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Post by southie on Dec 19, 2014 13:24:42 GMT -5
Say hi to Mick for us! All that talent USC has and the best he can do is squeak them into the tournament by the skin of their teeth. Mick would like to say hi with having more rings on his finger I'm sure. He is pretty old, that's for sure.
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Post by network155 on Dec 19, 2014 13:26:33 GMT -5
Obviously, the passing wasn't that great for Texas. I thought our strategy would be to go more to the Middles and Right-side attackers. Thought we'd give Eckerman and Neal more swings from the right side. Not the best idea going at Hamson, IMO. I've been complaining all year that we weren't running the slide (McCage's bread and butter play) enough. We tried it more last night than in any match this season, but the timing just wasn't there; probably because we hadn't run it enough during the season. Could have run it to Bell more, as well. Was also hoping we'd move some of the left-side sets more to the inside of the court, but that only happened once or twice that I can remember. I expect PSU to try all the above against BYU tomorrow night. Texas played okay given what they were up against. Passing is hit or miss with them, particularly Amy Neil. You can't have a 5'10" OH who can't pass or terminate. I still think changes need to come at setter. Last night exposed TX's biggest weakness, in my opinion. Against most teams, TX can hit with moderately paced sets. Against better blocking and defensive teams, they need more speed and deception. Elliott has either not recruiter or implemented that system. Saw the need to adjustment but TX couldn't make the changes. Chloe may be able to run that offense (although she hasn't shown yet she can). Dalton, in my opinion, cannot. I really want a six rotation OH and another DS to shore up passing and Chloe to play all the way around, or get another setter with height. I don't get how TX has insane hitters and can't get the other missing pieces. Liked Molly on the slide and that is a true disadvantage of the system TX ran this year. She was the highlight player in the final four last year on that slide and blocking. New offense has done little to utilize her skill. There's a reason Paulina transferred. Love Obagu! She's a beast. McCoy played well and touched a lot of balls. Tough angles and I didn't see great adjustments, even though Hamson hits back line pretty well. Maybe a walk-on at DS? Can Chloe speed it up when needed? First off, I love Texas. But the excuse that "Texas played ok given what they were up against!" really? They were up against an unseeded team that is really hot at the moment. Texas was a top 5 team all season long, when the NCAA tournament seedings were announced, they were the #2 overall seed. So, I really didn't understand what you meant by that. Texas was the overwhelming favorite coming into this match. So they lost to a very talented BYU team, so what? I thought Texas played great, Ogbogu was phenomenal at the net. Nothing to be upset about, those girls played their hearts out!
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Post by texasnewbie on Dec 19, 2014 13:29:50 GMT -5
Exactly, I mean honestly, Texas didn't play to their potential, honestly that hasn't happened in my opinion all season, because if it had, we'd be whipping whoever in that final. A mediocre Texas makes the final four....again....and we had errors on our end that caused us to lose out again, that's ok, we will learn and move on, but these haters on here for Texas just can't seem to do the same. I agree sunsuphornsup! Weaknesses were exposed by a team that knew and was capable of exposing those weaknesses. It's not about TX just not playing well yesterday. A team exposed a few issues that have existed all season. Passing is bad. Setting is bad. I haven't seen a consistent attack from Paulina. Those were magnified because the other team across the net didn't make errors and could block, pass, etc... Did you notice Nicole lolly-popping the serve? That's an issue at an elite level. She and the rest of TX can get away with that against lesser competition in the Big 12, and even against a two-headed, overrated monster like FL. I am glad to see Elliott getting better competition in preseason but it's an issue when league play doesn't prepare you for a tournament. You see it time and again with FL, ACC teams, KY. TX has had GREAT teams that have proven themselves in the past, but I don't think that was this or last year. It starts with passing and that should be priority one for 2016. After the block fest BYU put on, what became clear to me was we gave their big block WAY too much time to close. Speed is critical to splitting those blocks and giving smaller hitters and those hitting into the block a window. Haley started adjusting by hitting high hands but only because she's the best. Can't expect that of everyone. Now this is an accurate comment, thank you for not being rude. You're right, I said that in my post earlier. Texas hasn't shown their best volleyball not once this season, if they'd had then they would of been extremely dominating. There was a crazy bunch of good teams this year and on any given night those teams could win. I commend PSU because they consistently are great when it counts the most. I know a lot of people are tired of them winning but they win because they are coached at the highest level which in turn forces them to play that level. Texas' athletes on that volleyball team are no different than PSU, they hit just as hard, they block just as well and I won't say their back row is as solid but honestly we have to admit Texas improved their back row this season/ ball control. They were not able to carry that into these big matches. Elliot tried his best I'm sure, but at some point he needs to realize that when you have players like a team that wins it all year and year out (PSU) and you're not winning year and year out, you need to look at yourself and maybe that's the change you need to make. Right off the bat the 6:2 was not the best choice, am I a D1 coach, hell no, but I do know volleyball and have played at a very high level and coached at a high level as well and numerous times as a player AND A COACH, you need to look and make sure the problem or issue isn't you. I admre your comment "bucky". I do, because you're right on the money about Texas. We all have our teams we like to "hate on", I get it, but what is really embarrassing is when some of these comments are right about your team LOL.
