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Post by Gorf on Oct 8, 2004 23:54:13 GMT -5
Really? I thought it was one of the better reffed matches I've seen this year. I thought some of the double contact calls he made cleaner than several that he let go and he could have called a tons of lifts (on none first ball contacts). I'm not complaining about the call, I was so far away from it I have no idea whether it was in or out. I just think it was unfortunate timing for the Badgers to have it come when it did so late in the game. Wisconsin was missing key serves in the first two games, and both teams had some fairly ugly hitting errors in the first two games as well. I liked how Meredith Nelson and Jess Byrnes played for the Gophers - especially on offense. They came up big when the team needed them to do so against the badgers. it was also nice seeing the Gophers score on Mere's serve a fair amount tonight. She had some nice serves.
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Post by wiscvball on Oct 9, 2004 0:06:14 GMT -5
I really didn't notice the officials much until that last over-rule.. which is probably a good thing, but just really poor timing on the Badgers... i thought lifts were called pretty well, both teams got away with a few, but it seemed to be pretty even. I remember one point where there seemed to be at least one or two by each team, but after they didn't call the first one, they just let them play it out rather than making a biased call.
Minnesota's middles were really the difference in the match. Had Wisconsin not committed so many service errors and Shaw been on her game like she has been the last few weeks, the match could have been a different story. I agree that a Minnesota Win in Madison, especially on Halloween is far from a given. The Badgers are only going to get better and better each week, and I think come tourney time, they'll be enough to knock off a high seed or two. Especially if they get put in the Green Bay regional. (assuming they make the tourney)...
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Post by Gorf on Oct 9, 2004 0:21:45 GMT -5
FWIW: I think the Gophers will continue to improve as the conference season progresses.
They were working on some new things in practice this past week and perhaps trying to putting those into the match tonight may have thrown things off a bit.
I was surprised that the Gophers swept tonight - not a very common occurence when they play the Badgers in recent years.
There was a larger crowd at the match than I expected.
As for the rematch in Madison - I don't remember any easy victories that the Gophers have had at the Fieldhouse against the Badgers.
I hope I'll be able to make the trip to see the match this year.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2004 0:24:06 GMT -5
OK. But don't get me wrong. Minnesota did not play all that well and still swept.
Sure, Shaw could have been better (although I thought she played pretty well and I like the way they move her around), but so could have Martin, Bratford and Bowman.
But there's potential there (for the Badgers). No doubt about it.
I do think they need to pick a setter, however. With a young team, I just can't see it working to keep going back and forth.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2004 0:27:22 GMT -5
I also think the Illinois, Michigan and Purdue matches are key for Wisconsin (and they already have one win, over Illinois).
Michigan, in particular, will be tough. Those should be some good VB.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2004 0:35:49 GMT -5
How 'bout Tree at the end of game 2? She serves at 27-26 Gophers, as the MN coaching staff chose to hang on to their last 2 subs (keeping Rhino on the bench).
First point she comes up with 3 straight digs, 2 of which were fairly spectacular athletic moves, and they lead to a hitting error by Odenthal (whiffs on Tree's 3rd dig).
Then she serves an ace. 29-26.
Then her last serve results in an overpass which Martin kills. 30-26.
Seems like a LOT of the MN coaching moves worked tonight. Heck, they were practicing hitting overpasses in the practice I went to this week--and they had plenty of nice putaways on those tonight.
I already mentioned Taatjes playing LB...
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Post by vballmaniac40 on Oct 9, 2004 0:48:53 GMT -5
I was surprised at how much Odenthal looked like a freshman instead of a senior at times. Yes, she is a VERY good hitter but she just makes way too many mentle errors for a player with tas much experience as she has.
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Post by bucky415 on Oct 9, 2004 2:50:24 GMT -5
It was pretty frustrating for me to watch the tape of this match. Darn job getting in the way of volleyball viewing. The Badgers are capable of playing very well, but they just make too many errors to be able to beat good teams. I didn't think Minnesota played great tonight, as I was surprised at a few of the kills the Badgers got because the Gophers weren't able to come up with the dig. They did make the big plays when they needed to, though. They also did have a few just great plays on defense. I thought Wisconsin would have an advantage in the middle, but Minnesota's middles really were a huge factor offensively. That was really important, in my opinion. If they had been forced to rely totally on the outsides, the match probably would have gotten really interesting. I thought Bratford and Martin would find the going tougher against the Badgers this year after shredding them last year, and that was the case. I have to give props to Bratford, though. She just made some great plays at the end of game two, and she also made a really nice block on a back slide attempt by Shaw. I thought the Badgers blocked pretty well tonight and were pretty solid overall defensively. The offense was really good at times, but the passing broke down at times, allowing the Gophers to make runs. You really have to be in system to score on them consistently. The service errors proved costly as well. I thought Carlini had a nice match tonight; I was surprised when Weidner replaced her at the end of game one. If she plays well, the Badgers will be a much improved team. I do think they are improving, even though they got swept. Losing to the Gophers every time is getting old. I am not sure about the decision to switch setters in game three. I think the Badgers have looked better with Lorenzen than they did with Simpson running the offense. Also, Simpson and Reineke just have not connected all year; missed connections between them really hurt late in the third game (as did the fact that Gentil made a great dig when Reineke was able to make a very nice tip on one). I hope the Badgers can take something positive from this, but they need to actually WIN some of these close games at some point if they want to make some noise this year. I am glad that Minnesota was able to draw a good crowd for the match despite all the other events. Also, I think it is cool that they are highlighting their defensive players in their promotions. They do a heck of a job and might not get the credit for it from the average fan that they deserve.
