was the Arizona players who were trying to defend the ball.
But then they took a commercial break, and after returning from break, having a full two minutes to look at the replay..they showed the replay. And even though everyone in the arena and everyone watching on television could tell that the mistake was calling the ball out when it was in...by about a foot...the announcing crew kept debating whether or not there was a touch. The color analyst even said, 'the ball was clearly out' at the precise moment they were showing a slow-mo replay of the ball clearly in. It was like a Saturday Night Live bit with a blind broadcast crew.
The line judge appears to have made a real blunder with that call...but that happens. It's a tough job.
The announcers, however, aren't just making a mistake. They are showing themselves to be completely unfit to be broadcasting volleyball.
If that was just one isolated 'stupid' segment in the broadcast, you could say, 'oh, well', they had a brain-fart.
But there was another point where there were two back-to-back service errors. One into the net by Arizona, followed immediately by a long serve by Strickland. The announcing crew was telling a story....and never made a single reference to either service error. Two back to back key errors in a tight match. Okay, you chattered away thru that first service error and didn't mention it, now focus on the action and talk about the action on the court. But, no, they spew drivel right through the second service error. They NEVER make mention of either one.
You see this and you have to ask yourself, 'why are these two even in the arena?'
And I lost track of the number of the times the broadcast missed serves in this match. Four or five, at least, in each of the three sets. And they were not missed because of replays (although that happened too). At least three times they were showing tight shots of Rubio on the sidelines. They were interesting shots, because he was clearly frustrated by his teams play. But don't stick with that shot and miss the serves.
Several times there were tight shots of the defenders thru the net..and...boom...we miss the serve. Then at least three times the director was fascinated with the front row on the serving team and their hand signals behind their back. The announcers never made a single reference to it...but the director kept doing tight shots on those hands. And at least three times they stayed on that tight shot and did NOT show the serve.
It's almost laughable. It's hard to decide if these crews are incompetent or someone at the top just doesn't give two $h1+s.
It's amazing to me how much money, time and resources they put into doing these broadcasts...and then they allow these basic blunders to occur over and over and over and over and over again all season long.
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Post by hammer on Nov 22, 2014 16:23:53 GMT -5
Snuka injury was probably a much bigger impact on Arizona's play than Jones injury was to Washington. Here's hoping they're both back to full speed next match. Schwan's ability to come in from the bench and have a remarkable match..was...well...remarkable. Much of the regular starting lineup for Washington, plus Schwan, have shown individually, they can each have a spectacular match or two or three (or more for Vansant, of course). If Washington can figure out how to get those wheels all spinning at once....they're going to need a police escort. Yeah, any chance of a Zona upset got flushed down the toilet when Snuka went out ... she's great defensively besides being a quality setter. UW takes the win, and you take them any way you can get them, but this one comes with an asterisk.
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Post by c4ndlelight on Nov 22, 2014 16:25:26 GMT -5
Is Snuka going to be able to play in Pullman tonight?
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Post by mikegarrison on Nov 22, 2014 16:53:40 GMT -5
You see this and you have to ask yourself, 'why are these two even in the arena?' They were not in the arena. They were phoning it in from the home office. So the back line line judge called it out? I never saw that. I only saw the side line judge call it in, and I thought the up ref simply overruled her.
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Post by mikegarrison on Nov 22, 2014 17:00:32 GMT -5
Snuka injury was probably a much bigger impact on Arizona's play than Jones injury was to Washington. Here's hoping they're both back to full speed next match. Schwan's ability to come in from the bench and have a remarkable match..was...well...remarkable. Much of the regular starting lineup for Washington, plus Schwan, have shown individually, they can each have a spectacular match or two or three (or more for Vansant, of course). If Washington can figure out how to get those wheels all spinning at once....they're going to need a police escort. Yeah, any chance of a Zona upset got flushed down the toilet when Snuka went out ... she's great defensively besides being a quality setter. UW takes the win, and you take them any way you can get them, but this one comes with an asterisk.Shove it up your asterisk, Hammer. AZ never had a shot with or without Snuka based on how the Huskies were playing, even though the Dawgs were also dealing with an injury. Anyway, before Snuka went out it was very amusing to watch her have to try to block Wade 1:1. Of course Wade just went right over her. She's a great setter, one of the best in the conference, but the NCAA sub rules that favor a 6-2 are going to make it harder and harder for a 5 foot 6 setter to remain competitive in the front row.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Nov 22, 2014 18:01:31 GMT -5
Just took a "time-out". Amazing how much time one can waste. Spent some time commenting over at Crosscut and the City-Data Seattle forum. Was at the match last night. Surprised to see Jones in a boot. Schwan stepped in and performed. Hopefully, the boot was more of a precaution and she'll be back before too long. Schwan can provide the offense (hits a heavy ball), but Jones is the better blocker. Interesting that Rubio didn't play either of his "tall" girls (Jacobson and Harris) the first two sets. Was it because he didn't like the match-ups against UW's fast offense? Jacobson did start the third set (got 2 kills on 3 attacks, but no blocks), while Harris never saw the floor. Hopefully, Snuka will be okay. She's a fun player to watch. Looked like a leg injury - she was pretty shaken up. Arizona was trailing 8-11 (after three straight UW points) in the first set when she went down. Pretty much took any wind out of Arizona's sails.
