|
Post by HuskerPower1 on Dec 31, 2018 21:07:23 GMT -5
Guessing the lineup will be: S-Hames OH-Sun OH-Kubik (or Davis) MB-Callie MB-Stivrins RS-Sweet L-Miller (or Knuckles) DS-Miller (or Knuckles) Question is, will Kubik be ready to play 6 rotations from the get go? The team returns a lot of talent in important positions, but big strides will need to be made in the offseason if the Huskers want to be in the title hunt again. I think the biggest x-factor for next year is Lexi Sun. She basically missed out on an entire off season of training and development, plus didn't start playing until midway through the year. The biggest area of improvement needed is her offensive arsenal of shots and being able to finish in tough moments and tough rotations. Biggest areas that need improvement are tooling the block, hitting high hands and swinging out of the bic. She's going to take on a bigger role with Foecke out and had trouble finding the floor in some pivotal moments, so her development as a go to hitter is crucial for this team's success. Sweet seemed to be most effective hitting sharp cross court but regularly hit out when hitting to zone 6 or down the line. Another year with Hames should improve their connection, but she needs to be more consistent after a somewhat underwhelming sophomore campaign. Stivrins was electric in the tournament. Keep improving her connection with Hames, work hard to improve lateral speed blocking and take ownership of this team in the offseason. Schwarzenbach needs to add some muscle and just work on hitting good angles offensively and on the slide. She's a stellar blocker but needs to develop as an offensive threat for this team to be successful. You can nitpick on Hames but she finished the season strong, proved to be a very good defender and did about as much as you could ask for out of a true freshman. I think top priority for her is developing a faster tempo outside to Sun and being able to consistently hit a slide set from 8-12 feet off the net like we see Hilley set Rettke. Stivrins is going to be her best option next year, and I think Nebraska needs to utilize that connection as much as possible. Miller's serve receive was a little shaky at times, but I thought she had a good freshman season and was a big upgrade from Densberger. I'm guessing Nebraska comes in at preseason top 4-5. I don't think you can overstate how important Foecke and Maloney were to this year's team, especially Foecke who just was a winner through and through. A lot of other teams are replacing a senior setter (Illinois, Penn State, Minnesota, BYU, Oregon, etc) or have a couple of big question marks at various spots, so I think this team will be ranked anywhere from 3-5 in the preseason. Spot on. Sun will be the key - I think she's overrated and Stanford handled her while at UT and now at NEB. She makes too many hitting errors. Stivrins on the other hand was a monster and should be the focal point for their offense next year. Your vendetta against Lexi Sun is a bit overboard. You have 12 total posts under this username and you have attacked her in 4 different threads already.
|
|
|
Post by oldmanred on Dec 31, 2018 22:31:17 GMT -5
I like Swartzenback! I think she needs to get in position a bit quicker; and maybe work on her reach! All this will get better with training! GO HUSKERS
|
|
|
Post by huskerjen on Dec 31, 2018 22:45:51 GMT -5
I like Swartzenback! I think she needs to get in position a bit quicker; and maybe work on her reach! All this will get better with training! GO HUSKERS I'm surprised that people think she'll be challenged for the MB2 spot. She didn't get the luxury of redshirting. Nebraska hasn't relied on true freshmen middles in recent years, but I thought Callie acquitted herself nicely. Averaging 1.33 blocks a set (hovered above 1.5 for quite a while) and having to do most of it in the Big Ten? That's impressive. She now has a full off-season to get stronger, work on technique, and develop a tighter connection with Hames. I think her ceiling is pretty high. Not to mention she gets to be mentored by Stivrins for two more years? Schwarzenbach is going to do big things in her career in Lincoln.
|
|
|
Post by hochee on Dec 31, 2018 23:00:02 GMT -5
Love Callie. Agree she acquitted herself nicely. As Kelly Hunter beat Haleigh Washington for four years, I'd say Jenna Gray won her battle with Callie in Set 5 of the championship. Callie was following the game plan. As an older player , she will follow the game plan AND play the game. It's all good. Huskers were closer than they should have been to stealing another championship. Chesney leaving was not trivial. Neither was Szabo's injury.
|
|
|
Post by vup on Jan 1, 2019 3:34:17 GMT -5
I look for another season where Nebraska starts a little slow and builds momentum as the season rolls along! Go Big Red! GO HUSKERS That's certainly preferable to the alternative of starting fast and ending slow.
|
|
|
Post by vup on Jan 1, 2019 3:53:04 GMT -5
I like Swartzenback! I think she needs to get in position a bit quicker; and maybe work on her reach! All this will get better with training! GO HUSKERS I'm surprised that people think she'll be challenged for the MB2 spot. She didn't get the luxury of redshirting. Nebraska hasn't relied on true freshmen middles in recent years, but I thought Callie acquitted herself nicely. Averaging 1.33 blocks a set (hovered above 1.5 for quite a while) and having to do most of it in the Big Ten? That's impressive. She now has a full off-season to get stronger, work on technique, and develop a tighter connection with Hames. I think her ceiling is pretty high. Not to mention she gets to be mentored by Stivrins for two more years? Schwarzenbach is going to do big things in her career in Lincoln.
