Post by alwayslearning on Dec 7, 2018 23:07:12 GMT -5
Things are looking up for 2019. I feel very confident that the Husky rebuild will occur with lightning speed -- compared to the Mariners.
Here's a player-by-player or position-by-position breakdown, with observations about the team woven into the discussion:
Ella May Powell: Why not start with the player who touches the ball the most? EMP had a solid freshman season, although I thought her performance against Penn State today was a little shakier than usual, particularly with regard to location. In any event, EMP is a crucial cog next season and should look to improve her overall setting game, hit a higher percentage of serves in while developing a more potent serve, and improve the execution of her dumps. I think she has the personality to be a team leader, along with Shayne McPherson. Based on what we've seen this season, I think Powell has the potential to be a second- or third-team AA by the time she is done.
Kara Bajema: Kara can and should be one of the five or six best outside hitters in the league next year. Just assuming continued progress seems reasonable but we know that it doesn't always happen. The 2017 Huskies are Exhibit A: Schwan's senior season was a distinct downgrade over her junior season, and neither Tanner nor Jones (who was plagued by injury) really improved in their senior year. On the other hand, Carly DeHoog really did. My point is that it is not a given that players just improve year after year. For the Huskies to contend at the upper reaches of the Pac and go deep into next year's tournament, they will need an improved version of Kara. First and foremost, Kara will need to work hard on serve receive. Beyond that, cut down on errors while maintaining aggression at the net, improve back row defense, and more consistently hit high hands. Tall orders, yes, but the team depends heavily on her.
UW's other outside hitters: Drechsel and Hoffman would certainly appear to have the inside track at, respectively, Opp and L2. I wouldn't say either are locks, however. Hoffman's value is tied closely to the quality of her serve receive. She still has a long way to go before she approaches the quality shown by Scambray and Schwan. Based on what we've seen this season, however, Hoffman has shown the ability to learn quickly and under pressure. Against an elite blocking and defensive team in Penn State, Hoffman had very few errors and hit a very credible .250. She has a good serve to boot. Hoffman's biggest competition is probably Shannon Crenshaw. Crenshaw seems like the more gifted athlete and I would expect Cook and Co. to let the chips fall where they may in the competition for L2. Drechsel seems fairly comfortable in the Opposite position and has the ability to carry the team offensively for stretches. The question, again, is the degree of improvement from one year to the next in areas that can be improved: seeing the block and open areas in the court; hitting high hands and tooling the block; and blocking. The biggest question mark is Dani Cole. Recruited as an Opposite, it is possible that she could give Drechsel a run for the money at this position. I suppose she could also be in the mix at L2. It would be a very pleasant surprise if she could crack the starting lineup. Finally, we have Maria Bogomolova, who emerged as a serving specialist this year. I'd be surprised if she is a real contender at one of the outside hitter positions, but depth is a good thing.
The Middles: Sanders came on fairly strong at the end of the season, both in terms of blocking and, especially, her slide offense. Sanders requires good set location on the slide, which generally requires an excellent pass and a good set from Powell. But this can be a potent and necessary weapon if the Huskies are to keep ascending toward elite status. Niece and Sanders appear to be pretty equal in terms of blocking ability. Niece's offense can be sporadic. I would assume Grote will get physically stronger and could give either Sanders or Niece a challenge for a starting position. Then there is the incoming freshman, Summers, who is highly touted. If she is good enough to compete for a starting position in 2019, then the Huskies have an embarrassment of riches at this position. But offensively, the middles will only be as potent as the Husky serve receive and defense allow them to be.
Libero/DS: McPherson had a really good season and I look forward to an even better 2019 season. The bigger question, in my mind, is whether the Huskies can solidify the back row with a high quality DS (or two). If Drechsel remains at OPP, she will definitely need a DS sub. That is probably true for anyone who plays Opposite. Claire Onosko played some needed minutes this season but is not the quality DS the Huskies need. Emma Calle is listed as a DS, but we can probably assume she is not as good as Onosko or we would have seen more of her. Robinson is a setter, but if she can pass and/or receive serve at a high enough level, we probably would have seen her already as well. So it is certainly possible that none of these are great options, which leaves us with two possibilities: 1) Sianna Houghton, an incoming walk-on libero/DS from Northern California; 2) a transfer or another walk-on. It is my fervent hope that the Huskies can find a player who can really play back row D.
To recap, the single biggest weakness of the current team is serve receive and general ability to pass accurately. Much depends on the continued progress of Bajema, and likely Hoffman, in these areas. I think Bajema will need to play six rotations, so that puts a lot of pressure on the coaching staff to come up with a consistent, high quality receiver to complement her and McPherson. It could be Hoffman, Crenshaw, Houghton, or another DS who we've never heard of. But the priority is clear.
Beyond serve receive and passing, it is incumbent that the Huskies become an even better serving team. Even assuming continued improvement from our hitters, the Huskies are still likely to lack the firepower of most other top 10 teams. Serving and passing can go a long way towards mitigating that problem.
Blocking improved a LOT during the course of the season. The Huskies nearly matched Penn State, a truly elite blocking team, in today's Sweet Sixteen match. They outblocked Creighton and it wasn't close. Nevertheless, blocking has always been a Husky strength and it needs to get better next year. With experienced blockers like Sanders, Niece, Drechsel, and Bajema, this should be a Husky strength.
