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Post by ACE on Oct 4, 2004 23:48:33 GMT -5
Did any of you guys/gals catch the Pepperdine game on CSTV? For those of you who did, what do you guys/gals think of Hawaii's faster offense.
I'm still not sure if it's that fast. It's faster, but it seems to have slowed down from the beginning of the year. And for it to have been implemented to help their Outside Hitters, this road trip was a wake up call.
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Post by roy on Oct 5, 2004 0:56:53 GMT -5
It doesn't seem as fast as the beginning, but it is still pretty fast. Compared to a lot of other teams, it is a fast offense. I just think we have gotten used to it. Also, bad passing on the part of Hawaii has slowed it down.
But I would also like to hear some non-Hawaii fan's opinions on Hawaii. For those who have seen the CSTV match against Pepperdine, I would love to know what kind of comments they have about Hawaii.
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Post by Island on Oct 5, 2004 4:53:39 GMT -5
Other than Prince and Sanders flying across the tape, I don't really see the Pepperdine match as a great example of our quick offense. Other than a few sudden kills by Arnott and Hittle, I thought there was quite a bit of time for the blocks to form and diggers to position themselves. The San Diego and SCU matches are much better examples in my opinion, especially impromptu attacks from the back row. Hittle has a few stepouts in these games too but they quickly realize she is better running up and crushing at the corners. I have most of UCLA-Hawaii and will skim it for examples.
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Post by StuffU on Oct 5, 2004 10:10:10 GMT -5
A couple of things to keep in mind is that as the season went along, the outsides started putting up big numbers like Susie's 23 kill performance. That along with Hawaii's history of setting the left, may have forced coaches to focus their block to the Hawaii's left side hitters.
In a fast offense, the idea is to give the hitter a seam to hit through. The set is usually lower and tighter. But, if a single blocker is in the right place and penetrating, the hitter will have very few options and in most cases get roofed.
In order for Hawaii to be successful, Kanoe needs to be able to diversify her offense enough so that the block cannot lean one way or the other, thus eliminating the effectiveness of the quick offense. In the Fresno St and Nevada games, that is exactly what happened. The left sides were being camped on, and Kanoe set the right side, thus Hittle's high hitting percentange and number of kills.
It does look a little slower than before, but I think that is more a function of the passing than a change in philosophy.
**I just watched the first match with Pepperdine, and I can't believe that Gregory has lost her starting job. She was active in both hitting and blocking, certainly more quality swings than I've seen out of Sanders.
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Post by ACE on Oct 6, 2004 0:01:38 GMT -5
The thing with Gregory was that I noticed she wasn't putting the ball down. She was an excellent blocker, but I noticed she never had that "baboom" kill, it always landed way in the back, which made it easy to be dugged or she hit out.
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Post by StuffU on Oct 6, 2004 0:09:54 GMT -5
Not true in that Pepperdine match that she lost her starting role in. She led the team in Game 1 with 5 solid connections on 1 sets in the middle hitting .440. She was pulled early in the second game because the team got stuck in one rotation and she was the only position with a ready sub. She didn't return after that.
One thing I did notice is that she is not as proficient with the slide. She connects well in front of the setter and the back 1, but I've not seen a clean connection on the slide. It seems she doesn't have her footwork down on that shot. This could be a reason for her not starting as the team relies on a pin-to-pin attack.
But I still like the fire and intensity she brings to the court and the blocking that is sorely missed when she is not on the court.
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Post by ACE on Oct 6, 2004 0:48:29 GMT -5
But I still like the fire and intensity she brings to the court and the blocking that is sorely missed when she is not on the court. Thats true...I've noticed that her and Hittle bring some enthusiasm to their game. WHen Boogard blocked the UCLA in game 5 she just turned around and smiled, Gregory and Hittle jump yell on all blocks...Just love it |
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Post by wetokole on Oct 6, 2004 1:19:52 GMT -5
The thing with Gregory was that I noticed she wasn't putting the ball down. She was an excellent blocker, but I noticed she never had that "baboom" kill, it always landed way in the back, which made it easy to be dugged or she hit out. I'd have to say that Gregory is far from an excellent blocker! Shen she is available to block, yes, she puts up a nice big block, but there are a lot of open seems and she is fooled often. Sanders isn't a great blocker, either, but has far more potential offensively. Eckmier is probably the best blocking talent on the team, especially in that first match against EWU, she was very early and put up a huge block. Prince is a somewhat effective blocker, but her attack skills far outnumber her blocking skills. When she blocked Right-side, with Eckmier against EWU (before the injury bug hit UH) they put up a HUGE wall that was inpenetrable. Now that the middles are healthy again, I'd love to see Shoji revert to the original starting lineup with potentially a substitution to get Hittle in the match. Back to the topic though, I miss the initial fast offense that Hawaii started out of the gates with. All I have seen lately is a high outside set and absolutely no connection with the middles, which disappoints me because it was very difficult to load on any player when they had an even amount of kills. Against Fresno State somewhat, and Nevada especially, you could tell the gameplan was to limit the effectiveness of the outsides, and it really did work. Hawaii is not looking past the WAC weak-schedule again this year and focusing on what they need to do to play well against the top competition in the country (who have tall strong middles and effective blockers that will be able to shut down a predictable offense). If Hawaii does not focus on becoming a better power team, they will not be able to return to the Final Four, which this season, is possible. |
