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Post by mosser on Oct 18, 2019 23:22:18 GMT -5
Quade couldn't serve and Kuper was a huge liability out there. Eske and Chi aren't any better on serve receive?
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Post by exit237a on Oct 18, 2019 23:43:14 GMT -5
Obviously would've loved the W, but I thought the Illini showed a lot of grit against Wisconsin. They've shown they can compete with top teams and are still growing as a unit, rebounding from adversity and competing. Kennedy Collins had an awesome match- a lot of great swings and a go-to option up there. Morgan O'Brien was digging everything, not unlike her performance in Madison last year. Keep battling, Illini!
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Post by ilalum92 on Oct 19, 2019 1:05:20 GMT -5
Watched the replay... First set was U-G-L-Y we aint got no alibi, Kuper aced 4 times, passing was atrocious. Then another ILL team showed up for Game 2-3 and then back to the team that played the first set. So FRUSTRATING. We used to own the 5th set, nowadays, not so much. This team is THIS CLOSE to being great. Just need to clean up some things. Hopefully we clean this up the rest off the season, we make the tourney and have a deep run.
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Post by oldmanvb on Oct 19, 2019 7:16:41 GMT -5
Since Eske has played in an earlier match and therefore has blown this year as a redshirt I would like to see her on the court when one of the other DSs is struggling. I know she does not bring a potential backrow attack, as Kuper brings, but that has not developed so far this year. When we are getting served off the court other options should be explored.
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Post by bastianellifan on Oct 19, 2019 8:01:30 GMT -5
This is getting old fast. Look like ass the first set then all of a sudden become unstoppable gods in set 2 and 3 then fall back to earth in sets 4 and 5. Whats really frustrating is sets 2 and 3 make it seem like they can hang with anyone if they could clean up their play, but they just cant keep it together for 3 sets. If they were straight up bad and lost in 3 sets, then that would be understandable and a lot easier to deal with. But this level of inconsistency WITHIN each game is too much for me. I'm not watching live at this point and will only watch replays. I can only imagine how Tamas feels.
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Post by bops68 on Oct 19, 2019 10:20:07 GMT -5
If we don't have anyone on the bench that can pass better than Kuper we are in trouble long term. I just don't understand Tamas love affair with Kuper. She got aced at least 6 times I can remember and who knows how many out of system passes she had. Everyone is going to target her rest of the year. We don't set her in the back row either.
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Post by jma22 on Oct 19, 2019 13:06:27 GMT -5
Obviously would've loved the W, but I thought the Illini showed a lot of grit against Wisconsin. They've shown they can compete with top teams and are still growing as a unit, rebounding from adversity and competing. Kennedy Collins had an awesome match- a lot of great swings and a go-to option up there. Morgan O'Brien was digging everything, not unlike her performance in Madison last year. Keep battling, Illini! While I agree that they showed a lot of grit and played very well (at least in 3 of the 5 sets), I feel like our program is beyond the point where we should be celebrating moral victories. I'd much rather see actual victories.
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Post by brucks on Oct 19, 2019 16:10:08 GMT -5
Too many new pieces for us to expect the same level of consistency that we had last year. It seems that we don't know what our lineup is going to look like from week to week. I hate losses - especially losses where we are being beaten by Illinois girls.
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Post by brucks on Oct 19, 2019 21:57:35 GMT -5
Great match by Collins vs. Minny. Probably her best yet. Probably Quade's worst. Teams are going to start camping out on Quade so we are going to have to vary our attack against really good teams.
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Post by jgoodson on Oct 19, 2019 23:17:03 GMT -5
Shout out to our AD, Josh Whitman, for rarely missing a home volleyball match. And, he stays through the whole match. I am no longer surprised to see him at volleyball matches, although I am surprised when he's at Huff following an early Saturday morning football game like last Saturday vs. Michigan. The football game was at 11am, and I am certain AD Whitman was at Memorial Stadium much earlier than that. He was in the stands at Huff prior to the 7pm start time for the volleyball match. and stayed to the end. Luckily for Whitman, Illinois won 3-0. Volleyball match attendance has been a regular thing for Whitman since he became our AD in 2016. His wife also almost always accompanies him which says something for her since she now has a 3 year old and a fairly new baby at home. I am told that Josh's parents are the older couple that sit right behind him at matches. Whitman attends most home athletic events unless there is a conflict. Often times there are multiple teams playing at the same time. He also travels with the football team so misses home events when football is on the road. His parents attend some of the matches but the couple sitting behind him at volleyball is Dr. and Mrs. Easter, former president of the university.
