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Post by BeachbytheBay on Jul 24, 2017 22:10:09 GMT -5
lol, gym heat? really?
I knew there was a reason Poly should have never gone to D1!
you were there? seriously, 900 fans you have to be kidding? the gym was packed, yeah there was vocal contingent of Hawaii fans, but it was 95% Poly because Mott holds 3000, and it was close to a sell-out, and it was a sauna - I guess Crosson can lay the blame for last year on the facilities guy!!!
the CP fan base will not be travelling anywhere aside from ROP (Relatives of Players) contingent that constitutes the road fan club
that was about the worst I've seen Mott, so I think something was wrong with the AC that evening. Then again, I remember 'the night the lights went out in Mott' game between LB & Poly, where BG & Stevenson argued over playing on. Surreal, as one, then two, and maybe a 3rd light went out. Yep, home sweet furnace for Poly, whoever named that gym an 'Events Center' should be selling swampland somewhere
they also can play in the Rec Center, in fact as I recall it's where Misty May injured her leg her soph year.
still, no reason not to play non-conf games there - if that's the excuse, Poly should just play every conference game on the road as well
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Post by noblesol on Jul 24, 2017 22:17:50 GMT -5
lol, gym heat? really? I knew there was a reason Poly should have never gone to D1! you were there? seriously, 900 fans you have to be kidding? the gym was packed, yeah there was vocal contingent of Hawaii fans, but it was 95% Poly because Mott holds 3000, and it was close to a sell-out, and it was a sauna - I guess Crosson can lay the blame for last year on the facilities guy!!! the CP fan base will not be travelling anywhere aside from ROP (Relatives of Players) contingent that constitutes the road fan club that was about the worst I've seen Mott, so I think something was wrong with the AC that evening. Then again, I remember 'the night the lights went out in Mott' game between LB & Poly, where BG & Stevenson argued over playing on. Surreal, as one, then two, and maybe a 3rd light went out. Yep, home sweet furnace for Poly, whoever named that gym an 'Events Center' should be selling swampland somewhere they also can play in the Rec Center, in fact as I recall it's where Misty May injured her leg her soph year. still, no reason not to play non-conf games there - if that's the excuse, Poly should just play every conference game on the road as well
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Post by BeachbytheBay on Jul 24, 2017 22:37:28 GMT -5
due to popular demand, the next team capsule is....
Santa Barbara (or Isla Vista by the Sea)
Since the startling first year title by Coach Welch, UCSB has been decidely....underwhelming. Like Poly, the program & Welch seem to be at a bit of a crossroads, and Welch could use a strong season. Santa Barbara has had some high hopes the last two years after what appeared to be two solid recruiting years, but so far that hasn't panned out into staying at the upper tier of the Big West.
Big Loss: the middle of the court. Phoebe Grunt (MB), Sheffield (MB), and Setter Hannah Juley (injured apparently) - Santa Barbara's big challenge will be replacing some solid MBs and Juley who looked to be a solid setter last year. Big Addition: Amanda Serex (St. Francis HIgh)
Santa Barbara rebounded from a horrific 2015, starting off with a nice non-conference season. And then Ruddins got injured again. By the time she was healthly, Santa Barbara was too far down in the conference race. Plus, they ended the season with a 3 game loss, including get the season sweep by UCR - ugh. Santa Barbara begins and ends with Ruddins. Until injured, she had a case for conference MVP, when healthy she showed she could dominate Big West games. The question is after two years with a ton of injury time, if she can remain healthy for an entire (especially conference) season.
SB has added a new coach, local SB product Matt Jones. CHannel Hoffman is a solid complement on the outside to Ruddins, and gives SB arguably the best 1-2 OH combo in the Big West. Add in Emila Pitrachi playing the DS/libero, and Santa Barbara has a very good back-court. What remains to be seen is how healthy and if Juley would be available to set in 2017, which will go a long way to determining the fate of this team. SB has recruited well to replace their MBs with Serex & Nicole Omwanghe (Claremont High). More than any team, SB goes in to 2017 where health will be an ongoing concern. Without some certainly at setter heading in to the season, it's hard to tab SB as a favorite. Both their returning setters have experience, but they need a healthy Juley IMO. Plus if Ruddins has more injury issues again, all bets are off.
