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Post by klazk on Oct 2, 2015 11:26:37 GMT -5
Another piece of evidence that teams see Olympic as higher priority than $ sometimes - Bawden/Clancey from Australia earned a spot in the World Tour Finals, but are instead playing this week in the AVC finals (Asian equivalent to NORCECA). Unless there were travel or personal reasons, certainly seems like Olympic points (they get 500 if they win) were more important to them than the potential $s in Fort Lauderdale this week. Thats interesting how you interpret that. I would read it as a lack of confidence in how well they would do when competing against the best teams versus the much weaker field at the AVC (basically just China who are good) Whats the prize money at AVC? I don't see it published anywhere obvious. But, last place finish at WT finals is $5,000. First place finish at 2014 NORCECA final was $4,000. AVC may pay out more than NORCECA, but it is at least a reference point. CEV pays out substantially more than NORCECA, but I would guess AVC is closer to NORCECA than CEV. Just a guess based on team level, though. Bawden/Clancy had a solid year including a 3rd, 4th and two 5ths. They were clearly in the top 8, they didn't just grab one of the last spots. I thought I saw somewhere the withdrawal from World Tour finals was injury related, so maybe there is more to the story - like it healed faster than they anticipated so they played AVC because they could. I honestly can't believe any team at that level would miss an opportunity to play against the best unless the money was substantially different. But I could be wrong. We'll probably never know.
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Post by gk on Oct 2, 2015 15:28:06 GMT -5
Ross/Fendrick eliminated by Pavan/Bansley 15-21, 16-21
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Post by guest2 on Oct 2, 2015 15:52:20 GMT -5
Shame Lauren couldnt have reversed the order of the matches. Three great wins followed by two rough losses. Still not a terrible showing by any means
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Post by gk on Oct 2, 2015 15:52:41 GMT -5
Nick/Phil have a bye in the quarters and will play winner of Brouwer/Meeuwsen (NED) vs Nummerdor/Varenhorst (NED) in the semifinals. Seems like a good setup for them as the Brazilian teams will likely be playing each other on the other side.
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Oct 2, 2015 15:54:26 GMT -5
The Asian Championships are a pretty big deal over there. My guess is that the Australian federation wanted their top team in the event.
Also: Sydney-Hong Kong, 9 hours in the air and a 2 hour time change. Sydney to Ft. Lauderdale, 22 hours in the air and a 14 hour time change.
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Post by beavis on Oct 3, 2015 0:51:01 GMT -5
A few observations: Yes, the broken English announcer (can't tell if its a German, Swedish or Spanish accent sometimes!!!) can be a bit annoying, but it is actually kind of funny to listen to him, with his attempts at sounding cool interspersed with trying to get the crowd going! The music is pretty funny also - unlike an AVP stop, its a fair amount of older songs combined with overdubs where they substitute a word like "sideout" into the song's refrain - pretty hokey but funny because it is so hokey, you know? Evandro/Pedro have looked really good - his jump serves have to be the hardest on tour - simply unpassable when he gets it in. Phil/Nick have some lapses but overall look really sharp - so nice to see Phil looking like the old Phil - served all floaters against Doppler/Horst but they still toyed with them before finishing them off - Nick has been digging more balls than normal and looks lightning fast on defense - pretty impressive - kinda hoping for Phil/Nick v. Evandro/Pedro Final. Feel bad for April - she tried to take over in their losses but was simply unable to overcome what seemed to be poor passing, bad serving, almost no blocks or even touches, and weak sideouts by Lauren. One thing had me puzzled in their do or die match against Bansley/Pavan - I guess I understand not wanting to go after someone 6'5", but when Bansley is passing nails and siding out like no one's business (seriously, I think she missed one or two sideouts in the entire match), why not switch it up and serve Pavan a bit? They finally served Pavan once midway through the second game and she shanked a pass and couldn't sideout, but went right back to the down middle or more toward Bansley serve, WHY? ? I simply don't understand. How on earth could you not change things up when you are getting worked??? I think that this huge failure, coupled with the fact that April obviously did not take charge and call for a different serve strategy, was the single most irritating thing I witnessed all tournament. Other than the heat, it has really been fun watching the best teams on the world match up head to head so far!
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Post by guest2 on Oct 3, 2015 4:19:28 GMT -5
I thought the announcer was faking that accent when the European teams play in an attempt to be funny. The My Block thing is something they were doing at the Dutch tournament and may be the single thing on tour I hate more than anything else this year.
This tournament is probably a success for Nick/Phil no matter what happens next, barring a huge blowout. They have proven, to themselves most importantly, that they are a force to be reckoned with against top teams.
Id like to see them win, but in terms of what this event means to medal hopes, self confidence, their place on the tour, I think they have already done all they need to.
Ditto on Evandro's serve. Its a force of nature
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Post by camkerr on Oct 3, 2015 9:24:28 GMT -5
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Post by tinman2 on Oct 3, 2015 10:47:45 GMT -5
The announcer did get annoying at times, but he knows the sport and definitely got the crowd involved. Us old guys were there to watch volleyball, but the singing and chanting did create a unique, fun vibe that was missing when the AVP ran the tournament in St. Pete.
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Post by guest2 on Oct 3, 2015 15:21:35 GMT -5
looks like a great atmosphere there today. Nick and Phil should get this going into 3. This event is near the best I have seen Nick play in a while. He needs to get his passing straightened out but otherwise his play has been really excellent.
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Post by haze on Oct 3, 2015 15:22:07 GMT -5
So the FIVB World Tour Finals - semifinal match isn't even being streamed anywhere?
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Post by haze on Oct 3, 2015 15:39:16 GMT -5
So I'm not sure but I think they won on periscope? They looked down for the last 5 minutes I watched but we're celebrating after the last point so I think they won.
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Post by guest2 on Oct 3, 2015 15:45:18 GMT -5
They won. It was on German TV. They got down early due to some shaky passing but steadied out and Phil got 4-5 blocks and that did it. It was 10-10 I think and the US ran it out to 14-10 before winning. Can't wait for the final tomorrow
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Post by tinman2 on Oct 3, 2015 16:03:43 GMT -5
It was a great match. USA won first game. Got out served and were down big in second game before making a nice comeback. USA was down 6 to 3 in the third and Nick made a great sideout on a rocket serve that kept them in the match and then they ran off 3 straight. As guest2 noted they made another good run at 10-10...
Play Brazil in a rematch tomorrow and it's a coin flip.
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Post by beachster on Oct 3, 2015 18:20:58 GMT -5
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