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Post by jgoodson on Oct 19, 2019 23:25:59 GMT -5
This is my first post. Think I goofed up my first attempt. Hope this works Was hoping to reply to previous posts about Josh Whitman. I am holding my praise for Josh Whitman until this hockey rink/volleyball situation plays out. Iowa is going this route. Have any of you looked at the plans for this? A link below is for the Coralville site. At 30 seconds into the video is the vball arena. www.coralville.org/765/Xtream-ArenaTo me, it looks like it would be a lousy set up for watching volleyball compared to Huff Hall. For Iowa, it is a step up compared to playing in a basketball arena. Not so much for Illinois when Huff Hall makes lists as one of the best places to watch vball. How many of you would like to sit on the folding chairs on the floor? Or be in the first row of the hockey seats looking over the people on the floor level. And the seats at the far end are useless for volleyball. It looks to me to be a lifeless place to play. Especially being off campus which would likely reduce student attendance. A hockey rink measures 200X85 ft. Volleyball 60x30 ft. I cannot think of how this combo works for volleyball unless the vball court is at a lower level than the hockey rink and you could expand stadium seating beyond the hockey seats. I have no idea if that is even feasible. I hope if Chris Tamas has influence with Josh Whitman he can use that influence to help volleyball come out ok in this happens. I have been following this since the first hockey rink/volleyball news came out with less than positive feelings. What was brought to mind was another decision made by an Illinois alum/football player/athletic director that did long term damage to the vball program. Namely Ron Guenther’s decision to spend Big Money to attract a women’s basketball coach, Theresa Grentz, rather than giving a big raise to a future Hall of Fame vball coach Mike Hebert. Mike Hebert took off to Minnesota where he got his raise and built Minnesota into a national power. Illinois vball descended into mediocrity until Kevin Hambly arrived. The women’ basketball team trended upward for awhile and then spiraled downward and remains to this day at the bottom of the Big Ten. Many times over the years I have wondered what would be the current state of the Illinois vball program if Ron Guenther would have been smart enough to keep Mike Hebert. Some people may forget that Illinois led the nation in attendance in 1992 and 1993 during the Hebert era. Back then Nebraska and Illinois were in roughly similar stages in development of their vball programs. Nebraska kept their vball coach who continued to win and build. Would the Illinois vball program have continued a Nebraska type progression if Mike Hebert stayed? That we will never know. The down years after Hebert left certainly weakened the momentum of the program. Illinois loss was Minnesota’s gain. Josh Whitman has stated in his rationale for a hockey team/rink that it is difficult to raise money for a volleyball arena. If Mike Hebert had stayed (and a suitable successor chosen when he retired which is asking a lot at Illinois although Nebraska skillfully accomplished that transition) I am guessing that today the program would be in a strong position to raise money for a new facility or to upgrade Huff Hall. Nebraska had plenty of support for the Devaney Center remodel. And Ohio State and Indiana raised funds for on campus vball arenas without winning histories in vball. My concern is that vball is just a pawn to be used toward Whitman’s desire for a hockey team. Will Josh Whitman in his desire to start a hockey program end up doing more damage to the vball program than his football playing predecessor? I hope not. Here is a link from Fighting Illini Athletics about the Hebert era narrated by Dave Loane. Another link back to the late 1980’s in Kenney Gym. Laura Bush in the video.
