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Post by SuperSpike on Oct 4, 2015 0:20:31 GMT -5
As many others have iterated, it has t obe Bricio at this point. She is just dominating games, similarly to Karsta Lowe last year, but even more so when you consider her all around play. Offensively she has been an absolute monster, she dominates the service line, and she also has been the centerpiece of a USC team that has a great shot to be #1 on Monday. Courtney is a strong candidate as well, she might be the most complete player in collegiate volleyball. Her passing, defense and blocking are as good as any other OH's in the nation, and she is an outstanding attacker, although not a consistently dominant hitter ala Bricio. Her arm swing is textbook and she is a tremendous 2nd setter. She's not dominant like Bricio, but she is the best all around player in the country. Lauren Carlni is probably the best player in the country when you look at how polished she is, but her team isn't good enough for her to be a POY candidate at this point. Wisconsin will continue to improve, and she was fantastic against Illinois this weekend so she will continue to be the nation's standout setter. Haleigh Washington has been the nation's top middle at this point--very good as a blocker, and truly deadly on the slide. Ogbogu has been phenomenal as well. I think you pretty much nailed it.
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Post by surfboy on Oct 4, 2015 0:44:25 GMT -5
surfboy I don't know, I don't think so. The only time I recall Nikki staying on the left while Higgins was serving was against Florida when they needed her there to stop Holston. The only other time Nikki ever swings and blocks on the left is during the serve-receive. I went back and looked at their games (luckily Higgins is the first to rotate into the serve position) and Nikki always goes OPP. The one exception being the match against Florida. ohi87 Taylor is not a true opposite its clear, yes they do variations with it at times but this was not only limited to the Florida game. I rest my case, this is not going anywhere.
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Post by ohi87 on Oct 4, 2015 1:27:44 GMT -5
surfboy Usually you rest your case when you've provided substantial evidence supporting it. I've gone and watched every match Hawai'i has played this year and of the "12 rotations" (6 spots x2 (serve and serve-receive)) Nikki plays 11 of them in the Opposite position, except against Florida. I'm just pointing this out to you because you referred to Nikki as a better blocker "as far as outsides go" in comparison to Courtney. Like ay2013 said, Nikki isn't an OH, she's an OPP. She plays 5/6 front row situations on the right, blocking the opponents go-to hitters. Her blocking stats will be inflated versus OHs, like Courtney and Bricio, because she's an OPP. I'm not taking anything away from Nikki!! She definitely needs to be in the POY conversation. But don't fool yourself into thinking Nikki is an OH.
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Oct 4, 2015 2:16:28 GMT -5
Yeah, I know I said I was done for the year but I changed my mind. I'm still annoyed by the loss to UCLA though. Nikki is a true Opposite. In a traditional 5-1, The setter starts right back with the opposite starting in the left front position ( so one rotation on the left). I'm not going to pump Nikki Taylor's tires too much because her game speaks for itself-she is a complete player and in my opinion, the best opposite in the country. Yes, she does get more opportunity for blocks but opportunity in itself does not equal blocks, y'all catch my drift? If we are talking about a POY at this point in the season, Nikki's definitely part of that discussion.
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Post by Victory At Hand on Oct 4, 2015 4:40:39 GMT -5
Yeah, I know I said I was done for the year but I changed my mind. I'm still annoyed by the loss to UCLA though. Nikki is a true Opposite. In a traditional 5-1, The setter starts right back with the opposite starting in the left front position ( so one rotation on the left). I'm not going to pump Nikki Taylor's tires too much because her game speaks for itself-she is a complete player and in my opinion, the best opposite in the country. Yes, she does get more opportunity for blocks but opportunity in itself does not equal blocks, y'all catch my drift? If we are talking about a POY at this point in the season, Nikki's definitely part of that discussion. Agree 100%. Nikki Taylor is a true opposite, I don't know where these other posters are saying she isn't. She is a true Opposite in a 5-1. Hitting one rotation on the left-side.
