Post by chatchu-off moksri on Dec 22, 2016 22:50:17 GMT -5
Now with the news that Tom Black is headed to Georgia, I thought that it would be a good time to start the WCC thread for 2017.
BYU
The clear favorite to win the conference next year. They will obviously be hungry to play again after almost upsetting Texas in the Sweet Sixteen. BYU loses two fantastic middle blockers in Boswell and Young Howard, and two other key players in Robison and Santiago. However, they return a lot of great players including 3rd team AA McKenna Miller and bring in 1st team Under Armour AA Taylen Ballard and 6’7” Sara Hamson (sister of Jen Hamson). I am interested to see if Miller plays 6 rotations and if the young Hamson can step in and be an immediate impact.
Gonzaga
I thought Gonzaga was going to suffer with the loss of Savannah Blinn, but they have actually had their best conference record since 1994 and their best overall record since 1990. However, they really do lose a lot this year as the two outsides (Ferris and Allen), two middles (Folger and Bradley), one OPP/MB (Wimbush), and a Libero (Douglass), and they all made big contributions this year. For next season, the freshman Oppio and Mack should be able to fill the MB positions well. I would like for the setter Smith to be able to play 6 rotations because she is by far the best setter on the team, but she is 5’6” so that might present some challenges blocking wise. I am interested to see if Hallums plays OH or Libero. I haven't seen any of the incoming freshman to know if they will contribute right away.
LMU
I hope that with Tom Black leaving, no one decides to transfer out, especially Sarah Sponcil. I think that if everyone stays healthy, and incoming freshman Rachel Ritchie adapts to the college game well, they will definitely be an NCAA team. I don't think that Lea and Kevorken are huge losses, but I am not sure who they would be replaced by. I know that Ritchie could probably fill one of the OPP spots, but I am not sure who would fill one of the MB spots, maybe Johnson? Again, really hoping no one transfers out here because this team could have been an NCAA team last season.
Pacific
The biggest loss is Lexi Elman. Fleming and Baptista were fantastic as freshman and will likely carry a much bigger load as sophomores, but I don’t know if anyone can replace Elman’s impact on the court. Shelton’s development as an offensive threat in the 6-2 should help the Tiger’s offense.
Portland
I think this Portland team could potentially be top 2 in conference next year even though they do lose some key players. Troutman and Pukis improved on their offense throughout the season and should really make up for the loss of Sullivan and Markwith in the middle. I think Liz Reich can come in and be a contributing middle blocker right away as a freshman. Cali Thompson, with a year under her belt, should be a much better setter next season.
Pepperdine
They did not have as good of a season as I thought they would, and I think it is partly because they players that needed to play did not play the entire season. I really thought Jenna Tunnell should have been on the court much more from the beginning of the season. I think Pepperdine returns the entire starting lineup so I am interested to see if they will have a better year next season.
Santa Clara
It is unfortunate that Mead had to have an injury. They should have been in the NCAA tournament this past season. It is even more unfortunate that they are losing two solid 6 rotation outside hitters. I think finding those two solid outside hitters will be the key for this team because they are set at every other position. I have not seen enough of the incoming freshman to see if they can contribute.
Saint Mary’s
SMC pretty much returns everyone except for Liserra who should be replaced by Dodd. I think this team will be the dark horse in the WCC next season. All I want from this team is for everyone to be healthy!
San Diego
I really thought USD was going to be an elite 8 team this past season. Now with the loss
of Lisa Kramer, Lauren Schad, and Hunter Jennings, there are a lot of spots that need to be filled. I think that Jayden Kennedy should be able to fill the opposite spot, and Fuller and Fayad should be much improved on the OH. I am expecting Kaity Edwards to have a breakout year similar to Chloe Ferrari her senior year, and I am hoping that Gengenbacher plays as a setter in a 5-1 because she is a great setter and a fantastic leader.
San Francisco
This program needs to be rebuilt around Tyna Adamcikova. She is the best offensive weapon on the team. I hope she works on her passing because she struggled with it sometimes during the season, but I thought her offense improved immensely throughout the season. I am hoping that with the new freshman setter Erin Anthony and possibly a good transfer this program can start to rebuild itself.
