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Post by vbprisoner on Dec 10, 2015 11:51:04 GMT -5
They had a key player (Liz Fortado, Sr. and co-captain) lost for the season to ACL shortly after the Florida win. She was 2nd or 3rd on the team in kills and second in blocks. That may have played a part in the nosedive, and I do not think they had a solid replacement.
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Post by vbshrink on Dec 10, 2015 12:23:58 GMT -5
Fortado was absolutely a key contributor, but her blocking in particular was not a major strength. (She was averaging .53 b/g at the time of her injury, which put her ~ 4th on the team). Her replacement was Danielle Harbin who is a much more dynamic athlete but a less consistent player. Harbin had some fantastic matches and some poor ones -- which actually wasn't too different from Fortado. But you are correct that losing Fortado was absolutely detrimental to the team. However, she went down after the losing streak began, in the first set of the second Florida match. (My own view regarding the inconsistent performance of the Hogs' hitters was that the setting was inconsistent -- sometimes great, sometimes pretty weak).
Really hated it for Liz, who is by all accounts a great kid and a very solid player. She was snake-bit by injuries throughout her Arkansas career. But the team should have been able to recover and beat some of the weaker teams on the schedule despite her injury.
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