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Post by hddoc on Aug 14, 2016 23:32:25 GMT -5
1) Sarah Pavan was awful today. Should have been a great match, but instead, it was a laugher. So much to criticize about her play today. Absolutely terrible on the block. Jumping too early, no penetration of the net, no reads at all. Her swings were also sooo tentative. Her setting was good for the most part but too often she is slow to react and arrives too late to make an effective play. But worst of all, she plays with absolutely no passion whatsoever. The Canadian time outs are good for a blow but the conversation between Heather and Sarah was pitiful, reduced to a few cliches ("We've got this; "One at a time", etc) but not even a whiff of strategy. Yes, Heather's passing broke down a bit, but she got absolutely no help from Sarah at all out there. It must be a living hell to be Sarah's partner. Come to think of it, didn't Sarah absolutely disappear in the NCAA Final vs Washington and Courtney Thompson? No wonder Nebraska and Coach Cook soured on her. Exhibit A in my case that, "Height is wasted on the tall..."
2) In contrast to Pavan, the young Swiss blocker played her heart out vs Larissa/Talita. Loved the kills F/B the stares and finger wags at Larissa and Talita. HUGE error serving Larissa on their first match point in G2. The second match point was one of the craziest I have ever seen with Larissa twice making one-armed saves from the ground. Given her history, Larissa NOT melting down and NOT blowing up at Talita under the pressure was impressive. Germany-Brazil semifinal also has potential classic written all over it. Will this save elevate Brazil or will they collapse? Stay tuned...
3) Kerri and April look better and better with each match. This format REALLY suits them as they are well rested and well prepared every time. No slow starts getting them into trouble as we saw earlier in the summer. The bracket really suits them as well as they are well insulated from the dogfight among the other top contenders in the other bracket. Kerri is at the absolute top of her game now and is really lifting April. Nice to see her leadership on the court and during the timeouts. I hope she doesn't retire after this season as she would remain a Gold favorite four years from now if she still wants it.
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Post by jets on Aug 15, 2016 0:32:38 GMT -5
Come to think of it, didn't Sarah absolutely disappear in the NCAA Final vs Washington and Courtney Thompson? Pavan hit .429 on 16-4-28, 2 aces & 3 errors, 5 digs and 3 blocks in the final against Washington. Larson hit -.200. Houghtelling hit .079. It wasn't Pavan who disappeared against Washington. Larson and Houghtelling are two of my favorite Husker player of all time, but I hate that people keep trying to blame Pavan for every little thing that didn't go right for the Huskers during her time there. Pavan's court demeanor is very much like Logan Tom's. Not that that is a good thing. Definitely not a Karch model player. </rant> With all that said, Pavan played awful TODAY. Heidrich played amazing. But 5th place in Olympics after 2-3 years of playing beach, isn't too bad. With more 4 years of experience on the beach together, I think Pavan and her partner have a great shot at medaling in Tokyo. |
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Post by volleyballjim on Aug 15, 2016 0:42:29 GMT -5
2" taller than Kerri, and tough comparison, but stats in beach can be misleading. Pavan just seems out of place at times; her pulls are odd and generally Bansley is doing the heavy lifting, it seems...will watch in Long Beach and report back!
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Post by Sbilo on Aug 15, 2016 1:02:28 GMT -5
2" taller than Kerri, and tough comparison, but stats in beach can be misleading. Pavan just seems out of place at times; her pulls are odd and generally Bansley is doing the heavy lifting, it seems...will watch in Long Beach and report back! Bansley was phenomenal in their round of 16 match up vs another Canadian pair. She did most of the work and while Pavan is a fantastic player, it would still take a while before she gets to the podium in an Olympic Games. |
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Post by guest2 on Aug 15, 2016 6:32:14 GMT -5
2" taller than Kerri, and tough comparison, but stats in beach can be misleading. Pavan just seems out of place at times; her pulls are odd and generally Bansley is doing the heavy lifting, it seems...will watch in Long Beach and report back! Bansley was phenomenal in their round of 16 match up vs another Canadian pair. She did most of the work and while Pavan is a fantastic player, it would still take a while before she gets to the podium in an Olympic Games. Pavan stunk against Germany but with a top defender like Larissa or Laura she could medal now. Im not sure anything short of a 28 year old Kerri Walsh gets Bansley into an Olympic final. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2016 9:45:25 GMT -5
She got together with Bansley at the last minute. Put it in perspective, bansley is a great defender but is 5'7". With 6 months to go to find a partner, do any of you think you could put a better team together in a country that is NOT known for beaches and has a population that is 20% smaller than the STATE of California.
Then throw in the fact that their best university volleyball team likely could not qualify for 16 Open and you have a LOT to overcome just to get to the quarters.
I would say B+ job, but they are not a team and should find partners they mesh better with BUT in the size of canada with the limited depth of volleybal there, neither will likely find a BETTER partner than they have now. Four years to figure it out though.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2016 9:50:04 GMT -5
It must be a living hell to be Sarah's partner. Come to think of it, didn't Sarah absolutely disappear in the NCAA Final vs Washington and Courtney Thompson? No wonder Nebraska and Coach Cook soured on her. Yup, everyone HATES having one of those four time first team all americans around dragging down their team. I think you had a solid starting thesis (little to no chemistry on that canada team) but you lose a lot of credibility when try to say pavan hurt nebraska when the opposite was true. Perhaps, you just did not follow volleyball back then because if you only saw the ONE game you referenced, you would know your comment was far off base. |
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Post by c4ndlelight on Aug 15, 2016 10:19:40 GMT -5
Seriously? Blaming Pavan? What were Bansley's results like prior to teaming up with her?
