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Post by ilalum92 on Aug 19, 2019 12:30:29 GMT -5
The barbs are going to come this year. I say, bring it on. Really it's from a bunch of cheeseheads & some random USC Fan. USC?? Please, your new coach turned a first team all-american into a shell of her former self. Very sad. Who did you lose to - USD??? You are too funny. She was injured - both her back and an untimely concussion. I don’t love the coach but I didn’t hire him. Just because someone has a thought about your team doesn’t mean you need to get defensive and act petulant. you are ridiculing an athlete's passing off of what exactly? something you heard - have you seen her in action? Yes, she was injured, so what is your point exactly. As many people observed from the open practice her passing/defense/serve were all on point. She's from Europe where all OH's are expected to learn how to pass/ play defense.
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Post by Fight On! on Aug 19, 2019 12:37:31 GMT -5
You are too funny. She was injured - both her back and an untimely concussion. I don’t love the coach but I didn’t hire him. Just because someone has a thought about your team doesn’t mean you need to get defensive and act petulant. you are ridiculing an athlete's passing off of what exactly? something you heard - have you seen her in action? Yes, she was injured, so what is your point exactly. As many people observed from the open practice her passing/defense/serve were all on point. She's from Europe where all OH's are expected to learn how to pass/ play defense. I was not ridiculing her passing. I was commenting that the poster’s opinion may not be accurate. She has been primarily a RS throughout her career, as I understand it. She received 0 balls in the last world competition she played. Maybe she will be excellent. But plenty of elite European OHs don’t pass all that well (see: Plak, Sylla, Mijalovic, etc).
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Post by ilalum92 on Aug 19, 2019 17:05:29 GMT -5
fyi, for those unable to attend the 2019 Illini vs Tennessee at Huff Hall. SunSep1 2:00pm ET BTN Women's Volleyball: Tennessee at Illinois Not Rated MonSep2 2:00am ET BTN Women's Volleyball: Tennessee at Illinois Not Rated MonSep2 5:00pm ET BTN Volleyball in 60 btn.com/shows/Has BTN released the entire fall schedule yet?
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Post by alt on Aug 19, 2019 21:10:41 GMT -5
I was able to attend practice this morning and will offer my observations. Two caveats. There was a lot of skill work by individual groups, so not a real scrimmage by any stretch of the imagination. Also, I am far from an expert so take what I say with a grain of salt. I had said on this site a few weeks ago that I was more worried about replacing our lost middle than I was our lost setter. I now take that back. Our new middles were much better than I had anticipated and our new setters are not Jordyn. Both setters (Bruder has moved to DS) need work with their hitters because the timing lagged. Neither is going to get to those out of system balls that Jordyn made look so routine. It's early, very early, so there is time to clear that up. Neither look like the kind of blocker that Jordyn was nor do they dig as well. Allison, though, can pound the ball when she gets a swing. Now, for the positive. Both new middles, Hinton and Swanson, are very athletic. Both move very well on the court and get up quickly on the block. Both are thin so they will gain strength as their careers move forward. On offense they are both quick hitters, more so than Fleming or Bastianelli. Again, timing with the setters needs some work. The two freshmen DSs impressed, especially Eske. Both served well (coach didn't have everyone serve, only limited players) and both were solid on defense. There were drills where they were asked to defend without a front row block and they were diving all over the place. Again, keep in mind that coach was controlling the action but Hollowell was set more than any of the other hitters and she looked sharp. Holzman was on crutches, has just had surgery and will red shirt the year. Jac was Jac. Prince seemed to hit more and dink less. Cooney had some real nice swings. Bruna? Bruna has a POWERFUL swing. Frequently too powerful. Hit a LOT of balls long. When she keeps it in play it is a difficult ball to dig. She was very solid in the back row. Dug the ball well, passed it well, served it well. Had some nice swings from the back row too. For me, the most pleasant surprise was Collins. The girl can jump, she can block and she is a powerful hitter. At first glance you wouldn't peg her as a jumper, but she does everything you would expect from an OH. None of the other back row players looked much changed from last year. Bruder did play more than last year, likely because we were fielding two teams on the floor. Poulter was in the house. She was presented with the Eddleman award as the top female athlete on campus (she must not have been here when the awards were handed out in the spring). She has clearly put a lot of time in the weight room since she graduated. Whitman gave her full credit for holding the team together during the coaching transition. Spoke at length with coach and asked about the schedule. He tries to schedule tough but is finding that many top teams aren't anxious to play us, especially at our place. See this team if you can. The scrimmage next week will be intra squad. No alums. At least we have enough players now to field two teams (18 on the roster). I've watched Allison last year at auburn and she definitely did have some connection issues all season long which was a little conserning because she came in a semester early too. She never could set a quick outside ball and had issues with the slide sets. I haven't seen brown since prep days but she too would under set the oh and was just more slower to get to the ball. It will be interesting who will pull ahead
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Post by ilikecorn on Aug 19, 2019 21:59:28 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2019 0:01:56 GMT -5
you are ridiculing an athlete's passing off of what exactly? something you heard - have you seen her in action? Yes, she was injured, so what is your point exactly. As many people observed from the open practice her passing/defense/serve were all on point. She's from Europe where all OH's are expected to learn how to pass/ play defense. I was not ridiculing her passing. I was commenting that the poster’s opinion may not be accurate. She has been primarily a RS throughout her career, as I understand it. She received 0 balls in the last world competition she played. Maybe she will be excellent. But plenty of elite European OHs don’t pass all that well (see: Plak, Sylla, Mijalovic, etc). Receiving zero balls at the last world competition she participated in (3-4 years ago?) as an opposite means what today? Is that really considered strong evidence that she doesn't have the skillset to receive NCAA-level serves? She's also been training with the Illinois staff for over a year. Don't rain on my parade!
