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Post by newbeach on Jan 30, 2019 17:33:29 GMT -5
For those of you who have not seen this... hawaiiathletics.com/news/2019/1/22/womens-beach-volleyball-beach-volleyball-receives-duke-kahanamoku-grant.aspx
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Post by Wolfgang on Jan 30, 2019 23:09:39 GMT -5
For those of you who have not seen this... hawaiiathletics.com/news/2019/1/22/womens-beach-volleyball-beach-volleyball-receives-duke-kahanamoku-grant.aspx It's only $3,000. That's not a lot of money.
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Post by newbeach on Feb 1, 2019 0:27:28 GMT -5
For those of you who have not seen this... hawaiiathletics.com/news/2019/1/22/womens-beach-volleyball-beach-volleyball-receives-duke-kahanamoku-grant.aspx It's only $3,000. That's not a lot of money. I guess every bit counts for the team! Maybe we should all donate a few dollars and see if we can match the $3000. We could call it the "Wolfgang Grant"!
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Post by brooselee on Feb 9, 2019 0:21:58 GMT -5
So Jeff Hall was on the radio today and he gave some hint of how the flights are shaping up.
Right now flight one has Mag and Huddleston.
Flight 2 has Martin and Ozee(who I think could be the best pair)
Flight 3 is slated to be Scoles and Ari
Flight 4 has Loker and Napoleon.
Hall is still trying to find a flight 5 pair. Maybe Russo and Dreeuws?
I think I like the pairings. Only surprise is Hiilawe jumping up to flight one when she spent most of career at the lower flights.
Hall did say that there could be changes in flights as there are two more weeks of practices. Martin/Ozee could switch with Mag/Huddleston.
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Post by newbeach on Feb 9, 2019 3:49:29 GMT -5
Personally, I would have liked to Maglio and Ozee paired together. I think Mags deserves the #1 position and so does Ozee. I really wanted to see what Mags and Ozee could do together.
Every year Hall pushes for Martin to be at the #1 flight and she usually gets her pick of the best partners. She hasn't been at form since her first year (where she went 20-16 with Tucker) and yet he is always wanting her to be at the #1 flight. Mags may not have the beach savvy of Martin but physically she's able to win with whoever she is paired with.
Mags has good chemistry with Huddleston (as former roommates) and that has elevated the play of Huddleston. Huddleston has always been an under-rated player but with Mags, she has been working really hard and came to camp in great shape from previous years. In practice, they have regularly beat Martin and Ozee. Martin and Ozee have also lost to Scoles and Homayun and Scoles and Napolean on occasion. If Mags is winning with Huddleston, I know that she and Ozee could also be great and could compete with any of the best #1 flights in the nation. I just would have liked to see the best blocker (Mags) with the best defender (Ozee). Unfortunately for Mags, Martin and Huddleston, or Martin and Ari are not as strong as Mags with either of them, so Martin gets Ozee (he put them together since week 2).
Unfortunately, I think Ari's height has limited her playing at the #1 or #2 flights. She is a good #3 or #4 pair. They could also switch Napolean back with Scoles and Ari with Loker.
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Post by noblesol on Feb 9, 2019 9:39:46 GMT -5
Finding the absolute best pair the team can field is one thing, and balancing talent among the top five pairs is another. Another factor is the NCAA tournament format when it staggers flight starts, with play at the lower pairs starting first, and the blowing of the horn as soon as one team has three flight wins. Frequently enough, that occurs before Flight #1 finishes. So, there's a tendency among teams that lack great depth to try to balance the lineup and strengthen the lower flights, and maybe somewhat at the expense of the best theoretical top flight they could field. Done right, the balancing strategy seems to increase the odds of making it through the first and second round of the tournament undefeated. But, any advantage with the balancing of flights strategy seems to go away the deeper the team gets into the tournament, as the best teams will have enough depth to be strong in every flight and their cream is always at the top.
The rules of the NCAA beach game require that teams put their strongest pairs in the higher flights, and limit up/down movement of personnel from match to match. So, most of the wiggle room and secret sauce is in what pairings a team starts with. What Hall seems to be proposing is a balanced flight strategy, which suggests we probably have some depth concerns.
