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Post by buckybadger8 on Aug 30, 2016 13:51:03 GMT -5
Both Minnesota & Wisconsin, IMO, have potential to be a top 5 team all season long, but, IMO, also have the vulnerability to drop 4-5 matches. It's the B1G so I'm taking nothing for granted. I'd LOVE to see 2-3 B1G teams in the FF, but I have a feeling the committee would never let that happen (that's just me playing conspiracy and being petty).
Nebraska, yea, just so legit so early in the season, as I anticipated. Not even a Husker fan really (hey, we can't all be), but I do appreciate good volleyball.
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Post by rampageripster on Aug 30, 2016 13:59:04 GMT -5
Re: The creampuff zone. Would you really tell the parents of the players on Northern Iowa, Miami (ohio), Saint Louis, San Diego State, Denver, Marist, Virginia etc. that their daughters' team does not have a pulse ? Well, probably not, cause at least one of them would be able to kick my butt. Doesn't change the fact that 50% of the conference played 3 teams this weekend that are generally irrelevant on the national stage.
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Post by rampageripster on Aug 30, 2016 13:59:43 GMT -5
"Protect the Queens' turf at any cost," said Russ Rose. And with that, all Lion minions dutifully scampered to this chat board to ensure the legacy of Rose and his Queens was intact. Good job, durtpile. Good job, indeed. A Lion minion? That IS just too funny. My relationship with Rose is limited to sending him flyers for the free all-you-can-eat donut buffet. Ummm.... can I have some of those too?
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Post by rampageripster on Aug 30, 2016 14:01:02 GMT -5
Great post rampage. You've been considerably quiet seeing that this could very well be the Buckeyes year. Thought we'd see more excitement from you , but if you're like me, you're anticipating this weekend with Wyoming/BYU in town. I am excited to see those matches! See, the thing about having expectations is that you open yourself up to disappointment. I try to live in the moment. And this place gets weird during the offseason...
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Post by SportyBucky on Aug 30, 2016 14:04:05 GMT -5
The Badgers look loaded this year. I watched their match with the Wawahines, and was very impressed. I could see them and the Huskers at the top two spots all year. Wasn't Hawaii down two of their better player that match? Yes. WI killed HI first two games. Second two were competitive.
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Post by Wolfgang on Aug 30, 2016 14:04:32 GMT -5
Are we supposed to put our entire resume in our VT profile signature field?
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Post by rampageripster on Aug 30, 2016 14:05:27 GMT -5
Are we supposed to put our entire resume in our VT profile signature field? I was thinking of putting a "praise for Rampage:" section... like the back of a new book
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Post by Wolfgang on Aug 30, 2016 14:06:25 GMT -5
Are we supposed to put our entire resume in our VT profile signature field? I was thinking of putting a "praise for Rampage:" section... like the back of a new book I'm stealing your idea.
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Post by durtpile on Aug 30, 2016 14:14:34 GMT -5
A Lion minion? That IS just too funny. My relationship with Rose is limited to sending him flyers for the free all-you-can-eat donut buffet. Ummm.... can I have some of those too? If you can waddle to the buffet, yes. Bring your cholesterol medication.
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Post by FreeBall on Aug 30, 2016 14:51:04 GMT -5
The Husker roster reminds me a lot of 2001 and 2007. All 3 squads have a slew of All Americans returning, have a huge talent coming back after taking a year off (Metcalfe/Houghtelling/Pavan) and are coming off a national championship season. Both teams came out like gang busters early in the season and eventually dropped a tough road match (Long Beach State and Texas). In 2001 and 2007, the Huskers ultimately faltered in the NCAAs, but were still the title favorite (or at least consensus top 2) entering the tournament. What will happen this year? Who knows. Similarly to those squads, they came out firing on all cylinders early in the year, the returnee/new player (Holman) looks like she'll be a great fit in the middle, and they look great. The question will be can they play consistent VB throughout the season and avoid peaking too early like they did in 01 and 07. I think you meant Holman, rather than Pavan. I'm not sure it's totally correct to say the 2001 and 2007 teams peaked too early. Also, their respective losses in the NCAA tournament were substantially different in my mind. The 2001 team lost to a very good Stanford team in the national semifinals and the Cardinal went on to win the National Championship. While at the time I was disappointed with the Husker loss, I don't recall feeling that they had failed to play up to (or near) their potential in the loss to Stanford. The 2007 team lost to a good California team in a regional final and the Bears then lost to Penn State in the national semifinals. Cal’s outside hitting duo of Angie Pressey and Hana Cutura dominated the match, combining for 43 of the team’s 59 kills. Unlike 2001, the 2007 season felt like it sputtered to a conclusion with the team not playing anywhere close to its full potential in the loss to California.
