|
Post by radioactiveman on Dec 14, 2018 11:45:53 GMT -5
Freakin' A, I just rewatched the point as well. I don't know why I thought that was Hames setting to Sweet. At least I was right about Hames being a defensive stud. I honestly think she might be the best defensive setter in the country.
|
|
|
Post by bigfan on Dec 14, 2018 12:03:02 GMT -5
I love Illinois, they will be back. When, in another 10 years? Won't be the same team without Poulter and Bastianelli. In Jacqueline Quade we trust
|
|
|
Post by c4ndlelight on Dec 14, 2018 12:09:53 GMT -5
When, in another 10 years? Won't be the same team without Poulter and Bastianelli. In Jacqueline Quade we trust I'm really curious to see if she can develop the back row connection with her new setter. That speed really stresses set tempo and location, as well as communication & chemistry.
|
|
|
Post by coachk2 on Dec 14, 2018 12:19:03 GMT -5
Had practice last night so watched match this morning without knowing the outcome - then went through 60 pages of this thread - lots of great comments with mucho humor - VT did not disappoint.
Congrats to Illini on a great season - Poulter is outstanding - would never have let her be interviewed up 2-0 - distraction. Quade was great but too big a task to be asked to do that much - needed that 3rd set W or she was sure to fade a little.
Nebraska deserved the win - Foecke and Maloney carried them as Seniors should. Sun had her ups and downs but should be happy. “Shipwreck” Hames played great defense. Stanford is certainly the favorite tomorrow but we’ll see.
Couple of broadcast notes for ESPN - Paul and Karch are your “best” team but they have lost a step, at least last night. Krackalacka with a ton of wows and nices, calls Foecke a setter, “all Nebraska so far” when Illinois was up 2-0, etc. Professor Karch coughs in his mike (no cough button at ESPN?), “Mackenzie” Foecke, “Kim” Quade, “that’s what we call a repeat”, etc - no energy - get him a Red Bull for the Finals! Come on, PS and KK, you can be better. Holly Rowe: what a disaster! Poulter interview, Mother F’er Belt, Farmer story, Shipwreck name - just go away or at least give relevant info - maybe something out of the TO or an observation of actual Volleyball info as seen from the sideline - if you actually know anything about the sport!
|
|
|
Post by huskergeek on Dec 14, 2018 12:19:05 GMT -5
Freakin' A, I just rewatched the point as well. I don't know why I thought that was Hames setting to Sweet. At least I was right about Hames being a defensive stud. I honestly think she might be the best defensive setter in the country. Statistically for back row, she is and it's not particularly close either. Here is the list of the Top Ten qualifying setters in my database ordered by digs per point in play. Conference | Team | LastName | FirstName | DPIP |
---|
Big Ten | Nebraska | Hames | Nicklin | 9.5122 | Big West | UC Riverside | Doyle | Chelsea | 8.9802 | OVC | Southeast Mo. St. | Ochs | Claire | 8.7448 | Horizon | IUPUI | Gibson | Maggie | 8.4363 | Horizon | Wright St. | Stephenson | Lainey | 8.3568 | SoCon | Furman | Thompson | Hunter | 8.2276 | Big West | Hawaii | Iosia | Norene | 8.0288 | MAAC | Rider | Sher | Anilee | 7.9361 | Atlantic 10 | Rhode Island | Pick | Lauren | 7.8756 | C-USA | Southern Miss. | Bell | Sarah | 7.8096 |
However, the gap is actually larger than that because as competition degrades, digs get more frequent because hitters aren't as lethal. Here is the list of P6 qualifying setters ordered the same way. Conference | Team | LastName | FirstName | DPIP |
---|
Big Ten | Nebraska | Hames | Nicklin | 9.5122 | Pac-12 | Arizona | Patterson | Julia | 7.6659 | Big Ten | Northwestern | McNulty | Kiara | 7.0657 | Pac-12 | Washington St. | Brown | Ashley | 7.0266 | Big 12 | Oklahoma | McLaughlin | Kylee | 6.9118 | Big Ten | Illinois | Poulter | Jordyn | 6.8601 | WCC | BYU | Haddock | Lyndie | 6.8268 | SEC | Kentucky | Lilley | Madison | 6.8107 | Pac-12 | Arizona St. | Dobmeier | Shelbie | 6.7189 | Pac-12 | Utah | Choy | Bailey | 6.6721 |
Nearly two digs per 100 points in play ahead of the next closest P6 setter. Addendum: In the 8 years of data I have this is the second highest P6 rate for a qualifying setter who didn't split time at libero behind only Penina Snuka in 2014. It is the 5th highest in the eight years of Division 1 data I have.