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Post by Gorf on Oct 9, 2004 8:04:24 GMT -5
How 'bout Tree at the end of game 2? She serves at 27-26 Gophers, as the MN coaching staff chose to hang on to their last 2 subs (keeping Rhino on the bench). First point she comes up with 3 straight digs, 2 of which were fairly spectacular athletic moves, and they lead to a hitting error by Odenthal (whiffs on Tree's 3rd dig). Then she serves an ace. 29-26. Then her last serve results in an overpass which Martin kills. 30-26. Tree has been playing pretty good defense the past few home matches and those three points at the end of game 2 were very fun to watch - especually the first point in the series where she was keeping the ball in play. It was funny watching her reaction after getting the ace on the second point of the series. The Gophers could easily have lost game 2 (and changed the complexion of the match) without her efforts in those threee point. I still think Tree will have a breakout match offensively over the next few home matches and hopefully continue it into and throughout the tournament, There were working on some blocking scheme changes at the practice I went to last week and having what looked like a few problems with getting it working in practice. I was wondering against Wisconsin if the positioning / closing of the block wasn't quite what the defense was expecting at that lead to some of the easier kills by the Badgers.
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Post by Gorf on Oct 9, 2004 8:07:05 GMT -5
Also - in regards to Paula.
She may not have had a ton of digs last night but she sure kept the ball in play on hitter coverage very well throughout most of the match.
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Post by vbfan on Oct 9, 2004 10:17:40 GMT -5
What has happened to Wisconsin? I thought they would be a top 2 or 3 Big 10 team this year but they are getting beat by teams that they shouldn't and losing in 3 to Minnesota....
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Post by foreignball on Oct 9, 2004 10:51:16 GMT -5
Some random thoughts: 1. Minn: – Surprisingly to me their MB’s were the team better offensive part provided last season OH’s were those that carried the load (yesterday I watched Minn first time this season). – Both setters are effective hitters, especially Bowman (she’s amazingly good all around). Practically Badgers couldn’t find an answer to Minn RS attacks. – Setters are good in terms of choosing the right hitter. In quite many plays Minn hitters were set 1/1.They (S) also are not scared to set a hitter 2nd time after she got blocked/hit out. It shows they know how to keep hitters confidence. – My only remark is: Minn needs to receive more precisely for a team of their caliber. Even though there was only 1 overpass for the whole game and I can’t recall a clear RE on their side, quite many receptions were placed at or even behind the10 ft line. That’s the reason for those “Double hit” calls on their S.
2. WI: - I would say this was their best game for the season so far. Lorenzen and Carlini appears to be a better choice than MW/JS. Carlini has played very well even though at the very beginning Minn blockers were focused mainly on Odental and didn’t pay much attention to her. L connects with hitters much better than S does. - WI passing and service errors were crucial. One can’t afford to give up 3-4 or even more points in each set when the game is close. The inexperienced back row and the lack of all around players have taken their toll again. A positive thing is they were hanging there for the most part of the match. I'm expecting them to get better shortly. - I’m also surprised by the lack of connection between JS and TR provided they had played together at SPRI before they came in Madison. - Coach PW has proven he’s quick on the “sub” button. New lineup always takes time, so some patience would be really helpful
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2004 12:22:43 GMT -5
I'm expecting them to get better shortly. Who you calling shorty?
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Post by bomber on Oct 9, 2004 16:58:46 GMT -5
As point of info, Simpson and Reinecke never played a match together in club. Maggie Griffin (now at Michigan State) set Reinecke in those last two championship teams.
Wisconsin is improving no doubt, but it is soooo painful to watch the continuance of service errors. You can't keep spotting the better teams 3-5 points a game in gimmees. They're young, and getting younger (Weidner has lost her starting role and is playing less and less, (so much for Senior leadership).But it's still no excuse for poor serving.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2004 22:14:57 GMT -5
Re Wisconsin serving. They had 1 ace and 8 errors. The 8 errors isn't so bad. The one ace wouldn't be so bad either if they had been throwing Minnesota out of system, but they weren't.
But I have to tell you: this is more an indication of how well Minnesota was passing than a sign of poor quality serving. I thought the Badgers were serving VERY tough. They just didn't have much to show for it.
OTOH, the scores might not have been as close as they were if they had been more intent on just serving in the court.
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