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Post by badgerbreath on Dec 19, 2014 13:50:40 GMT -5
I agree Texas's passing and setting just aren't quite at the level it needs to be to make full use of their incredible talent at the net. That talent is amazing, maybe unprecedented, but it allows them to get by lesser teams in conference play without the great passing and setting needed against truly tough teams you meet in the latter stages of the NCAAs. Also, you get the feeling they are not used to seeing teams which really force them to adjust their approach. I kind of had the same feeling last year when watching them against Wisconsin as I did this year against BYU. Texas was facing a team that represented a completely different challenge than they were used to seeing during the season (although the challenges were completely different in each case), and they seemed to become frustrated when their typical style of play wouldn't be enough to win the match. By the time you get to the final four, you are meeting teams that aren't only good at a particular style of play, they are really great at it. You are not going to have the privilege of simply dictating the style of play. You need to be able to make the adjustments mentally and tactically to work around the strengths of the other team. Texas doesn't look like they know how to do it in these settings sometimes. PSU does this kind of adjustment magnificently in most cases, but the B1G really posed a challenge for them early in the season. They had to learn to do it as the season went on. I'm not sure Texas gets the chance to learn in the B1G12...at least not the last couple of years.
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Post by badgerbreath on Dec 19, 2014 14:14:54 GMT -5
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Post by holidayhusker on Dec 19, 2014 14:23:38 GMT -5
I am shocked Texas got beat. They looked so great in the previous game with no visible weaknesses. BYU is interesting. They seem to know the Achilles heal of every team and exploit it.
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Post by sunsuphornsup on Dec 19, 2014 15:18:29 GMT -5
It isn't my intention to rag on Texas (though I admit that I find the "hook 'em" sign annoying). The team is obviously excellent and not being the lone survivor among 335 teams or the lone 2 survivors playing for the championship doesn't prove otherwise. I don't know the players, but if I did, I bet I'd consider them nice kids and exemplary examples of the student-athlete. I know that Eckerman has combined motherhood, her studies, and playing at the highest level, and that's pretty remarkable right there. I had the chance to observe Elliot at the regionals interact with the arena staff, his assistants, and his players, and he seemed unfailingly gracious. I don't hate Texas, though I confess to jealousy. But (and you know there would be a but), I feel constrained to note that nobody, not even PSU and Stanford, has a roster so filled with prepvolleyball top 10 recruits. I count 9 on the current roster (including Baker, who admittedly isn't up to snuff this year). Nine! That's twice as many as PSU and Stanford combined, and by any measure an absolutely incredible number of top recruits. Has any other team in NCAA history ever had so many top, top recruits, and at every position? (In addition to all this top 10 talent, the libero, albeit a freshman and although lacking a top 10 ranking (as all liberos lack), was the top ranked libero in her class.) To those who have been given much, much is expected. Texas has certainly had lots of success, with all of its many final four appearances. But I think one can fairly say that it has consistently underachieved just the same, given that it is, as much as anything, the prepvb all star team. Sometimes I feel like players get a boost in prep rankings when they commit to a certain school like Texas.
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Post by bigfan on Dec 19, 2014 15:19:53 GMT -5
Texas chocked. Over-rated team. BYU beat them down and let them know who is the MASTER. I look into Bevo's eyes and see the back of his skull, same as Elliott. Say hi to Mick for us! All that talent USC has and the best he can do is squeak them into the tournament by the skin of their teeth. Always the blame game, its always somebody elses fault that unranked BYU is the 1st team ever to reach the NCAA D-1 finals by beating a very good Texas team. Always grasping at straws, always deflecting responsibility. Texas was jobbed. Texas lost because Mick Haley put a voodoo curse on Texas. Texas lost because Elliott tightens up when his mentor is in the audience. Texas lost because Bevo was not allowed to attend. Texas lost because the green floor scared the players. Texas lost because they were looking ahead to the finals. TEXAS lost because BYU is a very good team with a block Texas had never seen and Elliott did not make adjustments.