|
|
|
Post by Mark Richards on Dec 14, 2018 12:20:14 GMT -5
Lexi Sun played well
|
|
|
Post by akbar on Dec 14, 2018 12:22:02 GMT -5
In Jacqueline Quade we trust I'm really curious to see if she can develop the back row connection with her new setter. That speed really stresses set tempo and location, as well as communication & chemistry. Quade hit only .265 for the year .224 for the B1G conference. minus Poulter its a good bet that isnt going to improve in performance or connection.
|
|
|
Post by Mark Richards on Dec 14, 2018 12:24:30 GMT -5
But is she happy? I'm guessing "yes", because she looks like she is getting healthier and healthier, and because her former teammates all got to watch her from their living rooms. She scored 21.5 points and shouldered the load for Nebraska.
|
|
|
Post by vbcoach06 on Dec 14, 2018 12:35:51 GMT -5
I needed a solid night to collect my unbiased thoughts on the match, because I truly didn't care who won, but here they are:
-I loved the Illini's initial game plan of making Nebraska play OOS any time the set wasn't absolutely perfect. Hames defended well all night, but so many of her 19 digs were balls that Illinois put on her lap just to take her out of the play. Hames only assisted on 46 of Nebraska's 68 kills, meaning 22 of them came from somebody else or unassisted. That is the mark of a team playing a lot of OOS volleyball. However, props to the Huskers for finding ways to kill a ball OOS. It may have taken them until the 3rd set to do so, but they did it with just enough time to come back. Maloney's 2nd contact was excellent IMO, as evidenced by her 10 assists.
-While making Nebraska play OOS worked at first, I actually thought it wore down the Illini faster than playing the match straight up would have. It was clear about midway through the 4th set that they had wasted a good number of jumps putting the ball on Hames rather than trying to find a way to score. Quade completely wore down, and Bastianelli wasn't as much of a factor. However, the X-factor for me in the Illini losing was the absence of Prince. 2 K/S for your O1 does not get it done in a national semifinal.
-I thought tonight showed a major flaw in Lauren Stivrins' game. While the passing in sets 1 and 2 was not conducive to setting her the ball, their transition touches were good enough that if Stivrins could hit effectively off of two feet in front of Hames, they could've forced her the ball. Stivrins is an elite slide hitter-I will not take that away from her at all-but her inability to score in front of the setter makes the Nebraska offense so much more predictable in transition. That brings me to Lexi Sun. As the outside who is up with Stivrins for two rotations, she has to take so many swings that she frankly isn't good enough to take yet. Lexi is, IMO, an elite in-system attacker, but her numbers are so diluted by the bad situations she is placed in trying to cover for Stivrins' deficiencies. If Stivrins finds a way to score in front of the setter, I promise that Sun's efficiency goes up probably 40 points.
-Mikaela Foecke- girl, you didn't have it all night, but dang did you step up when it counted. The match point swing was so good; a 3/4 swing, snapped off at the top and into a deep corner. It must be so nice to have a player that can pull herself out any sort of funk. Her impact will be SORELY missed next year.
-After the 5th set touch call (I'm not going to get into whether it was touched or not because I don't care to get into that argument), I thought Tamas should have taken a timeout as soon as it was reversed. That's a bigtime call to have go against you in that moment, and even if it was just to sit everyone down and refocus, I thought it could have helped. He still had 2 TO's, so burning one there would have been a good idea IMO.
-The Illini's serving was so good for so long, but that come-down-to-earth phase came at the worst possible time. I know that kind of service pressure all night was unsustainable, but 3 straight missed serves in a 5th set is BRUTAL.