That sounds fair and optimistic, but her attacking was a real weakness for us last season. She didn't put very much heat on the ball all season long. She didn't get the ball much, when we could have used a stronger attacker who could help bail out our pins. She only averaged 1.09 kps and hit .291 out of the middle.
Also, I would go as far as to criticize the chemistry she brings on the court. She sometimes looks like she just doesn't care.
|
|
|
Post by vup on Jan 1, 2019 4:53:13 GMT -5
Sweet had an underwhelming sophomore year, but she has come up big in some of the biggest moments. I'd like to see what she can do as a passer and defender, and also what she can do on the D set. I think Sweet's ceiling is rather high with the right coaching and strength and conditioning.
|
|
|
Post by NebraskaVBfan93 on Jan 1, 2019 5:45:07 GMT -5
Schwarzenbach Is going to be a spectacular talent for the Huskers and IMO has a FAR higher ceiling than does Sweet. She isn't a demonstrative player but she definitely cares. I watched her as the season progressed and she was always very engaged in team huddles, during timeouts and on the bench when she wasn't playing, many times contributing her own words of encouragement. She doesn't show it in the same manner as Stivrins, but she cares just as much.
|
|
|
Post by vup on Jan 1, 2019 7:02:41 GMT -5
I’d love to be proved wrong, but I really don’t see it.
|
|
|
Post by vup on Jan 1, 2019 7:14:59 GMT -5
Schwarzenbach Is going to be a spectacular talent for the Huskers and IMO has a FAR higher ceiling than does Sweet. She isn't a demonstrative player but she definitely cares. I watched her as the season progressed and she was always very engaged in team huddles, during timeouts and on the bench when she wasn't playing, many times contributing her own words of encouragement. She doesn't show it in the same manner as Stivrins, but she cares just as much. Schwarzenbach does not have a higher ceiling than Sweet. Absolutely no way.
|
|
|
Post by huskerjen on Jan 1, 2019 11:04:00 GMT -5
Schwarzenbach Is going to be a spectacular talent for the Huskers and IMO has a FAR higher ceiling than does Sweet. She isn't a demonstrative player but she definitely cares. I watched her as the season progressed and she was always very engaged in team huddles, during timeouts and on the bench when she wasn't playing, many times contributing her own words of encouragement. She doesn't show it in the same manner as Stivrins, but she cares just as much. Schwarzenbach does not have a higher ceiling than Sweet. Absolutely no way. As an athlete? Schwarzenbach certainly does have a higher ceiling. As a major contributor to Nebraska's total production? Sweet's position can help the team more if she improves.
|
|
|
Post by vup on Jan 1, 2019 11:14:38 GMT -5
Schwarzenbach does not have a higher ceiling than Sweet. Absolutely no way. As an athlete? Schwarzenbach certainly does have a higher ceiling. As a major contributor to Nebraska's total production? Sweet's position can help the team more if she improves.
In what way does Schwarzenbach have a higher ceiling?
|
|
|
Post by jwvolley on Jan 1, 2019 12:32:39 GMT -5
Callie looked like a freshman to me. Her blocking stats were inflated by BA and Nebraska’s serving making teams more predictable across the net a lot of the time, especially in the preseason where the competition wasn’t so hot and couldnt pass and shot everything to the outside or had less dynamic athletes trying to hit out of the back. Her numbers trended down the rest of the season but that’s to be expected playing in the B1G as a freshman. That doesn’t mean she wasn’t good, her tall reach helped get a lot of important block touches that led to transition opportunities. Her slide looked a lot better to me than Fitzmorris’s ever did for example. She needs to get faster laterally, needs an off-season in the weight room and most importantly needs to get more aggressive. Holman in 2017 was so agile and tried really hard to be available at all times. Completely different type of middle but still, part of it is the mindset. Excited for some healthy competition
|
|
|
Post by NebraskaVBfan93 on Jan 1, 2019 12:51:15 GMT -5
Schwarzenbach Is going to be a spectacular talent for the Huskers and IMO has a FAR higher ceiling than does Sweet. She isn't a demonstrative player but she definitely cares. I watched her as the season progressed and she was always very engaged in team huddles, during timeouts and on the bench when she wasn't playing, many times contributing her own words of encouragement. She doesn't show it in the same manner as Stivrins, but she cares just as much. Schwarzenbach does not have a higher ceiling than Sweet. Absolutely no way. Absolutely no way huh? Since measuring an athletes "ceiling" is next to impossible, I will just say this. At the end of their respective Husker careers, Callie will compare more favorably to other Huskers that have played her position that Jazz will to others at her's. I CALLED IT!
|
|
|
Post by vup on Jan 1, 2019 13:05:06 GMT -5
Schwarzenbach does not have a higher ceiling than Sweet. Absolutely no way. Absolutely no way huh? Since measuring an athletes "ceiling" is next to impossible, I will just say this. At the end of their respective Husker careers, Callie will compare more favorably to other Huskers that have played her position that Jazz will to others at her's. I CALLED IT! Not if she keeps registering 1.0 kps and hitting under .300.
|
|