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Post by surfboy on Oct 4, 2015 19:37:52 GMT -5
I'm just pointing this out to you because you referred to Nikki as a better blocker "as far as outsides go" in comparison to Courtney. ohi87 go back on the start of this thread and check your #facts I never said Nikki was a better blocker I said she and Courtney come to mind as good blocking 'outsides' go, as this was a simple gesture recognizing Courtney in the discussion for the award from another poster. 2. The thread is about player of the year and i was just stating Nikki's chances, Everytime I stated something another comment would be made trying to "challenge" or come off as a downgrade remark about Nikki or Team Hawaii. 3. She is an opposite maybe my comment on being a true opposite was for some of the games as she also played 3 rotations on the left--believe it was the UCLA match and NOT just Florida...Nikki period is the best outside attacker for Hawaii and Dave will not hesistate to change it up with her when warranted. Does this make her a true opposite? I guess she is relishing in that role so that can be a fair statement afterall but calling her an outside (As I used the term 'Outsides' in that comment) is not far-fetched
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Post by deacondive on Oct 4, 2015 21:03:14 GMT -5
surfboy I don't know, I don't think so. The only time I recall Nikki staying on the left while Higgins was serving was against Florida when they needed her there to stop Holston. The only other time Nikki ever swings and blocks on the left is during the serve-receive. I went back and looked at their games (luckily Higgins is the first to rotate into the serve position) and Nikki always goes OPP. The one exception being the match against Florida. ohi87 Taylor is not a true opposite its clear, yes they do variations with it at times but this was not only limited to the Florida game. I rest my case, this is not going anywhere. There was a very strategic reason to let Taylor block on the left against Florida. The Gators rely on Holston and their outsides don't see as many balls. Play for the match up.
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Post by Victory At Hand on Oct 4, 2015 21:11:37 GMT -5
I hate to change the subject. Anyway, Samantha Bricio had 27 kills, hit .278 in the match against Washington. She had 72 attempts. Anybody else agree with me that they're going to her too much? I see a similarity there with her and Nikki Taylor, but unlike Hawaii who's middles are taking most of the sets, USC goes almost exclusively to Bricio on the outside. Thoughts?
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Post by bballnut90 on Oct 4, 2015 22:14:03 GMT -5
I hate to change the subject. Anyway, Samantha Bricio had 27 kills, hit .278 in the match against Washington. She had 72 attempts. Anybody else agree with me that they're going to her too much? I see a similarity there with her and Nikki Taylor, but unlike Hawaii who's middles are taking most of the sets, USC goes almost exclusively to Bricio on the outside. Thoughts? They are getting a lot more balance this year than they did last year, when it seemed like every ball went to Ebony or Sam. Ford is getting good swings, Abercrombie is a force on the right when she is set in system, and both middles are doing a really solid job. With USC's fast tempo offense, RSs aren't set unless the pass is money, and middles are only hitting quicks which requires a great pass. As a result, the outside or pipe is inevitably the best option on almost all broken plays, hence the huge number of attacks. I think if Bricio can sustain it or continue to be as effective, keep riding her shoulder. In long rallies it felt like Bricio was the only one who could put the ball away. She is lethal from the front court and out of the pipe/bic. Her passing was suspect today, but she is the most terminal pin hitter in the nation right now, so SC should absolutely ride her in all big matches if she can put up big numbers.
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Post by zuzu1227 on Oct 4, 2015 22:37:06 GMT -5
Everyone keeps saying that USC rely on Bricio too much, well don't fix what is not broken. Nobody has been able to stop her yet and she is getting her kills with minimal errors, so keep setting her until it does not work. Its her senior year and she wants the ball in her hands when its crunch time.