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Post by volleyjeep on Jul 24, 2017 22:41:57 GMT -5
[quote author=" BeachbytheBay" source="/post/1655240/threadsee, I don't know what Cal Poly's scheduling problem is Marquette, San Diego, & UCLA could save a ton of money and just go to Cal Poly and they could also get a min-vacation and enjoy world-class tourism Avila or Waikiki? cmon, not that big a difference[/quote] Avila or Hawaii? Well... Hawaii is what, 80's average air temperature throughout the day? Plus their water temp is in the 80's? The central coast here has current water temps in the mid to upper 50's, so swimming is pretty cold. Plus we have the man in the grey suit out in the water. Why would anyone even get in this cold water? The air temp drops into the 50's at night. We get lots of marine layer that sometimes doesn't clear until the afternoon. Then we get the persistent NW winds in the afternoon (this year has been bad). Who'd want to go to Hawaii? Though we do have Pismo Beach for volleyball. Great beach, great sand, great courts, and awesome community. This is a great area, but it's not really an easy access in per se. Flying in to SLO or Santa Maria is limited, and Santa Barbara is 2 hours south. San Jose is 2.5-3 hours north.
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Post by volleyjeep on Jul 24, 2017 22:45:02 GMT -5
I'm not sure the Mott even has adequate a/c to cool things off in August/September. In their match against Hawaii last year, it was humid, hot, sweltering in the Mott, and my recollection is Cal Poly lost their setter due to dehydration and muscle cramps. Players were slipping and falling and the Hawaii players were measuring their steps. Cal Poly was trying to run an extra fast offense and by mid-way into the second set they had slowed way down. The crowd that came was into the game, but I think they only drew about 900 and a large number of those were Hawaii fans. I think Crosson's schedule this year is about right for them this year, challenging enough, and if they win their share and stay healthy, they should give Hawaii/Long Beach/UCSB all they can handle in 2017. The CP fan base will have good reason to travel and follow them in conference, and I expect we will see a lot of them at the Stan this year. The attendance though was 2631 people. Place was packed. I hadn't seen the gym like that since the 2006 and 2007 seasons. The gym was extremely hot that night. We had temps in the 90's to 100's that day and the gym was probably 85-90 degrees.
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Post by newbeach on Jul 24, 2017 22:45:59 GMT -5
I agree with this. Cal Poly's main goal is to have the best non-conference RPI possible. That means going on the road. Pepperdine is able to get a tournament with Washington, Missouri State, and Wyoming. I don't think it would be very easy for Cal Poly to get a tournament like that. Cal Poly plays in a RPI-gem tournament to open the season. Dayton, High Point, and Northern Illinois. Schools like Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, CSUN, Santa Clara, Saint Mary's all have the benefit of being in the SF/LA area so they can also catch teams that are visiting Cali for an extra match or two. They can share courts also. They're able to get in on some better opportunities, particularly at home. You can't say the same thing for a school like Cal Poly. SLO is about half way between LA and San Francisco. I disagree. I'm only saying Poly needs to have a few home non-conf matches, it's been non-existent almost. The main goal is to BUILD the program, RPI isn't the main element of building a program - it's one element, and it's also not something to chase exclusively. Travel to Dayton Travel to Seattle Travel to Eugene Travel to Green Bay that's a tough travel schedule, given the 'remoteness' of Cal Poly that makes that travel extra tough - not the most conducive to preparing and winning Maybe this would be better suited to the Cal Poly 2017 thread?
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Post by zenyada on Jul 24, 2017 22:47:24 GMT -5
due to popular demand, the next team capsule is.... Santa Barbara (or Isla Vista by the Sea) Since the startling first year title by Coach Welch, UCSB has been decidely....underwhelming. Like Poly, the program & Welch seem to be at a bit of a crossroads, and Welch could use a strong season. Santa Barbara has had some high hopes the last two years after what appeared to be two solid recruiting years, but so far that hasn't panned out into staying at the upper tier of the Big West. Big Loss: the middle of the court. Phoebe Grunt (MB), Sheffield (MB), and Setter Hannah Juley (injured apparently) - Santa Barbara's big challenge will be replacing some solid MBs and Juley who looked to be a solid setter last year. Big Addition: Amanda Serex (St. Francis HIgh) Santa Barbara rebounded from a horrific 2015, starting off with a nice non-conference season. And then Ruddins got injured again. By the time she was healthly, Santa Barbara was too far down in the conference race. Plus, they ended the season with a 3 game loss, including get the season sweep by UCR - ugh. Santa Barbara begins and ends with Ruddins. Until injured, she had a case for conference MVP, when healthy she showed she could dominate Big West games. The question is after two years with a ton of injury time, if she can remain healthy for an entire (especially conference) season. SB has added a new coach, local SB product Matt Jones. CHannel Hoffman is a solid complement on the outside to Ruddins, and gives SB arguably the best 1-2 OH combo in the Big West. Add in Emila Pitrachi playing the DS/libero, and Santa Barbara has a very good back-court. What remains to be seen is how healthy and if Juley would be available to set in 2017, which will go a long way to determining the fate of this team. SB has recruited well to replace their MBs with Serex & Nicole Omwanghe (Claremont High). More than any team, SB goes in to 2017 where health will be an ongoing concern. Without some certainly at setter heading in to the season, it's hard to tab SB as a favorite. Both their returning setters have experience, but they need a healthy Juley IMO. Plus if Ruddins has more injury issues again, all bets are off. They're gonna miss Megan Rice who had a very nice freshman year. Hoffman was playing RS in the matches I was able to watch. Agree without Juley, they'll struggle. Ruddins is a stud.