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Post by roy on Oct 6, 2004 1:32:24 GMT -5
Now that the middles are healthy again, I'd love to see Shoji revert to the original starting lineup with potentially a substitution to get Hittle in the match. Back to the topic though, I miss the initial fast offense that Hawaii started out of the gates with. All I have seen lately is a high outside set and absolutely no connection with the middles, which disappoints me because it was very difficult to load on any player when they had an even amount of kills. If Hawaii does not focus on becoming a better power team, they will not be able to return to the Final Four, which this season, is possible. I disagree with this. Hittle has proven to be far too important to the offense. I think she provides more offense at right than Prince at the right and Eckmier in the middle. But I do see your point. The blocking could be a lot more spectacular than it is. Eckmier is definately the best blocker in terms of putting up a wall. If she could just work on her offense, I think she would be a starter. The passing has been off so the speed of the offense isn't as good. But it could be faster and it seems from the stats that Kamanao could do a better job of picking the hitter to go to. Arnott and Boogard didn't hit well on the road trip so it seems like she should have gone to the hotter hand in Prince and Hittle more than the others. But that is all speculation since I didnt see the match. |
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Post by believer on Oct 6, 2004 14:54:03 GMT -5
A fast offense combined with a good defense will take teams a long ways. I recall Georgia Techs quick offense, ran over a lot of more talented teams. Requires a quick athletic setter. A slower taller setter is usually a better blocker and more offensive but much more predictable.
The quicker teams don't give the blockers time to set up and therefor hitters can tool better when needed.
Watch the quicker setting teams excel this year and the slower, bigger ones fall behind.
Does your team run a faster offense or a more predictable methodical one.
Texas and Pacific tend to be quicker.
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Post by wetokole on Oct 6, 2004 16:55:37 GMT -5
I disagree with this. Hittle has proven to be far too important to the offense. I think she provides more offense at right than Prince at the right and Eckmier in the middle. Offense, yes, blocking, not even close. Good blocking leads to good passing. Good passing leads to good sets. Good sets lead to better attacks. Hittle has proven she needs to play, but where is a big issue, because she cannot pass and she cannot block. Since Hawaii has gone away from their early season blocking success, their passing has declined and their offense become less distributed and much more predictable. I haven't seen any of the middles truly given a chance in terms of offense since the first weekend. If they are not immediately contributing, they are pulled. I think because of that they are all playing timid and afraid of making mistakes rather than aggressive and trying to make big plays. I think the passing has been so bad because their are no seams to pass from the block. The diggers are forced to scramble and wear themselves out and make stupid unforced passing errors later in the match. Arnott and Boogaard didn't hit well because the WAC teams could camp out a huge block against them, because UH had no block or passing, which resulted in poor set options, which resulted in releasing to the outsides who were roofed or forced to hit low percentage shots. |
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Post by sonofbarcelonabob on Oct 6, 2004 17:48:23 GMT -5
Offense, yes, blocking, not even close. Good blocking leads to good passing. Good passing leads to good sets. Good sets lead to better attacks. Hittle has proven she needs to play, but where is a big issue, because she cannot pass and she cannot block. Since Hawaii has gone away from their early season blocking success, their passing has declined and their offense become less distributed and much more predictable. Can someone please explain how good blocking leads to good passing? Last time I checked, a team blocks when it is serving, and passes when the other team is serving. Thus, blocking and passing occur in different phases of the game (free-ball or dig-transition, excepted). On an unrelated note, SoBB's volleyball formula of the day: SLIDE = CHICK PLAY |
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Post by IdahoBoy on Oct 6, 2004 18:34:14 GMT -5
Can someone please explain how good blocking leads to good passing? Last time I checked, a team blocks when it is serving, and passes when the other team is serving. Thus, blocking and passing occur in different phases of the game (free-ball or dig-transition, excepted). On an unrelated note, SoBB's volleyball formula of the day: SLIDE = CHICK PLAYWhy must you continuously make jabs at the female style of play? In case you haven't noticed, it is FAR more popular than watching arrogant hot-headed guys, like yourself. |
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Post by Aikea on Oct 6, 2004 18:35:05 GMT -5
Prince is a somewhat effective blocker, but her attack skills far outnumber her blocking skills. Somewhat effective? She just broke the UH record for most blocks in a rally scoring match. She's a great attacker and a great blocker. |
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Post by sonofbarcelonabob on Oct 6, 2004 19:07:24 GMT -5
Why must you continuously make jabs at the female style of play? In case you haven't noticed, it is FAR more popular than watching arrogant hot-headed guys, like yourself. My bad, didn't realize you liked taking off on one foot so much. Hehehehehehe. |
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