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Post by nothingbutcorn on Dec 21, 2016 13:51:48 GMT -5
There are plenty of examples where the best team does not always win. A lot has to do with getting hot at the right time. Stanford was hot in December.
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Post by Reach on Dec 21, 2016 20:29:09 GMT -5
There are plenty of examples where the best team does not always win. A lot has to do with getting hot at the right time. Stanford was hot in December. The London Olympics... USA was clearly the best and lost to a Brazilian team they had not lost to in the previous 3 years... Brazil was almost out of the tournament. The skimmed by and played the best match on the day USA played one of their worst. Stanford... While could be portrayed as a similar situation... Played better ball consistently as the season went on and then took out all the top seeds. It's not like the top seeds folded. Stanford was just too much for them. Stanford was the best team at the end of the season. I don't know how anyone could come to any other conclusion than that. They were convincing.
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Post by huskerjen on Dec 21, 2016 20:49:04 GMT -5
This wasn't a dominating season, this was a team that got hot at the right time. Who know what Hodson looks like when she comes back. Lutz to the middle? Vanjac to the bench? who knows. Lots of questions. Besides, last year we KNEW this year was Nebraska's to lose, and they lost. 2013 Texas was only losing Sha'Dare McNeil and they were a lock - that got upset by Wisconsin in the semi's. I feel like I'm missing another really good example, but we do this all the time and Championships just aren't that easy. Surviving a season, then winning 6 in a row is incredibly hard. That's what made that Penn State run so special. It's probably made easier that Stanford can earn the right to host the regionals but a lot can happen in 360+ days. IIRC, Nebraska in 2007. The Huskers won in 2006, had everyone back and getting (I think) Houghtelling back from injury. Everyone thought they were a "sure thing". But, like 2016, not so much. You could argue 2005 Nebraska too. I don't like when Nebraska is a "sure thing." It doesn't usually work out too well.
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Post by gogolden on Dec 21, 2016 20:55:27 GMT -5
Anyone else think Kansas will be strong next year? Payne and Havili both seniors. I do see Stanford being strong too, obviously. Gray had the best setter performance in the tournament IMO, and she's only going to get better. Kansas will be strong, but not NC strong. I see a good season for them but possibly out in the elite 8.
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Post by volleyguy on Dec 21, 2016 20:57:03 GMT -5
There are plenty of examples where the best team does not always win. A lot has to do with getting hot at the right time. Stanford was hot in December. The London Olympics... USA was clearly the best and lost to a Brazilian team they had not lost to in the previous 3 years... Brazil was almost out of the tournament. The skimmed by and played the best match on the day USA played one of their worst. Stanford... While could be portrayed as a similar situation... Played better ball consistently as the season went on and then took out all the top seeds. It's not like the top seeds folded. Stanford was just too much for them. Stanford was the best team at the end of the season. I don't know how anyone could come to any other conclusion than that. They were convincing. Texas, vs Nebraska, looked better than Stanford vs anybody else in the post-season imo. But that was one match. At the end of the season, Stanford showed that at 80 or 90%, they could take anybody out.
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Post by southie on Dec 22, 2016 14:34:04 GMT -5
No doubt Stanford will start out 2017 as the overwhelming favorite to repeat; less holes to fill than anyone else, and Hodson's return will probably help move several players back to their more comfortable positions.
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dfw
Sophomore
Posts: 188
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Post by dfw on Jan 4, 2017 12:25:53 GMT -5
Stanford showed that at 80 or 90%, they could take anybody out. This
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Post by eastcoastopp on Jan 4, 2017 13:09:51 GMT -5
Anyone else think Kansas will be strong next year? Payne and Havili both seniors. I do see Stanford being strong too, obviously. Gray had the best setter performance in the tournament IMO, and she's only going to get better. I seriously worry about Kansas with Wait, Soucie and Anderson gone. I think their Big 12 season will be okay (though they have a small chance of winning it) but tournament time will prove to be somewhat of a challenge with shorter middles (Hill at 5'11). I see a lot of teams trying to go OTT on players not named Payne. I wonder if Nelson will hold the libero spot.
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Post by wonderwarthog79 on Jan 4, 2017 13:29:45 GMT -5
Lutz is an AA middle. I want her back there. Vanjak is a decent blocker and might hold down the right side quite nicely. Plummer and hodson go left. That's a team that gets it done. I don't understand why anyone would want Vanjak on the right. I suspect they remember a few decent hits on that side. Plummer is far superior on the right, and Vanjak hasn't done anything to suggest she can block on the right. Lutz is tougher because she's an accomplished middle, but very slow and a really good right side blocker. I'd start her in the middle and see how things go. I'll go field mostly because there is a ton of parity, and, as we saw with Stanford, a team can peak at the right time and win it all. Nonetheless, Stanford WAS the best team in December last year, and that makes them the best in overall.
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Post by TuesdayGone on Jan 4, 2017 14:48:20 GMT -5
No doubt Stanford will start out 2017 as the overwhelming favorite to repeat; less holes to fill than anyone else, and Hodson's return will probably help move several players back to their more comfortable positions. Texas will be better at every position except Libero and maybe setter. Ebony > Plummer Obogu > Fitzmorris Butler > ? White > Hodson Sun > ?
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Post by naujack85 on Jan 4, 2017 14:56:33 GMT -5
No doubt Stanford will start out 2017 as the overwhelming favorite to repeat; less holes to fill than anyone else, and Hodson's return will probably help move several players back to their more comfortable positions. Texas will be better at every position except Libero and maybe setter. Ebony > Plummer Obogu > Fitzmorris Butler > ? White > Hodson Sun > ? White > Hodson? More like Hodson >= White, and will be Hodson > White if Hodson is able to fully recover
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Post by totesmasc4masc on Jan 4, 2017 15:18:50 GMT -5
I also think that teams that are uniquely built, such as Stanford this year, really benefit from the one-and-done tournament style. Stanford's block is hard to simulate in practice and there aren't many teams that are as tall and block like them. It's not unlike trying to simulate Minnesota and Wisconsin's speed. I think Dunning mentioned that playing in the tournament is difficult because night in and night out you're dealing with a team whose style can be distinctly different than the team before.
The difference is that in the last couple of weeks Stanford was able to execute what made them exceptional at a higher rate than Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Texas. With Minnesota and Wisconsin, there's also a lot less margin for error in running a fast/deceptive offense than a strong block, especially with the pressure building late in the tournament. With the lack of a potent middle attack, Texas needed PPC to come through like she did vs. Nebraska, and that didn't happen.
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Post by Ballislife on Jan 4, 2017 15:36:46 GMT -5
No doubt Stanford will start out 2017 as the overwhelming favorite to repeat; less holes to fill than anyone else, and Hodson's return will probably help move several players back to their more comfortable positions. Texas will be better at every position except Libero and maybe setter. Ebony > Plummer Obogu > Fitzmorris Butler > ? White > Hodson Sun > ? They sure know how to prove it when it matters smh
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Post by paidlive on Jan 4, 2017 15:53:59 GMT -5
How YOU doin'?
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Post by bigjohn043 on Jan 4, 2017 16:22:01 GMT -5
This wasn't a dominating season, this was a team that got hot at the right time. Sometimes teams do just get hot at the right time. But that wasn't the case with Stanford this year. Once they made the lineup change about half way through the conference season they were the best team in the country. They rolled through the second half of the conference with only one loss (UCLA) and a ton of sweeps. Replacing Inky won't be easy, but lets not pretend that this was a fluke win by a hot team.
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