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Post by badgerbreath on Dec 19, 2014 15:25:16 GMT -5
It isn't my intention to rag on Texas (though I admit that I find the "hook 'em" sign annoying). The team is obviously excellent and not being the lone survivor among 335 teams or the lone 2 survivors playing for the championship doesn't prove otherwise. I don't know the players, but if I did, I bet I'd consider them nice kids and exemplary examples of the student-athlete. I know that Eckerman has combined motherhood, her studies, and playing at the highest level, and that's pretty remarkable right there. I had the chance to observe Elliot at the regionals interact with the arena staff, his assistants, and his players, and he seemed unfailingly gracious. I don't hate Texas, though I confess to jealousy. But (and you know there would be a but), I feel constrained to note that nobody, not even PSU and Stanford, has a roster so filled with prepvolleyball top 10 recruits. I count 9 on the current roster (including Baker, who admittedly isn't up to snuff this year). Nine! That's twice as many as PSU and Stanford combined, and by any measure an absolutely incredible number of top recruits. Has any other team in NCAA history ever had so many top, top recruits, and at every position? (In addition to all this top 10 talent, the libero, albeit a freshman and although lacking a top 10 ranking (as all liberos lack), was the top ranked libero in her class.) To those who have been given much, much is expected. Texas has certainly had lots of success, with all of its many final four appearances. But I think one can fairly say that it has consistently underachieved just the same, given that it is, as much as anything, the prepvb all star team. Sometimes I feel like players get a boost in prep rankings when they commit to a certain school like Texas. I wonder about that, too.
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Post by sunsuphornsup on Dec 19, 2014 15:27:11 GMT -5
Say hi to Mick for us! All that talent USC has and the best he can do is squeak them into the tournament by the skin of their teeth. Always the blame game, its always somebody elses fault that unranked BYU is the 1st team ever to reach the NCAA D-1 finals by beating a very good Texas team. Always grasping at straws, always deflecting responsibility. Texas was jobbed. Texas lost because Mick Haley put a voodoo curse on Texas. Texas lost because Elliott tightens up when his mentor is in the audience. Texas lost because Bevo was not allowed to attend. Texas lost because the green floor scared the players. Texas lost because they were looking ahead to the finals. TEXAS lost because BYU is a very good team with a block Texas had a never seen and Elliott did not make adjustments. I think people would respect what you had to say more if it was more respectful and insightful and less of rambling diatribe. I think most fans agree that we were outplayed by BYU. No one is disputing that fact.
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Post by southie on Dec 19, 2014 15:29:13 GMT -5
Say hi to Mick for us! All that talent USC has and the best he can do is squeak them into the tournament by the skin of their teeth. Always the blame game, its always somebody elses fault that unranked BYU is the 1st team ever to reach the NCAA D-1 finals by beating a very good Texas team. Always grasping at straws, always deflecting responsibility. Texas was jobbed. Texas lost because Mick Haley put a voodoo curse on Texas. Texas lost because Elliott tightens up when his mentor is in the audience. Texas lost because Bevo was not allowed to attend. Texas lost because the green floor scared the players. Texas lost because they were looking ahead to the finals. TEXAS lost because BYU is a very good team with a block Texas had never seen and Elliott did not make adjustments. Send our best to Mick. Hope he's been getting a lot of rest these last two weeks while his peers were still coaching in the NCAA tourney . . .
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Post by vbprisoner on Dec 19, 2014 15:45:37 GMT -5
Sometimes I feel like players get a boost in prep rankings when they commit to a certain school like Texas. I wonder about that, too. I think some of the rankings are sometimes skewed by athleticism and potential and not by actual volleyball skills and actual ability. I have seen over the last couple of years several players ranked in the top 25 that were voted there based solely because they were incredibly athletic and over 6'2" but their volleyball skills were very one dimensional or just plain raw. In reality they did not deserve that top 25 ranking and this was actually an unfair burden put on them because fans live and die by these lists.
I understand a player having huge upside / potential, but when you fill your team with several of these players and do not have the all-around, high vball IQ, glue type players also..... it is a recipe for unrealized potential and fan heartache.
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Post by uscyaaa on Dec 19, 2014 17:47:08 GMT -5
Always the blame game, its always somebody elses fault that unranked BYU is the 1st team ever to reach the NCAA D-1 finals by beating a very good Texas team. Always grasping at straws, always deflecting responsibility. Texas was jobbed. Texas lost because Mick Haley put a voodoo curse on Texas. Texas lost because Elliott tightens up when his mentor is in the audience. Texas lost because Bevo was not allowed to attend. Texas lost because the green floor scared the players. Texas lost because they were looking ahead to the finals. TEXAS lost because BYU is a very good team with a block Texas had never seen and Elliott did not make adjustments. Send our best to Mick. Hope he's been getting a lot of rest these last two weeks while his peers were still coaching in the NCAA tourney . . . Attachment Deleted
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Post by tomclen on Dec 19, 2014 17:54:58 GMT -5
Don't care if he was up-ref, down-ref, or clown-ref, looks like he won't make a bad call on my Horns again.
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Post by bigfan on Dec 19, 2014 18:05:49 GMT -5
Send our best to Mick. Hope he's been getting a lot of rest these last two weeks while his peers were still coaching in the NCAA tourney . . . [/quote] in the mail - merry christmas![/quote]
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