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Post by BeachbytheBay on Jul 24, 2017 22:47:57 GMT -5
I'm not sure the Mott even has adequate a/c to cool things off in August/September. In their match against Hawaii last year, it was humid, hot, sweltering in the Mott, and my recollection is Cal Poly lost their setter due to dehydration and muscle cramps. Players were slipping and falling and the Hawaii players were measuring their steps. Cal Poly was trying to run an extra fast offense and by mid-way into the second set they had slowed way down. The crowd that came was into the game, but I think they only drew about 900 and a large number of those were Hawaii fans. I think Crosson's schedule this year is about right for them this year, challenging enough, and if they win their share and stay healthy, they should give Hawaii/Long Beach/UCSB all they can handle in 2017. The CP fan base will have good reason to travel and follow them in conference, and I expect we will see a lot of them at the Stan this year. The attendance though was 2631 people. Place was packed. I hadn't seen the gym like that since the 2006 and 2007 seasons. The gym was extremely hot that night. We had temps in the 90's to 100's that day and the gym was probably 85-90 degrees. plus Avila has Sharks!
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Post by noblesol on Jul 24, 2017 22:49:46 GMT -5
Archives show 2631 for that game. I wasn't there, but watched via live stream. Never saw a shot of the whole crowd, so my guesstimate was off.
My prediction is that if Cal Poly stays healthy, they'll be there at the end with Hawaii. It could be a tie at the top and we'll be looking at tie breakers to pick the AQ. Long Beach and UCSB will be very close, but I think Irvine and Davis will be good enough that they can beat any BW team on any given night, and likely they will play the spoiler to Long Beach/UCSB, and maybe even CP or Hawaii. CSUN, UCR, and UCF will pick up a set or possibly two maybe from the top teams of the BW, and they'll be competitive with Davis and Irvine if they catch them sleeping.
I always see some Cal Poly crowd at the Stan when they play. There is an interesting Hawaii connection with Cal Poly via the Van Windens mother, and former UH player and current v/b sportscast commentator Lisa Strand Ma'a, they are identical twins. A former Cal Poly player and former Miss Hawaii, and sometime v/b commentator at Hawaii home games, is Chelsea Hardin. The namesake for the Stan Sherrif Center was also a Cal Poly football player and former UH Athletic Director. There is a healthy vibe of aloha for Cal Poly players and fans in the Hawaii crowd, and I think they've reciprocated in the Mott. At any rate, I follow them and pull for them when they aren't playing Hawaii.
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Post by BeachbytheBay on Jul 24, 2017 22:52:28 GMT -5
I disagree. I'm only saying Poly needs to have a few home non-conf matches, it's been non-existent almost. The main goal is to BUILD the program, RPI isn't the main element of building a program - it's one element, and it's also not something to chase exclusively. Travel to Dayton Travel to Seattle Travel to Eugene Travel to Green Bay that's a tough travel schedule, given the 'remoteness' of Cal Poly that makes that travel extra tough - not the most conducive to preparing and winning Maybe this would be better suited to the Cal Poly 2017 thread? all threads involving Big West schools will invariably be hi-jacked by the Hawaii mob. Be Patient!