BYU
The clear favorite to win the conference next year. They will obviously be hungry to play again after almost upsetting Texas in the Sweet Sixteen. BYU loses two fantastic middle blockers in Boswell and Young Howard, and two other key players in Robison and Santiago. However, they return a lot of great players including 3rd team AA McKenna Miller and bring in 1st team Under Armour AA Taylen Ballard and 6’7” Sara Hamson (sister of Jen Hamson). I am interested to see if Miller plays 6 rotations and if the young Hamson can step in and be an immediate impact.
Gonzaga
I thought Gonzaga was going to suffer with the loss of Savannah Blinn, but they have actually had their best conference record since 1994 and their best overall record since 1990. However, they really do lose a lot this year as the two outsides (Ferris and Allen), two middles (Folger and Bradley), one OPP/MB (Wimbush), and a Libero (Douglass), and they all made big contributions this year. For next season, the freshman Oppio and Mack should be able to fill the MB positions well. I would like for the setter Smith to be able to play 6 rotations because she is by far the best setter on the team, but she is 5’6” so that might present some challenges blocking wise. I am interested to see if Hallums plays OH or Libero. I haven't seen any of the incoming freshman to know if they will contribute right away.
LMU
I hope that with Tom Black leaving, no one decides to transfer out, especially Sarah Sponcil. I think that if everyone stays healthy, and incoming freshman Rachel Ritchie adapts to the college game well, they will definitely be an NCAA team. I don't think that Lea and Kevorken are huge losses, but I am not sure who they would be replaced by. I know that Ritchie could probably fill one of the OPP spots, but I am not sure who would fill one of the MB spots, maybe Johnson? Again, really hoping no one transfers out here because this team could have been an NCAA team last season.
Pacific
The biggest loss is Lexi Elman. Fleming and Baptista were fantastic as freshman and will likely carry a much bigger load as sophomores, but I don’t know if anyone can replace Elman’s impact on the court. Shelton’s development as an offensive threat in the 6-2 should help the Tiger’s offense.
Portland
I think this Portland team could potentially be top 2 in conference next year even though they do lose some key players. Troutman and Pukis improved on their offense throughout the season and should really make up for the loss of Sullivan and Markwith in the middle. I think Liz Reich can come in and be a contributing middle blocker right away as a freshman. Cali Thompson, with a year under her belt, should be a much better setter next season.
Pepperdine
They did not have as good of a season as I thought they would, and I think it is partly because they players that needed to play did not play the entire season. I really thought Jenna Tunnell should have been on the court much more from the beginning of the season. I think Pepperdine returns the entire starting lineup so I am interested to see if they will have a better year next season.
Santa Clara
It is unfortunate that Mead had to have an injury. They should have been in the NCAA tournament this past season. It is even more unfortunate that they are losing two solid 6 rotation outside hitters. I think finding those two solid outside hitters will be the key for this team because they are set at every other position. I have not seen enough of the incoming freshman to see if they can contribute.
Saint Mary’s
SMC pretty much returns everyone except for Liserra who should be replaced by Dodd. I think this team will be the dark horse in the WCC next season. All I want from this team is for everyone to be healthy!
San Diego
I really thought USD was going to be an elite 8 team this past season. Now with the loss
of Lisa Kramer, Lauren Schad, and Hunter Jennings, there are a lot of spots that need to be filled. I think that Jayden Kennedy should be able to fill the opposite spot, and Fuller and Fayad should be much improved on the OH. I am expecting Kaity Edwards to have a breakout year similar to Chloe Ferrari her senior year, and I am hoping that Gengenbacher plays as a setter in a 5-1 because she is a great setter and a fantastic leader.
San Francisco
This program needs to be rebuilt around Tyna Adamcikova. She is the best offensive weapon on the team. I hope she works on her passing because she struggled with it sometimes during the season, but I thought her offense improved immensely throughout the season. I am hoping that with the new freshman setter Erin Anthony and possibly a good transfer this program can start to rebuild itself.