-Jordan Poulter. Enough said. I could watch her set all day and all night and never get tired of it. Was her location and tempo off at times? Absolutely. But it's clear just how good she is, and I think that's incredibly exciting for the future of our National Team.
Finally, Jaylen Reyes- I don't know how he is in the gym. I don't know how the team feels about him, or whether he's even a good coach (I imagine he is, or else Cook wouldn't keep him around). What I do know is that watching him on the sideline is embarrassing. I thought Hildebrand was childish on the sideline last year, but Reyes takes that to a whole new level. He needs to sit down and freaking relax. You are a professional-act like it.
I'm looking forward to a good final. Based on what I saw last night, I'm taking Stanford in 4. In reality, I just hope for some good volleyball!
|
|
|
Post by gunsserguy on Dec 14, 2018 12:38:12 GMT -5
But is she happy? I'm guessing "yes", because she looks like she is getting healthier and healthier, and because her former teammates all got to watch her from their living rooms. She scored 21.5 points and shouldered the load for Nebraska. i know lexi has gotten a lot of flack, early-mid season an rightly so. But she was coming off injury, with limited practice time. She's played well in the tournament and played well last night. Set 1 i felt she def carried the team. She does need to focus a bit more after 20 cause thats when she started to make errors. Other thoughts on the match, I thought this was not a very good game from Hames. I dont know if stats agree with me or not. Whenever Sweet hits i feel like its going to go out. Nebraska defense and serves were not up to par. They got what? 3 blocks? Quade balled out. She was fantastic. Illinois' hustle/defense in general was great. There were several times I thought no way they get this ball up, and they did. If Nebraska plays against stanford the way they played last night, they will lose in straight sets.
|
|
|
Post by radioactiveman on Dec 14, 2018 12:54:54 GMT -5
Statistically for back row, she is and it's not particularly close either. It's not just the number of digs that's impressive. It's also the quality and the difficulty of the touches she getting on defense. She has a knack for getting to balls that look like they are going to be ungettable.
|
|
|
Post by pavsec5row10 on Dec 14, 2018 13:31:29 GMT -5
Illinois handing Nebraska 3 points in the 5th set was such a gift. They really needed another option than Quade, but really didn't have anybody step up, and JP just kept feeding Quade.
Great comeback by the Cornhuskers for sure. When they took set 3, it was game on and was pretty sure we were going to 5.
|
|
|
Post by lvcalum on Dec 14, 2018 14:32:45 GMT -5
I needed a solid night to collect my unbiased thoughts on the match, because I truly didn't care who won, but here they are: -I loved the Illini's initial game plan of making Nebraska play OOS any time the set wasn't absolutely perfect. Hames defended well all night, but so many of her 19 digs were balls that Illinois put on her lap just to take her out of the play. Hames only assisted on 46 of Nebraska's 68 kills, meaning 22 of them came from somebody else or unassisted. That is the mark of a team playing a lot of OOS volleyball. However, props to the Huskers for finding ways to kill a ball OOS. It may have taken them until the 3rd set to do so, but they did it with just enough time to come back. Maloney's 2nd contact was excellent IMO, as evidenced by her 10 assists. -While making Nebraska play OOS worked at first, I actually thought it wore down the Illini faster than playing the match straight up would have. It was clear about midway through the 4th set that they had wasted a good number of jumps putting the ball on Hames rather than trying to find a way to score. Quade completely wore down, and Bastianelli wasn't as much of a factor. However, the X-factor for me in the Illini losing was the absence of Prince. 2 K/S for your O1 does not get it done in a national semifinal. -I thought tonight showed a major flaw in Lauren Stivrins' game. While the passing in sets 1 and 2 was not conducive to setting her the ball, their transition touches were good enough that if Stivrins could hit effectively off of two feet in front of Hames, they could've forced her the ball. Stivrins is an elite slide hitter-I will not take that away from her at all-but her inability to score in front of the setter makes the Nebraska offense so much more predictable in transition. That brings me to Lexi Sun. As the outside who is up with Stivrins for two rotations, she has to take so many swings that she frankly isn't good enough to take yet. Lexi is, IMO, an elite in-system attacker, but her numbers are so diluted