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Post by redbeard2008 on Dec 11, 2018 15:49:21 GMT -5
hmmmmm maybe re Crenshaw starting. 2019 she's already on the outside looking in with Bajema still around. In 2020 Endsley is coming, and unless she gets injured, Endsley is ACTUALLY the terminator UW needs on the pin. Dreschel is still around through 2020, and I think it would behoove the staff to continue to look at Sam on the LS I said "sooner or later". She's more of a classic L2, but could play next season on the right as a six-rotation OPP, which would then allow a DS to sub in the backrow for Sam on the left. She does need to develop more strength in the weightroom. How many L/DS's did Russ Rose have on his roster? Six! In the Rose "School of the 5-1", you can't have too many.
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Post by dawgnerd on Dec 12, 2018 8:20:32 GMT -5
Another random thought: perhaps we should expand the list of potential libero/DS players to include Shannon Crenshaw. Crenshaw seems like a great all-around athlete who possesses basic passing and digging skills and is probably a quicker defender than just about anyone on the team other than McPherson. I could see Crenshaw subbing in for Drechsel when she rotates to the back row. That would also add an attacking option in the back row. Maybe it's a stretch, but I could also see Crenshaw as a libero-in-training in 2019, ready to take over the position in 2020. Thoughts anyone? While I think (like Ay) that libero-in-training might be a step too far, given the mix of abilities and needs on next year's squad, I agree that Crenshaw could do worse than to focus during the off-season on passing, back-row hitting and serving. That would put her in a position to contribute in the role that DJ filled this year. I cannot recall seeing another team regularly subbing back row mainly for serving and back-row attack, but it made good use of DJs abilities. Crenshaw could add more traditional DS skills to that mix. No, I do not think that Crenshaw currently has DJs abilities at serving or back row attack. However, I could see her as likely to develop those as passing Hoffman/Drechsel in the OH/Op roles. She would still be available to compete for those spots and serve as a solid backup should either of those falter or get injured.
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Post by tomclen on Dec 12, 2018 8:36:18 GMT -5
I miss Volleyblog Seattle. Jack and Leslie Hamann provided some great coverage of UW VB.
Hope they're doing well.
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Post by alwayslearning on Dec 12, 2018 10:44:41 GMT -5
Another random thought: perhaps we should expand the list of potential libero/DS players to include Shannon Crenshaw. Crenshaw seems like a great all-around athlete who possesses basic passing and digging skills and is probably a quicker defender than just about anyone on the team other than McPherson. I could see Crenshaw subbing in for Drechsel when she rotates to the back row. That would also add an attacking option in the back row. Maybe it's a stretch, but I could also see Crenshaw as a libero-in-training in 2019, ready to take over the position in 2020. Thoughts anyone? While I think (like Ay) that libero-in-training might be a step too far, given the mix of abilities and needs on next year's squad, I agree that Crenshaw could do worse than to focus during the off-season on passing, back-row hitting and serving. That would put her in a position to contribute in the role that DJ filled this year. I cannot recall seeing another team regularly subbing back row mainly for serving and back-row attack, but it made good use of DJs abilities. Crenshaw could add more traditional DS skills to that mix. No, I do not think that Crenshaw currently has DJs abilities at serving or back row attack. However, I could see her as likely to develop those as passing Hoffman/Drechsel in the OH/Op roles. She would still be available to compete for those spots and serve as a solid backup should either of those falter or get injured. Makes sense. With a full beach season ahead and some new players coming in, the key word at this point is flexibility. Cook and Co. should be open to various options and experiments, including potential walk-on recruits outside the current roster, with a particular emphasis on finding the best combination of serve receivers and back row defenders.
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Post by alwayslearning on Dec 12, 2018 15:00:04 GMT -5
Big congratulations to Kara Bajema, Third Team All America for 2018! Kara shouldered a huge load this season. Looking forward to a great senior season.
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Post by mikegarrison on Dec 12, 2018 16:26:25 GMT -5
I miss Volleyblog Seattle. Jack and Leslie Hamann provided some great coverage of UW VB. Hope they're doing well. I always wondered what happened there. Jack has written a few pieces for magazines since they stopped Volleyblog Seattle. Just before they stopped doing the blog, there was some story about (IIRC) Leslie's brother being in a serious bike/car accident.
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Post by alwayslearning on Dec 12, 2018 16:46:42 GMT -5
I miss Volleyblog Seattle. Jack and Leslie Hamann provided some great coverage of UW VB. Hope they're doing well. I always wondered what happened there. Jack has written a few pieces for magazines since they stopped Volleyblog Seattle. Just before they stopped doing the blog, there was some story about (IIRC) Leslie's brother being in a serious bike/car accident. I would hope that they start republishing the blog at some point. Jack knows volleyball and his writing was always entertaining and lucid. The fact that he was/is a professional journalist certainly helped. Photos were good too. It provided another intelligent perspective on Husky volleyball and beyond.
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Post by ay2013 on Jan 14, 2019 5:23:44 GMT -5
I just finished rewatching the husky-PSU match, as well as the husky-creighton match. I think there is a lot to build on. The scoreline with PSU really doesn't describe the match. It really was only at about the 20 mark that the huskies let sloppy plays get the better of them, but for about 85% of the match, they matched Penn State evenly.
I look at two areas that 1- can actually improve and 2- will win us more matches next year.
The first is Dreschel. She has had periods of being an incredibly efficient offensive weapon, and then periods of blah play. The huskies will need her to be a true 1-2 punch with Bajema. If she's going to stay on the RS (I'm not convinced of this), Powell's back sets to her should be priority #1 in the off season.