Ok, those are some thoughts to get this thread started.
Here's a player-by-player or position-by-position breakdown, with observations about the team woven into the discussion:
Ella May Powell: Why not start with the player who touches the ball the most? EMP had a solid freshman season, although I thought her performance against Penn State today was a little shakier than usual, particularly with regard to location. In any event, EMP is a crucial cog next season and should look to improve her overall setting game, hit a higher percentage of serves in while developing a more potent serve, and improve the execution of her dumps. I think she has the personality to be a team leader, along with Shayne McPherson. Based on what we've seen this season, I think Powell has the potential to be a second- or third-team AA by the time she is done.
Kara Bajema: Kara can and should be one of the five or six best outside hitters in the league next year. Just assuming continued progress seems reasonable but we know that it doesn't always happen. The 2017 Huskies are Exhibit A: Schwan's senior season was a distinct downgrade over her junior season, and neither Tanner nor Jones (who was plagued by injury) really improved in their senior year. On the other hand, Carly DeHoog really did. My point is that it is not a given that players just improve year after year. For the Huskies to contend at the upper reaches of the Pac and go deep into next year's tournament, they will need an improved version of Kara. First and foremost, Kara will need to work hard on serve receive. Beyond that, cut down on errors while maintaining aggression at the net, improve back row defense, and more consistently hit high hands. Tall orders, yes, but the team depends heavily on her.
UW's other outside hitters: Drechsel and Hoffman would certainly appear to have the inside track at, respectively, Opp and L2. I wouldn't say either are locks, however. Hoffman's value is tied closely to the quality of her serve receive. She still has a long way to go before she approaches the quality shown by Scambray and Schwan. Based on what we've seen this season, however, Hoffman has shown the ability to learn quickly and under pressure. Against an elite blocking and defensive team in Penn State, Hoffman had very few errors and hit a very credible .250. She has a good serve to boot. Hoffman's biggest competition is probably Shannon Crenshaw. Crenshaw seems like the more gifted athlete and I would expect Cook and Co. to let the chips fall where they may in the competition for L2. Drechsel seems fairly comfortable in the Opposite position and has the ability to carry the team offensively for stretches. The question, again, is the degree of improvement from one year to the next in areas that can be improved: seeing the block and open areas in the court; hitting high hands and tooling the block; and blocking. The biggest question mark is Dani Cole. Recruited as an Opposite, it is possible that she could give Drechsel a run for the money at this position. I suppose she could also be in the mix at L2. It would be a very pleasant surprise if she could crack the starting lineup. Finally, we have Maria Bogomolova, who emerged as a serving specialist this year. I'd be surprised if she is a real contender at one of the outside hitter positions, but depth is a good thing.
The Middles: Sanders came on fairly strong at the end of the season, both in terms of blocking and, especially, her slide offense. Sanders requires good set location on the slide, which generally requires an excellent pass and a good set from Powell. But this can be a potent and necessary weapon if the Huskies are to keep ascending toward elite status. Niece and Sanders appear to be pretty equal in terms of blocking ability. Niece's offense can be sporadic. I would assume Grote will get physically stronger and could give either Sanders or Niece a challenge for a starting position. Then there is the incoming freshman, Summers, who is highly touted. If she is good enough to compete for a starting position in 2019, then the Huskies have an embarrassment of riches at this position. But offensively, the middles will only be as potent as the Husky serve receive and defense allow them to be.
Libero/DS: McPherson had a really good season and I look forward to an even better 2019 season. The bigger question, in my mind, is whether the Huskies can solidify the back row with a high quality DS (or two). If Drechsel remains at OPP, she will definitely need a DS sub. That is probably true for anyone who plays Opposite. Claire Onosko played some needed minutes this season but is not the quality DS the Huskies need. Emma Calle is listed as a DS, but we can probably assume she is not as good as Onosko or we would have seen more of her. Robinson is a setter, but if she can pass and/or receive serve at a high enough level, we probably would have seen her already as well. So it is certainly possible that none of these are great options, which leaves us with two possibilities: 1) Sianna Houghton, an incoming walk-on libero/DS from Northern California; 2) a transfer or another walk-on. It is my fervent hope that the Huskies can find a player who can really play back row D.
To recap, the single biggest weakness of the current team is serve receive and general ability to pass accurately. Much depends on the continued progress of Bajema, and likely Hoffman, in these areas. I think Bajema will need to play six rotations, so that puts a lot of pressure on the coaching staff to come up with a consistent, high quality receiver to complement her and McPherson. It could be Hoffman, Crenshaw, Houghton, or another DS who we've never heard of. But the priority is clear.
Beyond serve receive and passing, it is incumbent that the Huskies become an even better serving team. Even assuming continued improvement from our hitters, the Huskies are still likely to lack the firepower of most other top 10 teams. Serving and passing can go a long way towards mitigating that problem.
Blocking improved a LOT during the course of the season. The Huskies nearly matched Penn State, a truly elite blocking team, in today's Sweet Sixteen match. They outblocked Creighton and it wasn't close. Nevertheless, blocking has always been a Husky strength and it needs to get better next year. With experienced blockers like Sanders, Niece, Drechsel, and Bajema, this should be a Husky strength.
Ok, those are some thoughts to get this thread started.