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Post by c4ndlelight on Jul 24, 2017 22:54:16 GMT -5
due to popular demand, the next team capsule is.... Santa Barbara (or Isla Vista by the Sea) Since the startling first year title by Coach Welch, UCSB has been decidely....underwhelming. Like Poly, the program & Welch seem to be at a bit of a crossroads, and Welch could use a strong season. Santa Barbara has had some high hopes the last two years after what appeared to be two solid recruiting years, but so far that hasn't panned out into staying at the upper tier of the Big West. Big Loss: the middle of the court. Phoebe Grunt (MB), Sheffield (MB), and Setter Hannah Juley (injured apparently) - Santa Barbara's big challenge will be replacing some solid MBs and Juley who looked to be a solid setter last year. Big Addition: Amanda Serex (St. Francis HIgh) Santa Barbara rebounded from a horrific 2015, starting off with a nice non-conference season. And then Ruddins got injured again. By the time she was healthly, Santa Barbara was too far down in the conference race. Plus, they ended the season with a 3 game loss, including get the season sweep by UCR - ugh. Santa Barbara begins and ends with Ruddins. Until injured, she had a case for conference MVP, when healthy she showed she could dominate Big West games. The question is after two years with a ton of injury time, if she can remain healthy for an entire (especially conference) season. SB has added a new coach, local SB product Matt Jones. CHannel Hoffman is a solid complement on the outside to Ruddins, and gives SB arguably the best 1-2 OH combo in the Big West. Add in Emila Pitrachi playing the DS/libero, and Santa Barbara has a very good back-court. What remains to be seen is how healthy and if Juley would be available to set in 2017, which will go a long way to determining the fate of this team. SB has recruited well to replace their MBs with Serex & Nicole Omwanghe (Claremont High). More than any team, SB goes in to 2017 where health will be an ongoing concern. Without some certainly at setter heading in to the season, it's hard to tab SB as a favorite. Both their returning setters have experience, but they need a healthy Juley IMO. Plus if Ruddins has more injury issues again, all bets are off. They're gonna miss Megan Rice who had a very nice freshman year. Hoffman was playing RS in the matches I was able to watch. Agree without Juley, they'll struggle. Ruddins is a stud. Rice hit .100 on 1.5 kps.
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Post by internationalball on Jul 24, 2017 22:55:56 GMT -5
...They have the best leftside hitter in the conference returning in Lindsey Ruddins. They also have some veterans returning from injury last season... I would love to see UCSB have a great preseason and challenge for a conference championship. Big West needs more teams that are competitive both regionally and nationally. Who are the returning impact veterans that were injured the prior year? Hoffman is back along with Ruddins, Ennis is also back and Chloe Allen. They have a stud in Amanda Serex coming in.
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Post by noblesol on Jul 24, 2017 23:19:52 GMT -5
Hard to put much faith in UCSB going the distance. Even with Ruddins, they have a tendency every year to become the tipping queens when faced with a good block. hawaii last year, Ruddins was healthy and took 68 swings and hit .235. Phoebe Grunt was moving well, took 16 swings for .375. They hit .154 as a team and took a set from Hawaii who fell asleep and failed to cover tips for a stretch, as they had a tendency to do last year. UCSB graduates Grunt and Sheffield in the middle and replace them with freshman. They get Hoffman back but lose Rice. UCSB should be good, but likely not good enough, again.
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Post by zenyada on Jul 24, 2017 23:23:11 GMT -5
They're gonna miss Megan Rice who had a very nice freshman year. Hoffman was playing RS in the matches I was able to watch. Agree without Juley, they'll struggle. Ruddins is a stud. Rice hit .100 on 1.5 kps. Rice hit mostly junk out of system sets. Teegan Van Gunst, Georgia Tech hit .085 her freshman season as an OH2. In 2016 as a senior, All ACC; AVCA All-Region Selection; Honorable Mention All American. After Ruddins, second best arm on the team and a good blocker.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 0:25:20 GMT -5
Rice hit .100 on 1.5 kps. Rice hit mostly junk out of system sets. Teegan Van Gunst, Georgia Tech hit .085 her freshman season as an OH2. In 2016 as a senior, All ACC; AVCA All-Region Selection; Honorable Mention All American. After Ruddins, second best arm on the team and a good blocker. I think you will see a big difference in Rice this year. She will most likely be playing all the time now at LMU, not platooning and she will have two great sophomore setters to get her the ball. She will also not be the only option so won't be keyed on by the opponents, not that she was at UCSB. If UCSB stays healthy it will be a four team race, otherwise Hawaii, SLO and LBSU will battle it out. Beware of LBSU too. They have a lot of weapons and if the new coaching staff can get them firing on all cylinders and get their new transfer setter linked up with her hitters, this will be the team to beat. They really do have the potential to have it all relatively early on in the season.
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