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Post by newbeach on Feb 10, 2019 18:59:26 GMT -5
Finding the absolute best pair the team can field is one thing, and balancing talent among the top five pairs is another. Another factor is the NCAA tournament format when it staggers flight starts, with play at the lower pairs starting first, and the blowing of the horn as soon as one team has three flight wins. Frequently enough, that occurs before Flight #1 finishes. So, there's a tendency among teams that lack great depth to try to balance the lineup and strengthen the lower flights, and maybe somewhat at the expense of the best theoretical top flight they could field. Done right, the balancing strategy seems to increase the odds of making it through the first and second round of the tournament undefeated. But, any advantage with the balancing of flights strategy seems to go away the deeper the team gets into the tournament, as the best teams will have enough depth to be strong in every flight and their cream is always at the top. The rules of the NCAA beach game require that teams put their strongest pairs in the higher flights, and limit up/down movement of personnel from match to match. So, most of the wiggle room and secret sauce is in what pairings a team starts with. What Hall seems to be proposing is a balanced flight strategy, which suggests we probably have some depth concerns. You are, of course, 100% correct on all of this. I think there is a bit of a depth problem this year, mostly due to the vacating Lea Monkhouse leaving a hole in the lineup. As a result, the #5 flight may not be the strongest. Whoever plays at the #5 flight will really need to step up. Or the mindset may be that the team will need the wins at flights #1 through #4. In this respect, the balance may be less important over 5 flights and you want at least 3 to 4 strong flights to get the win. The "balancing" strategy really is for teams without the depth and it is unfortunate that players that maybe deserve to be together or at the #1 flight. Someone once said that a good partner can really magnify one's play. In other words, Ozee will help elevate Martin's game and vice versa. I'd really like to see what Maglio could do with a really good partner this year. Katie Spieler was that person who elevated her play in the past, but Maglio has really grown since then and I would really like to see what she and Ozee could accomplish this year. I think Maglio has earned that right to have the best player/partner this season as a senior. Also, she came back giving up a potential pro indoor career this year to help the team. She's given 4 years in both indoor and beach! She's never had one full season at the #1 flight. Martin already had this her first season. It's just unfortunate we can't see what she could really do with the best partner. And this is not to take away from Huddleston at all. Huddleston has always been a little under-rated in my opinion and has worked very hard in the program. It's like Sponcil at UCLA. Most consider her the top defender in college ball. She can certainly elevate the play of her partner. Yet, she is expected to be relegated to Flight #2 this season (behind the twins yet again). I would love to Maglio play with a player like her! Martin has gotten the best pick of players even though she has not been at 100% since the start of season 2. By the end of the last season, she looked "tired" in part because of her injury. I like how USC has fearlessly (IMO) put their best players in the top 3 flights. Yes, they lacked a little in depth (last season). They may lack a bit of depth compared to UCLA this season, but their top pairs will be hard to beat. I also agree that the "balancing" strategy is minimized the further a team goes in the tourney. I would add that the balancing strategy is minimized somewhat against good teams in regular season play as well (though not as much as in the tourney due to the time constraint). The problem is that it will be a challenge for the team to even make the tourney this year if they aren't winning (particularly against Cal Poly, Long Beach and the #2 and #3 East team). That's why I like the idea of three really strong pairs (you only need three to win). I think with 3 really good pairs, UH could compete well and win against just about anyone (with maybe the exception of UCLA and USC). It is, I am sure, a tough call to strategize the best way to get the wins with a team limited in depth. It's just too bad in my opinion as I just want to see the best blocker and defender together at least at the number #1 flight.
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Post by vballfreak808 on Feb 10, 2019 21:39:31 GMT -5
Bows pick up a grad transfer for next season, Blossom Sato from Pepperdine
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Post by brooselee on Feb 11, 2019 0:01:04 GMT -5
Awesome....maybe Blossom and Noreen can team up next year. Heard they’re good friends.
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Post by staticb on Feb 11, 2019 18:00:51 GMT -5
Crazy to see Huddleston basically go from #6 to #1 (or 2), but I remember Kaiwi Schucht made a similarly huge leap and pulled it off.
Similarly, I thought Dreeuws to move up in flights this year and she hasn't cracked the Top 5 yet. Maybe they can't find her a partner?
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Post by Harbnger on Feb 11, 2019 19:17:38 GMT -5
It's only $3,000. That's not a lot of money. I guess every bit counts for the team! Maybe we should all donate a few dollars and see if we can match the $3000. We could call it the "Wolfgang Grant"! Let's do it. Beach team don't seem to get the love from UH like the indoor team.
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Post by staticb on Feb 11, 2019 22:04:19 GMT -5
THe beach team is having Portuguese Horse Shoe tourneys fundraisers for basically loose change. They could definitely use all the help they could get!
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Post by newbeach on Feb 12, 2019 17:14:31 GMT -5
THe beach team is having Portuguese Horse Shoe tourneys fundraisers for basically loose change. They could definitely use all the help they could get! I know the team didn't get new uniforms this year. How much do their uniforms cost? Anyone from here willing to start a Go Fund Me for the VT's Wolfgang Grant? I am not familiar with what to do and am a little limited on time right now, but I would donate. I know they have a page on the UH site where anyone could donate as well. We could donate there and report back here that you donated, but I don't think we would have any way of measuring our donations. Also, when you donate on UH does it go directly to the team you want to donate to?
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Post by newbeach on Feb 12, 2019 17:15:57 GMT -5
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Post by newbeach on Feb 12, 2019 17:20:12 GMT -5
The roster including photos is finally up! hawaiiathletics.com/roster.aspx?path=wsvbAnyone else thinks the heights are off on some of the UH players. I know it is hard to tell sometimes depending on the camera angle... Loker is listed at 6'0 but she looks quite a bit shorter than Mags at 6'3". Russo is a little shorter than Loker and is listed 6'0". Ari shrunk from previous years and is now listed at 5'7" instead of 5'8". Napolean is listed at 5'7" but looks taller than Huddleston at 5'9" in the photo.
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