The second is the block. It's no surprise that losing all of our pin blocking from a year before and inserting some new faces would diminish the potency of the Husky block, but Leslie is a proven coach in this area and I think the huskies can easily beef up their stuff blocks and defensive touches off the block this upcoming year.
Getting 3-4 more points per set on a combination from Dreschel and the block and the huskies are easily an elite 8 team next year. Also with Powell getting more comfortable with the college game, I'd also like to see some more middle sets, but I'm not greedy.
Many will point to first contact as an area to improve (and surely it is) but I'm a bit more realistic about expectations and I've mostly given up on the idea that Washington will be a superior passing and floor defense team in the near term. I'd surely like to eat my words on that, but I just don't see the current primary backcourt becoming significantly better.
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Post by curiousvolleyballdad on Jan 14, 2019 12:39:52 GMT -5
In Powell's defense she did not get to set so much in the middle in high school. It was mostly back sets to Warner. No doubt she will get that middle set mastered here quickly.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Jan 14, 2019 13:12:21 GMT -5
In the spirit of the "cauldron", every position should be open, but in reality Bajema (L1), Powell (S), McPherson (L), and probably Sanders (MB), barring injury, have theirs pretty much nailed down. That leaves L2, OPP, and one of the MB spots wide open. Drechsel will start, it just isn't sure where, at L2 or OPP. I'm not about to relegate Crenshaw to a "DS" role - she's a 6'2" hitter, but had a shoulder issue last year that limited her hitting. We've yet to see Cole play a single rotation.
I do think that it is reasonable to expect improved passing from Bajema and Drechsel, in particular.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Jan 14, 2019 13:22:30 GMT -5
In Powell's defense she did not get to set so much in the middle in high school. It was mostly back sets to Warner. No doubt she will get that middle set mastered here quickly. Not just the quick, but the slide, especially, needs to be improved. That's on the hitters just as much as the setter.
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Post by ay2013 on Jan 14, 2019 13:33:45 GMT -5
In the spirit of the "cauldron", every position should be open, but in reality Bajema (L1), Powell (S), McPherson (L), and probably Sanders (MB), barring injury, have theirs pretty much nailed down. That leaves L2, OPP, and one of the MB spots wide open. Drechsel will start, it just isn't sure where, at L2 or OPP. I'm not about to relegate Crenshaw to a "DS" role - she's a 6'2" hitter, but had a shoulder issue last year that limited her hitting. We've yet to see Cole play a single rotation. I do think that it is reasonable to expect improved passing from Bajema and Drechsel, in particular. I think it's probably time to put Niece in the nailed down category. She tends to get overlooked. She's not the highest rated recruit or the tallest middle, but she's gotten the job done, being the best middle UW had last year.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Jan 15, 2019 1:06:31 GMT -5
In the spirit of the "cauldron", every position should be open, but in reality Bajema (L1), Powell (S), McPherson (L), and probably Sanders (MB), barring injury, have theirs pretty much nailed down. That leaves L2, OPP, and one of the MB spots wide open. Drechsel will start, it just isn't sure where, at L2 or OPP. I'm not about to relegate Crenshaw to a "DS" role - she's a 6'2" hitter, but had a shoulder issue last year that limited her hitting. We've yet to see Cole play a single rotation. I do think that it is reasonable to expect improved passing from Bajema and Drechsel, in particular. I think it's probably time to put Niece in the nailed down category. She tends to get overlooked. She's not the highest rated recruit or the tallest middle, but she's gotten the job done, being the best middle UW had last year. I actually hesitated to put Sanders in the "nailed down" category, which is why I said "probably" - she struggled after her injury last season, but is still UW's most talented middle, I think. Niece is close to there, being UW's best blocker, right now, and a threat in the quick, but she hasn't been asked to run the slide much. I do think that Sanders and Niece have the inside track for the MB spots, but with four middles on the roster, it is best to keep at least one MB spot (if not both) open to be fought over. Both Grote and Summers are top MB recruits - if Summers doesn't win a starting spot, it might be best to redshirt her.
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Post by ay2013 on Feb 1, 2019 14:56:36 GMT -5
Club season is here! I'm mostly curious about two things- If Houghton can contribute to the backcourt this year and if there are any 14's in state talent brewing (the instate talent for the next few years looks a bit thin). Houghton plays on the 18's vision team (same as Xu, the Stanford setter) but it looks like she's hitting on the OH? interesting. They will be at triple crown, so hopefully they get on a show court or two. Summers plays for a new club, and they'll also be at triple crown. Looking at 2022's and 2023's, there are a couple local clubs fielding younger teams this year at triple crown and I'll be curious to see some of those players.
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Post by vbfamily on Feb 1, 2019 19:03:14 GMT -5
Club season is here! I'm mostly curious about two things- If Houghton can contribute to the backcourt this year and if there are any 14's in state talent brewing (the instate talent for the next few years looks a bit thin). Houghton plays on the 18's vision team (same as Xu, the Stanford setter) but it looks like she's hitting on the OH? interesting. They will be at triple crown, so hopefully they get on a show court or two. Summers plays for a new club, and they'll also be at triple crown. Looking at 2022's and 2023's, there are a couple local clubs fielding younger teams this year at triple crown and I'll be curious to see some of those players. Houghten is good, she will contribute, watched her for four years and she is just constantly improving...last year she was just so solid, didn't find any holes in her backrow...honestly she did well in the front row last year too, just a smart volleyball player that does well with the tools she has. She seems like such an awesome kid too. UW got a good one.
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