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Aug 15, 2016 11:54:44 GMT -5
She got together with Bansley at the last minute. Put it in perspective, bansley is a great defender but is 5'7". With 6 months to go to find a partner, do any of you think you could put a better team together in a country that is NOT known for beaches and has a population that is 20% smaller than the STATE of California. Then throw in the fact that their best university volleyball team likely could not qualify for 16 Open and you have a LOT to overcome just to get to the quarters. I would say B+ job, but they are not a team and should find partners they mesh better with BUT in the size of canada with the limited depth of volleybal there, neither will likely find a BETTER partner than they have now. Four years to figure it out though. Bansley/Pavan have been playing together for four years on the world tour. And Canada has an excellent beach volleyball history and national team program. At any rate, Bansley/Pavan have been a very solid team for a few years now. In Rio, they swept through a very competitive pool. They floundered against a Germany 1 team that has won five FIVB events this season and is a top two or three team in the world. It happens. Looking forward, though, if I'm Pavan I'd be taking a long look at Sophie Bukovec after she graduates from USC. Bansley is a terrific defender, but is always going to struggle to side out against top competition. |
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Post by fetchin on Aug 15, 2016 12:04:05 GMT -5
She got together with Bansley at the last minute. Put it in perspective, bansley is a great defender but is 5'7". With 6 months to go to find a partner, do any of you think you could put a better team together in a country that is NOT known for beaches and has a population that is 20% smaller than the STATE of California. Then throw in the fact that their best university volleyball team likely could not qualify for 16 Open and you have a LOT to overcome just to get to the quarters. I would say B+ job, but they are not a team and should find partners they mesh better with BUT in the size of canada with the limited depth of volleybal there, neither will likely find a BETTER partner than they have now. Four years to figure it out though. Bansley/Pavan have been playing together for four years on the world tour. And Canada has an excellent beach volleyball history and national team program. At any rate, Bansley/Pavan have been a very solid team for a few years now. In Rio, they swept through a very competitive pool. They floundered against a Germany 1 team that has won five FIVB events this season and is a top two or three team in the world. It happens. Looking forward, though, if I'm Pavan I'd be taking a long look at Sophie Bukovec after she graduates from USC. Bansley is a terrific defender, but is always going to struggle to side out against top competition. Is bukavec even the best canadian in college? The twins and maglio looked at times better. |
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Aug 15, 2016 12:19:38 GMT -5
Bansley/Pavan have been playing together for four years on the world tour. And Canada has an excellent beach volleyball history and national team program. At any rate, Bansley/Pavan have been a very solid team for a few years now. In Rio, they swept through a very competitive pool. They floundered against a Germany 1 team that has won five FIVB events this season and is a top two or three team in the world. It happens. Looking forward, though, if I'm Pavan I'd be taking a long look at Sophie Bukovec after she graduates from USC. Bansley is a terrific defender, but is always going to struggle to side out against top competition. Is bukavec even the best canadian in college? The twins and maglio looked at times better. I think she is (IMO, of course). The twins are too small and Maglio is too immobile. Bukovec is 6'1," definitely athletic enough to play behind a block, and can terminate. I think she has the best upside of any of the young Canadians. |
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Post by downtheline on Aug 15, 2016 13:29:24 GMT -5
SB will have a breakout year at USC this season.
Her upside is solid and she is more athletic than the twins, however her mental aspect of being dominant needs some tlc.
The twins are fun to watch due to their ball control and court awareness, but we're over matched against a blocker/defender pairing. They were however the only college team to take a set from C&H. That's was during a windy day the first day of competition in 2016 and Claes couldn't pass or serve to save her day.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2016 20:19:21 GMT -5
She got together with Bansley at the last minute. Put it in perspective, bansley is a great defender but is 5'7". With 6 months to go to find a partner, do any of you think you could put a better team together in a country that is NOT known for beaches and has a population that is 20% smaller than the STATE of California. Then throw in the fact that their best university volleyball team likely could not qualify for 16 Open and you have a LOT to overcome just to get to the quarters. I would say B+ job, but they are not a team and should find partners they mesh better with BUT in the size of canada with the limited depth of volleybal there, neither will likely find a BETTER partner than they have now. Four years to figure it out though. Bansley/Pavan have been playing together for four years on the world tour. And Canada has an excellent beach volleyball history and national team program. At any rate, Bansley/Pavan have been a very solid team for a few years now. In Rio, they swept through a very competitive pool. They floundered against a Germany 1 team that has won five FIVB events this season and is a top two or three team in the world. It happens. Looking forward, though, if I'm Pavan I'd be taking a long look at Sophie Bukovec after she graduates from USC. Bansley is a terrific defender, but is always going to struggle to side out against top competition. I stand corrected on the timing, I thought that the email story was more recent and did not realize it has been FOUR years? Has it? I am not sure that you can argue a great national program though. It has no financial support, and the women have not made the indoor in how many olympics? Canadians do not value nor pay for athletics like we do. The reason they succeed in acting and music (like your namesake) is because the government hugely subsidizes and supports their growth with LAWS. Athletics do not get that. I think there were stories of the beach team not even having the support to get to London no? The level of play for all athletics at the university level in canada is low. Even the national sport (not lacrosse), the players that are good NEVER play at a canadian college. While Canada is great for many things, I do not think it is a mecca for athletic development as it is not a priority. |
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