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Post by bball on Aug 30, 2016 14:57:22 GMT -5
Nebraska could easily get beat by any top 5 team in the BIG 10. They're aren't the 2nd coming in volleyball here. People are way over hyping the huskers right now. They're damn good, but they still have plenty of work ahead of them if they wanna repeat
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Post by ballvolley on Aug 30, 2016 15:36:10 GMT -5
Never imagined this would ignite such debate and controversy, but thanks for taking (wasting?) the time to accurately break down my benign commentary/analysis. And for the record, "reminds me of" in this context means there are some strong similarities, namely AA's at every position, defending national champions, #1 ranked team (who did quite well in the opening weekend), all the pressure to repeat, etc. No team is "the same as" any other team. BS. ballvolley made a qualitative comparison. > NEBRASKA is just crazy loaded This has been said many times, by many people. > reminds me of Penn State in '08 with All-Americans at every position. Covered previously, but why not again . . . Kadie Rolfzen - Opp - 1st Team All-American Amber Rolfzen - MB - 2nd Team All-American Briana Holman - MB - 1st Team All-American Michaela Foecke - OH - Honorable Mention All-American Justine Wong-Orantes - L - 3rd Team All-American Kelly Hunter - S - Honorable Mention All-American By my count that is pretty much an All-American at every position, and again "reminds me of" does not equal "the same as." My friend's basement projector reminds me of a movie theater when we turn off the lights watching a game, but my friend's basement is not a movie theater. See how that works? > Unfair! Pretty sure this was said in jest. > Will be interesting to see how Cook gets the freshmen some experience since they are such a veteran team. Observation and statement of personal interest. > But I imagine they will stampede over many teams, opening the door for lots of playing time. Most good teams stampede a bunch of teams during the season, it is not outrageous to imagine Nebraska doing this. Sometimes people want to be offended.
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Post by durtpile on Aug 30, 2016 15:52:47 GMT -5
Nebraska could easily get beat by any top 5 team in the BIG 10. They're aren't the 2nd coming in volleyball here. People are way over hyping the huskers right now. They're damn good, but they still have plenty of work ahead of them if they wanna repeat Overhyping them is exactly what is happening. Too soon, too much. They are good. They aren't great......yet.
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Post by bballnut90 on Aug 30, 2016 17:18:38 GMT -5
The Husker roster reminds me a lot of 2001 and 2007. All 3 squads have a slew of All Americans returning, have a huge talent coming back after taking a year off (Metcalfe/Houghtelling/Pavan) and are coming off a national championship season. Both teams came out like gang busters early in the season and eventually dropped a tough road match (Long Beach State and Texas). In 2001 and 2007, the Huskers ultimately faltered in the NCAAs, but were still the title favorite (or at least consensus top 2) entering the tournament. What will happen this year? Who knows. Similarly to those squads, they came out firing on all cylinders early in the year, the returnee/new player (Holman) looks like she'll be a great fit in the middle, and they look great. The question will be can they play consistent VB throughout the season and avoid peaking too early like they did in 01 and 07. I think you meant Holman, rather than Pavan. I'm not sure it's totally correct to say the 2001 and 2007 teams peaked too early. Also, their respective losses in the NCAA tournament were substantially different in my mind. The 2001 team lost to a very good Stanford team in the national semifinals and the Cardinal went on to win the National Championship. While at the time I was disappointed with the Husker loss, I don't recall feeling that they had failed to play up to (or near) their potential in the loss to Stanford. The 2007 team lost to a good California team in a regional final and the Bears then lost to Penn State in the national semifinals. Cal’s outside hitting duo of Angie Pressey and Hana Cutura dominated the match, combining for 43 of the team’s 59 kills. Unlike 2001, the 2007 season felt like it sputtered to a conclusion with the team not playing anywhere close to its full potential in the loss to California. After a good start, I thought Nebraska underperformed in 2001. They went 5 at home against a good Florida team led by sophomore Aury Cruz, but with their lineup of Metcalfe/Cepero/Pilakowski/Holmquist/Kropp, I thought they should've won much more easily. Against Stanford, they had 4 game points in game 1, and then Ivy went on a big scoring run. They weren't even competitive in games 2 and 3, they were just soundly beat. Stanford was phenomenal-no questions there-but I expected Nebraska to be much more competitive than they were. Overall, it seemed like the team's sum wasn't as strong as its individual parts. Pilakowski and Cepero were likely #1 and #1a for POY voting in 2000, but Cepero got bumped to 2nd team AA in 01 and Pilakowski didn't even make a team. Kropp/Holmquist/Metcalfe had great seasons, but Nebraska was supposed to have a team for the ages in 2001 after returning 3 All Americans and bringing back Metcalfe from a 34-0 season. And yes, I meant Holman...thanks for the correction.
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Post by 1ezspike on Sept 3, 2016 12:13:28 GMT -5
Nebraska is great. Nebraska is not great. Too early to tell.
IMO, anyone in the Big Ten can beat anyone else on a given night. The Big Ten is a meat grinder. Only team I think can match up is maybe Stanford.
Here is hoping the season ends:
1. Nebraska 2. Wisconsin 3. Minnesota
or any order of the three you happen to like.
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