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Post by alwayslearning on Nov 22, 2014 18:12:45 GMT -5
Schwan can provide the offense (hits a heavy ball), but Jones is the better blocker. Hopefully, Snuka will be okay. She's a fun player to watch. Looked like a leg injury - she was pretty shaken up. Arizona was trailing 8-11 (after three straight UW points) in the first set when she went down. Pretty much took any wind out of Arizona's sails. I agree with both of your observations re: Schwan and Jones. That's why I think that when Jones is a junior, JMac will switch her to middle blocker, where her blocking and overall quickness and athleticism will pay off. And Schwan can play either OH or OPP, and probably six rotations if they need her to. Certainly Arizona had an uphill battle without Snuka. I like her floor defense and fire and leadership more than her actual setting. UW had more digs than AZ, which is one of the best digging teams in the Pac 12. Snuka's absence probably had something to do with that. But I think UW would have beaten AZ pretty handily, with or without Snuka.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Nov 22, 2014 18:19:25 GMT -5
Second set started out with some screwups by the refs, which put AZ up by a few points. First a line judge called a hit as being outside the antenna, so refs gave the point to UW. But Rubio and the AZ players complained. So the refs conferred and they overturned the call, giving the point to AZ. Then the VERY NEXT PLAY, Vansant hit a ball down the line that was clearly in and called in by the line judges. But the up ref immediately called it out. I don't think she even looked at the line judge. None of the Huskies even realized it, until the the AZ server got the ball. Then McLaughlin got as mad as I've ever seen him -- maybe excepting the shouting match with Cook. The refs were not willing to confer on that call though, and McLaughlin called a TO. Then they showed the replay on the screen and it was clearly in, which had the fans all screaming and booing at the ref. Bad calls are bad calls, but the combination of having them overturn a call and then make a terrible call the very next play -- I've rarely seen the UW bench or UW fans as upset. Certainly not on a call so early in a set. But the Huskies used that call as motivation, apparently because they turned the set around and ended up winning big, 25-17(?). It was Scambray, not Vansant, who got the undeserved hitting error. Yeah, from the replay, that ball looked at least a half-foot in. The Cook ball was at least questionable - this one wasn't. Ultimately, however, it helped UW MORE than UA, considering that the Huskies scored the next five points, and eight out of the next nine. I don't think the down ref was at all happy that that replay got played. Had a long conversation with the person at the scorers table in charge of the replays. I'm not sure there was another play replay the rest of the match, although lots of crowd shots.
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Post by tomclen on Nov 22, 2014 18:34:43 GMT -5
You see this and you have to ask yourself, 'why are these two even in the arena?' They were not in the arena. They were phoning it in from the home office. So the back line line judge called it out? I never saw that. I only saw the side line judge call it in, and I thought the up ref simply overruled her. Yes, the line judge on Washington's side of the court called the ball long. He was on the opposite sideline, not the sideline where the ball landed, but he clearly had the best view of the back-line and he made the call instantly without hesitation. But based on the replay, he clearly got it wrong. It happens, things move fast. Hopefully he's at home this afternoon watching the replay! The fact that the announcers were in a studio and not at the match, almost makes some of the misguided commentary worse. After all, they're not being distracted by other things in the arena...they're watching the same exact broadcast as the rest of us. They were totally off-base on so many elements of the game. I felt embarrassed for them.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Nov 22, 2014 18:58:55 GMT -5
I agree with both of your observations re: Schwan and Jones. That's why I think that when Jones is a junior, JMac will switch her to middle blocker, where her blocking and overall quickness and athleticism will pay off. And Schwan can play either OH or OPP, and probably six rotations if they need her to. Wasn't implying that Schwan is necessarily a better hitter than Jones. Jones is clearly the better blocker, however. Where Jones ultimately ends up playing as a junior will depend on where she can have the biggest impact and help the team the most. My sense is that Schwan will step in for Vansant next season. If Sybeldon is a 1st or 2nd team All-American this season, which looks very likely, that could be a draw for any 2016 MBs looking at UW.
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Post by alwayslearning on Nov 22, 2014 19:07:29 GMT -5
I agree with both of your observations re: Schwan and Jones. That's why I think that when Jones is a junior, JMac will switch her to middle blocker, where her blocking and overall quickness and athleticism will pay off. And Schwan can play either OH or OPP, and probably six rotations if they need her to. Wasn't implying that Schwan is necessarily a better hitter than Jones. Jones is clearly the better blocker, however. Where Jones ultimately ends up playing as a junior will depend on where she can have the biggest impact and help the team the most. My sense is that Schwan will step in for Vansant next season. If Sybeldon is a 1st or 2nd team All-American this season, which looks very likely, that could be a draw for any 2016 MBs looking at UW. If Schwan turns out to be a better hitter than Jones, then the Huskies are going to be loaded. Schwan seems like a natural replacement at OH for Vansant, and likely a six-rotation player. Combine Jones and Schwan with Scambray and possibly Tanner in a hitting/setting role, and it's a pretty amazing freshman class this year. Of course JMac will use Jones where she will help the team most; I just think her athletic skills fit the MB position well.
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Post by tomclen on Nov 22, 2014 21:53:21 GMT -5
There's a great VolleyblogSeattle post on last nights match...focused on how Scambray stood up to the pressure of being Arizona's serving target all night, and some great insight on how Schwan admits she was uptight once she found out about starting. Also, an update on Jones injury and status. VolleyBlog Seattle story HERE
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Post by alwayslearning on Nov 22, 2014 22:23:18 GMT -5
There's a great VolleyblogSeattle post on last nights match...focused on how Scambray stood up to the pressure of being Arizona's serving target all night, and some great insight on how Schwan admits she was uptight once she found out about starting. Also, an update on Jones injury and status. VolleyBlog Seattle story HEREI wondered earlier why Scambray's hitting was tailing off lately. I suppose one theory might be that she is being targeted on serve receive and that is an energy drain. I'm not sure if she was targeted in the Colorado and Utah matches. And I know she's been targeted earlier in the season by some teams. So I don't know if that theory holds water. My guess is that she will be targeted for the rest of the season.
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