It’s been an interesting year to say the least.
On a lot of levels, UNC volleyball was a dumpster fire last year. 75% of the staff leaves, 50% of the team leaves, virtually all of the best players leave, and at the end of the season the best freshman leaves. UNC goes from the top of the ACC to last place. This is not a good look for UNC volleyball.
I feel for the girls who suffered through last years troubles. Nobody signed up for what they got, except Atherton, Wine and Tontai, who came in after the shock of the coaching changes and the transfers. What a chaotic and crazy year. Kudos to all of them for surviving that mess.
Now the rebuild, can it be done? What do we have?
Can Sagula regain his mojo? Has the game passed him by? Is his style working with the young women of today? It’s hard not to surmise that Rackham had run the team in the last half dozen years, while Sagula took a back seat, CEO type posture. In contrast to UNC, Tennessee goes from the bottom of the SEC to 2nd place.
The coaches complain about players not stepping up to provide leadership on the court. Is this a cop out by the coaches? Did they recruit the wrong players? Where does the buck stop? With the head coach or with the libero or setter who doesn’t seem vocal enough.
What I see is a team that seems more disorganized than not. A team that does not control the game or the flow, even though it has on paper some nice pieces to work with. A team that reacts versus controlling tempo etc. Often there seems to be a struggle to maintain consistency from point to point and from set to set.
One would say the team lacks a leader, I would say the team lacks an overall court savviness, too many players are athletes that play volleyball and not volleyball players who are athletic. The team suffers from low volleyball IQ at key positions.
Setter:
Atherton passes the eyeball tests. Nice size, great athlete, great HS and club career etc. Seems to be a great girl with no off court issues. Why is she not at Nebraska still? I’m guessing it was faulty on-court decisions that forced her to the sidelines at Nebraska. Sometimes a player gets in a rut at a school or has a personality conflict with the coach, and a fresh start is needed and gives the maligned player a new lease on life and puts her back on track. I’m not seeing that here. She is not providing the flow, the smart sets, the continuity, the control of the game.
Maybe its just me, but Archer seems a more natural setter and understands the game better and has a feel for what needs to be done, what adjustments are needed, who is hot etc. I think Archer gives the team a more savvy presence and a greater chance of maintaining momentum and winning.
Defense:
Not much to say. Moseman seemed to play well and provide spark.
Fradenburg has had her great moments.
Hough has been too often injured to really evaluate.
Middles:
I think that Howard will be great.
Clark on paper looks impressive, and is athletically impressive, but doesn’t seem to get the subtleties of the game and therefore is inconsistent and undependable. Maybe they should just commit to her for a month or two and see what happens, but this play one set, sit a set, play a match then don’t play a match or two is not doing her any favors. Let her sink or swim like they let Cox last year or just put her on the bench and if she transfers wish her well. She needs a higher volleyball IQ in order to excel and only playing will give her that.
Esterly cannot live by blocking alone, if she can’t terminate 10 times a match then she is hurting the team, and taking court time away from a player who could develop into a stronger player.
Tontai has an unorthodox style that reminds me of Beth Nordhorn. She has to be at least 6’5” if not more. She hits at odd angles, she is not overwhelming athletic but she can be effective. She and Clark are in this no-man’s land of play one set, sit a set, play a match then don’t play a match or even two. The staff needs to give one of them a chance to sink or swim and either they develop or they don’t, but right now neither is playing with confidence. I give Tontai the edge since she is a more savvy player in my mind and makes less mental errors.
My solution would be to move Cox to the middle where she can use her quickness to get from pin to pin etc. Where she won’t hit into as many blocks. Where she can use her jump to block more shoots. Where her passing or decisions are not exposed. She is more athlete than volleyball player. Put your two best athletes in the middle, unless one is a great passer.
Outside:
Harrison will be a very good player. In addition to being a great athlete, I think her savviness and volleyball IQ are where they should be for the position.
Wine is a fine player, but is not a player that a team can ride to the top of any standings. She is good at most things, though in big games I think she gets psyched out, but really kills it against weaker opponents. She has reached her ceiling as a player and has no more upside than what you see now. In other words she is good enough to help but not good enough to put you over the top, but can get you an extra meaningless victory over a weak opponent in an 8-19 season. She should not take valuable court time from someone who could develop into a better player down the line but may not be as good as her at this moment in time.
Despite being injured, LeGarde had some good moments last spring and led the team in kills in two ACC matches, then disappeared. It seems that the coaches who believed in her potential reside in Knoxville, thus making her an orphan in Chapel Hill. Sunday, she goes in cold for the fifth set of the day, as an after thought. She struggled and looked "stiff, mechanical and not fluid”. Anybody would, if they hadn’t done anything for two hours. A once promising player seems to have lost the support of this set of coaches and thus her own confidence. I hope she can turn it around.
Austin could be great, could be good, could be average, who knows. But for those who think a freshman can come in and be a team leader, they are smoking something i’d like to try. Unless she is Zion or Kathryn Plummer, that ain’t gonna happen. So jury out here, but I hope she is all that some people expect.
Peck, who knows.
Opposite:
Cox can be a good right side but I’d like to see her in the middle.
Tontai is a good option but let her sink or swim and not be in or out on a short leash.
I’d give LeGarde a try here too. It might be a nice spot for her if the coaches are willing to give her an honest shot and not some random four rotation opportunity to fail.
Conclusion:
Can Sagula and Mack Brown resurrect programs in disarray in the same year?
Can Sagula be Sagula 2.0 or are we just seeing a slow demise of a program ala Woody Hayes, Adolph Rupp, Sylvia Hatchel, Larry Fedora?
Can the coaches put a savvy team on the court and get continuity or will it just be whoever was more highly recruited and can jump the highest and hope for the best.