by the bad situations she is placed in trying to cover for Stivrins' deficiencies. If Stivrins finds a way to score in front of the setter, I promise that Sun's efficiency goes up probably 40 points. -Mikaela Foecke- girl, you didn't have it all night, but dang did you step up when it counted. The match point swing was so good; a 3/4 swing, snapped off at the top and into a deep corner. It must be so nice to have a player that can pull herself out any sort of funk. Her impact will be SORELY missed next year. -After the 5th set touch call (I'm not going to get into whether it was touched or not because I don't care to get into that argument), I thought Tamas should have taken a timeout as soon as it was reversed. That's a bigtime call to have go against you in that moment, and even if it was just to sit everyone down and refocus, I thought it could have helped. He still had 2 TO's, so burning one there would have been a good idea IMO. -The Illini's serving was so good for so long, but that come-down-to-earth phase came at the worst possible time. I know that kind of service pressure all night was unsustainable, but 3 straight missed serves in a 5th set is BRUTAL. -Jordan Poulter. Enough said. I could watch her set all day and all night and never get tired of it. Was her location and tempo off at times? Absolutely. But it's clear just how good she is, and I think that's incredibly exciting for the future of our National Team. Finally, Jaylen Reyes- I don't know how he is in the gym. I don't know how the team feels about him, or whether he's even a good coach (I imagine he is, or else Cook wouldn't keep him around). What I do know is that watching him on the sideline is embarrassing. I thought Hildebrand was childish on the sideline last year, but Reyes takes that to a whole new level. He needs to sit down and freaking relax. You are a professional-act like it. I'm looking forward to a good final. Based on what I saw last night, I'm taking Stanford in 4. In reality, I just hope for some good volleyball! Interesting thoughts on Stivrins. Her athleticism and movement are jaw dropping. I agree that her hitting in front of Hames needs to improve. However, it seems to me that many teams have abandoned (at least minimized) the 1 and 31. This baffles me as the 31 is still highly effective and can be set without a perfect pass. Nebraska was setting the 31 more early in the year when they were struggling (with good results), but I haven’t seen it much lately.
|
|
|
Post by smb4 on Dec 14, 2018 14:37:29 GMT -5
Some thoughts from last night's match - 1. Kudos to Jazz! Even in this match thread, some people were ragging on her, but she had 9 kills and 2 errors on 20 swings (.350). That is a SWEET contribution to the team! 2. Looking at the numbers, it looks like the Huskers couldn't block anything, but two significant factors in this match won't be there tomorrow. First, JP is incredible. The speed of her sets disrupted the Huskers' ability to set the block. Stanford is not THAT fast. Second, the Illini were covering everything. There were several times Nebraska's block put the ball down and the next thing you know the ball is popping back over the net. They were the the kind of plays that you might see once a match, but the Illini just kept doing it. 3. Foecke seemed to be having a bit of an off night (by her standards) but she ended up with 19 kills (hitting .300), 4 assists, 2 aces, 2 block assists, and 11 digs. Not a bad line for an off night. I expect she'll be in full finals form tomorrow night. It will be, again, Maloney and Foecke time (one last time ). GBR!
|
|
|
Post by bball on Dec 14, 2018 14:39:34 GMT -5
Some thoughts from last night's match - 1. Kudos to Jazz! Even in this match thread, some people were ragging on her, but she had 9 kills and 2 errors on 20 swings (.350). That is a SWEET contribution to the team! 2. Looking at the numbers, it looks like the Huskers couldn't block anything, but two significant factors in this match won't be there tomorrow. First, JP is incredible. The speed of her sets disrupted the Huskers ability to set the block. Stanford is not THAT fast. Second, the Illini were covering everything. There were several times Nebraska's block put the ball down and the next thing you know the ball is popping back over the net. They were the the kind of plays that you might see once a match, but the Illini just kept doing it. 3. Foecke seemed to be having a bit of an off night (by her standards) but she ended up with 19 kills (hitting .300), 4 assists, 2 aces, 2 block assists, and 11 digs. Not a bad line for an off night. I expect she'll be in full finals form tomorrow night. It will be, again, Maloney and Foecke time (one last time ). GBR! Densberger came in a had huge moments
|
|