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Post by Fight On! on Aug 20, 2019 0:12:55 GMT -5
I was not ridiculing her passing. I was commenting that the poster’s opinion may not be accurate. She has been primarily a RS throughout her career, as I understand it. She received 0 balls in the last world competition she played. Maybe she will be excellent. But plenty of elite European OHs don’t pass all that well (see: Plak, Sylla, Mijalovic, etc). Receiving zero balls at the last world competition she participated in (3-4 years ago?) as an opposite means what today? Is that really considered strong evidence that she doesn't have the skillset to receive NCAA-level serves? She's also been training with the Illinois staff for over a year. Don't rain on my parade! Like I said, maybe she will be great. It will be nice for ILL when that comes true. Then again, until players touch balls in matches, and there’s no video/evidence, how am I supposed to believe that a former RS, who hasn’t played in competition for quite a while (for several reasons), will come out of the gate passing dimes?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2019 0:24:18 GMT -5
Receiving zero balls at the last world competition she participated in (3-4 years ago?) as an opposite means what today? Is that really considered strong evidence that she doesn't have the skillset to receive NCAA-level serves? She's also been training with the Illinois staff for over a year. Don't rain on my parade! Like I said, maybe she will be great. It will be nice for ILL when that comes true. Then again, until players touch balls in matches, and there’s no video/evidence, how am I supposed to believe that a former RS, who hasn’t played in competition for quite a while (for several reasons), will come out of the gate passing dimes? Who asked you to believe anything
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Post by Fight On! on Aug 20, 2019 0:29:31 GMT -5
Like I said, maybe she will be great. It will be nice for ILL when that comes true. Then again, until players touch balls in matches, and there’s no video/evidence, how am I supposed to believe that a former RS, who hasn’t played in competition for quite a while (for several reasons), will come out of the gate passing dimes? Who asked you to believe anything No one needs to. It is a message board and I can post what I want where I want, as can everyone else.
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Aug 20, 2019 4:48:30 GMT -5
Always fun to see the team members dressed for success on the court and off!
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Post by rogero1 on Aug 20, 2019 5:29:26 GMT -5
Who asked you to believe anything No one needs to. It is a message board and I can post what I want where I want, as can everyone else. At least up to the point when the moderator removes you and your posts. Freedom of speech is only limited by the those who run this message board.
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Aug 21, 2019 4:22:47 GMT -5
First chance to see the 2019 Illinois volleyball team in action will be the intrasquad scrimmage Saturday August 24 at 5p. The scrimmage will also be played for charity, and it is suggested that fans dress accordingly. Tickets (charitable donation) are $10.
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Aug 21, 2019 4:54:01 GMT -5
Technique Tuesday with Asst. Coach Alfee Reft, "Stay in base, be ready to run!"
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Aug 22, 2019 6:14:26 GMT -5
Champaign-Urbana sports writer Scott Richey responded to one volleyball question on his Sports Chat 8/21:
Which of the (volleyball) newcomers is most likely to be in the rotation early in the year? -- Chet S. First, shoutout to Chet for the volleyball question. There will be at least one newcomer for sure in the Illinois rotation for the Aug. 30 season opener at Tennessee. One of the freshmen middle blockers has to start. No getting around that given Ashlyn Fleming is the only returning middle.
Given she enrolled early I would probably give Champaign Central grad Rylee Hinton the edge right now, but in the two practices I've seen I was also impressed by freshmen Kyla Swanson and Kennedy Collins (particularly in the attack). It's not a bad thing to have options.
Other newcomers that could figure into the rotation early are Bruna Vrankovic at outside hitter (if she beats out Beth Prince) and Mica Allison at setter (if she beats out Diana Brown or ultimately shares the spot). My dark horse candidate for early playing time, though, is freshman defensive specialist Alyssa Eske. She caught and held my attention last Saturday with her play in the back row. I don't know that she'll unseat either a veteran like Caroline Welsh or last year's breakout freshman DS Taylor Kuper right away, but keep an eye on the Milwaukee native.
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Aug 22, 2019 17:00:26 GMT -5
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