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Post by ohi87 on Oct 4, 2015 22:48:45 GMT -5
surfboy1. When I read that statement I wrote again, I understand how it got misinterpreted. I knew you weren't comparing Nikki TO Courtney, you were comparing Nikki and Courtney with other outsides. It should have read... "I'm just pointing this out to you because you referred to Nikki as a better blocker "as far as outsides go" in comparison WITH Courtney to other outsides." The fact remains, Nikki is NOT an outside hitter. So while yes, she has excellent blocking abilities and numbers, they'll be inflated when you compare them to actual outside hitters simply because Nikki has more opportunities to block. 2. I'm totally on board the Nikki Taylor POY train believe me!! But what the other posters are saying is true. If Hawai'i doesn't make the final four, she won't get the nod. Simple as that. Does Hawai'i look like a Final Four team this year? I think YES! Others think NO. Is it okay for other people to have a different opinion? Yeah. 3. Totally agree (but this was the point that was trying to be made to you). Nikki is an OPP. She puts up a bigger block than TMO and KG on the left, so when the opponents main hitter plays OPP, Dave put her there to slow Holston down. But Nikki's natural swing is from the right. She's not quite the terminator swinging outside, as she is swinging oppo. If we're using your same logic, TMO is an OPP, because she swings 1/6 rotations on the right, the same amount that Nikki swings on the left. Would you say TMO is an OPP?
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Post by Victory At Hand on Oct 4, 2015 22:54:02 GMT -5
I hate to change the subject. Anyway, Samantha Bricio had 27 kills, hit .278 in the match against Washington. She had 72 attempts. Anybody else agree with me that they're going to her too much? I see a similarity there with her and Nikki Taylor, but unlike Hawaii who's middles are taking most of the sets, USC goes almost exclusively to Bricio on the outside. Thoughts? They are getting a lot more balance this year than they did last year, when it seemed like every ball went to Ebony or Sam. Ford is getting good swings, Abercrombie is a force on the right when she is set in system, and both middles are doing a really solid job. With USC's fast tempo offense, RSs aren't set unless the pass is money, and middles are only hitting quicks which requires a great pass. As a result, the outside or pipe is inevitably the best option on almost all broken plays, hence the huge number of attacks. I think if Bricio can sustain it or continue to be as effective, keep riding her shoulder. In long rallies it felt like Bricio was the only one who could put the ball away. She is lethal from the front court and out of the pipe/bic. Her passing was suspect today, but she is the most terminal pin hitter in the nation right now, so SC should absolutely ride her in all big matches if she can put up big numbers. Thanks, for the response. I like the fast offense they running, so much better than the old moonball offense that we've seen over the years. Now, USC is definitely a threat for the national title.
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Post by bigfanofbigfan on Oct 5, 2015 0:09:31 GMT -5
I hate to change the subject. Anyway, Samantha Bricio had 27 kills, hit .278 in the match against Washington. She had 72 attempts. Anybody else agree with me that they're going to her too much? I see a similarity there with her and Nikki Taylor, but unlike Hawaii who's middles are taking most of the sets, USC goes almost exclusively to Bricio on the outside. Thoughts? She looks much stronger this year, physically and mentally, so I guess if she can do it and nobody can stop her, why not? However, I totally agree with you, the more usc can get others get involved offensively, the better chance usc have to go very far in the tournament. Even coach Haley mentioned that in his weekly video a couple weeks ago.
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Post by pineapple on Oct 5, 2015 7:33:11 GMT -5
Everyone keeps saying that USC rely on Bricio too much, well don't fix what is not broken. Nobody has been able to stop her yet and she is getting her kills with minimal errors, so keep setting her until it does not work. Its her senior year and she wants the ball in her hands when its crunch time. There is collective wisdom when they feel Bricio is being used too much. Remember when Wahine fans said the same thing about Nikki Taylor in the UCLA and the Florida matches? If you keep setting Bricio until it does not work, what is not broken will have more chances of being broken. Also, relying only on Bricio makes USC one-dimensional and predictable. You don't want to be like this going into the playoffs.
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Post by pineapple on Oct 5, 2015 7:43:06 GMT -5
I just now read fasttempo and bigfanofbigfan just above. They express the same concern. Being a Wahine fan, maybe I should keep quiet and encourage overuse, eh? lol
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