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Post by bucky415 on Oct 19, 2019 23:41:08 GMT -5
Huh? Hockey at Illinois? I doubt they have a ton of revenue with football being not too good on days other than today and men's hoops not where it wants to be (but potentially on the uptick). Wisconsin isn't doing all that great revenue wise on hockey at this point, and there is a long tradition of the sport at the university and in the state. Could you really justify building a new arena and starting a program from a revenue standpoint? As for volleyball, I haven't been there in a while, but is Huff an issue? I have always seen it as a tough place to play, one that I think gives the Illini an advantage. At any rate, they have made two Final Fours this decade, so it isn't like they are struggling overall (and I think they will get going as the schedule gets a bit easier and they may get a bit healthier).
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Post by jgoodson on Oct 20, 2019 0:04:18 GMT -5
Here is an article regarding hockey at Illinois. www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-sports/whitman-confident-ui-hockey-can-become-a-reality/article_c6cdb570-375b-59a6-b1dd-e1d9beb9be5f.htmlOpening excerpt. CHAMPAIGN — Josh Whitman has been cautiously optimistic about the future of hockey at Illinois since the idea was first broached last summer with a feasibility study commissioned by the NHL, NHLPA and College Hockey, Inc. That study revealed what was expected. Hockey at Illinois could be a success. Funding a brand new program would be the biggest hurdle to clear. To actually use a study about starting a hockey program commissioned by the NHL, NHLPA and College Hockey, Inc. would be reckless incompetence. The results of the study were preordained. A responsible analysis would look for things that could go wrong and in such circumstances what would be the impact on the university. The above approach is used when you know what you want to do and are looking for justification.
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Post by jgoodson on Oct 20, 2019 0:33:31 GMT -5
This is an article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune dated Dec 13, 2018 An interview with Mike Hebert. www.startribune.com/former-gophers-volleyball-coach-mike-hebert-began-big-ten-s-rise-while-at-illinois/502645952/Some Excerpts Mike Hebert became the first coach in the Big Ten to bring a team — Illinois — to the Final Four in 1987. And Hebert and the Illini were back in Minneapolis in 1988, and meeting defending champion Hawaii in the second semifinal. The first semi had Texas vs. UCLA, the tournament’s unbeaten favorite. “I saw the Big Ten as a conference with a lot of resources — and the Midwest as a sprawling area that in time might be able to rival the West Coast,’’ Hebert said. “We were 5-25 in my first year in 1983, and we were in the NCAA tournament two years later.’’ Minnesota had a competitive volleyball team in the ’90s. Chris Voelz, the women’s athletic director, got in a feud with coach Stephanie Schleuder, fired her after the 1994 season, and a losing season followed with interim coach Pam Dombeck. Voelz was the source of much derision, including in paragraphs authored by me. I don’t think anyone with access to the public prints in the Twin Cities used the word “visionary’’’ to describe Voelz when she gave Hebert a contract starting in the vicinity of $100,000 to leave Illinois in 1996. Hebert, 74, is now retired in San Diego, living a couple of blocks from the Pacific Ocean with his wife, Sherry, and near his grandchildren. He makes no pretense as to what lured him from Illinois to Minnesota. “My dad was killed in the Air Force when I was young,’’ he said. “We didn’t have a lot in our family. The idea of knowing I could take care of my family long-term was strong with me.’’
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Post by oldmanvb on Oct 20, 2019 16:13:23 GMT -5
I live far enough from Champaign to make season tickets impractical. If one doesn't have season tickets Huff is a terrible place to watch a volleyball match. Seats are either restricted view or in a corner a long way from the court. The heat in the upper reaches of Huff is also an issue. On balance, sitting in the rafters in the heat in Huff does not justify my driving a couple of hours to Champaign. I don't think I'm alone with this attitude.
I think that a volleyball arena with sideline seats reasonably close to the playing surface and reasonably close to campus with adequate parking would cause attendance to substantially increase. (I know, ... pipe dream). People other than season ticket holders would have a chance to actually watch a volleyball match without head-bobbing and breaking into a sweat.
Having said that, the downtown ice hockey facility is not the answer to the question of replacing Huff. You would trade an arena with some bad seats for an arena with nothing but bad seats. Huff's atmosphere would disappear. If anything, attendance would suffer. Volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics would be badly served by a decision to put them into a downtown hockey rink simply to justify the addition of ice hockey as a varsity sport.
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