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Post by recleague on May 19, 2019 13:56:14 GMT -5
Did anyone catch the handset where the ball slipped out of Mel’s hands? I’ve never seen that happen before! I think she was as shocked as we were to see that!
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Post by guest2 on May 19, 2019 14:05:23 GMT -5
Did anyone catch the handset where the ball slipped out of Mel’s hands? I’ve never seen that happen before! I think she was as shocked as we were to see that! And she started bump setting all but absolutely perfect passes after that. Ick Been a long time since Ive seen one of those on a good pass though
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Post by recleague on May 19, 2019 15:24:29 GMT -5
Here is the setting error. Could have put Canada up 19-17 in the first set.
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Post by tamz on May 19, 2019 18:39:55 GMT -5
Great finish for the Dutch. I had them confused with Kaizer/Meppelink for most of this event. They beat some very good players (April/Alix/Talita/Chantal) and almost beat Canada. Lot to build on for that team. I like their quirky low sets too They seem like very likable people too, like Mol/Sorum. In the semis against my girls, they were smiling no matter what. They seem to be very positive people.
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Post by tamz on May 19, 2019 18:43:31 GMT -5
These two teams are definitely at the top right now. Should be a fun summer as everyone gets more and more match time together. Do they train together as well? Yes. Sometimes they train together in California. And probably will again since they’re all heading back home before Ostrava the week after next.
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Post by tamz on May 19, 2019 18:50:07 GMT -5
Agree. ATeam is way too inconsistent. They are but thats improving too. Their last 5, including the one AVP, is a much better stretch than anything they did last year. 3 wins, and going out late to good teams (Ana/Rebecca and Australia) is pretty good. Also most of the other top contenders are flawed even when playing well. Both Canadian defenders and Mariafe give up a lot of points, as does Rebecca. Duda/Agatha really struggle to score and Barbara/Fernanda seem like a partnership in trouble. The Czechs I guess are a little different but other than them, April/Alix seem to have the fewest weaknesses as well as the most fixable weaknesses of the top teams. Barbara/Fernanda definitely on the struggle bus. This year they’ve placed 25th, 9th, and 5th. Last year they played 7 events, resulting in two golds, one silver, two 5ths, and a 9th. I think Agatha/Duda and Carol/Maria are also struggling a little, but not as much as B/F.
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Post by dunninla3 on May 19, 2019 19:22:46 GMT -5
She [Alix] doesn’t block as well as she should and I still think her setting can be a bit shaky, but her ball control is much better and just looks more comfortable on the sand. April really took a huge risk on her, considering two years ago she couldn’t get out of an AVP qualifier. She has improved greatly and is holding her own with the best in the world. I was impressed with both her passing and her setting. Oddly, for a player of her length, her blocking sucks. As some others have commented, she's a half beat late into her press, and her press is MAYBE six inches into the opponents court, and MAYBE six inches above the net. She blocks like a slow six footer. I mean how does a 5' 10" Wilkerson outblock a 6' 5" Klineman? But her setting was truly solid (relative to other bump setters), that was a surprise. This team has huge upside. No team is better than them now, and if Alix becomes a good blocker, they're unstoppable. Did you notice that over the course of this tournament teams stopped serving Alix 90% of the time (hoping for shanks) and because she passed well started splitting between Alix and April? Not that April can't side out like a machine, but they were hoping Alix' sets would be shaky. But they weren't. That says a lot. All of a sudden I'm looking forward to the Olympics.
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Post by dunninla3 on May 19, 2019 19:37:30 GMT -5
I think Summer has the best hands in women's VB now that Larissa has retired, but as far as both players hand setting, I think you are right. Seems dumb given no one ever gets called anymore IDK, I've seen Sponcil makes sets this past year I didn't think possible.... like full sprinting to a shank pass close to the net and hand setting back over her head across the entire court into the hitting zone. Who DOES that... who even TRIES to do that? Maybe two or three guys (I think Rafu made a set like that in Austin on Saturday), but not even Phil would try that.
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Post by beavis on May 19, 2019 23:48:07 GMT -5
I don't blame them for not handsetting. Even Summer got called for a few in Huntington Beach, and they looked as perfect as her normal sets. I realize that the AVP is much more strict than the FIVB, but they are seemingly more inconsistent as well. So as far as the US teams, perhaps many of them get into the bump setting mode at AVP events and then maybe figure that they are not going to try and establish a different rhythm during FIVB events? Just a guess!
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Post by beavis on May 19, 2019 23:55:12 GMT -5
Dunninla3 - you are so correct - being able to throw up a perfect handset from 20-25 feet away in the wind and sun and heat is seemingly one of the most difficult, and impressive, feats in beach volleyball. I remember marvelling at Stoklos and Brian Lewis being able to do it back in the day, and Phil is maybe in that group? I have always wondered where the natural strength and technique to do that comes from - thousands and thousands of handsets, I would guess!
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on May 20, 2019 0:17:28 GMT -5
I think Summer has the best hands in women's VB now that Larissa has retired, but as far as both players hand setting, I think you are right. Seems dumb given no one ever gets called anymore IDK, I've seen Sponcil makes sets this past year I didn't think possible.... like full sprinting to a shank pass close to the net and hand setting back over her head across the entire court into the hitting zone. Who DOES that... who even TRIES to do that? Maybe two or three guys (I think Rafu made a set like that in Austin on Saturday), but not even Phil would try that. We’ll see. Sponcil can get overly ambitious and start throwing the ball all over the place. She largely got away with it in NCAA, but I’m not sure FIVB refs will be as charitable.
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Post by ajm on May 20, 2019 7:30:50 GMT -5
IDK, I've seen Sponcil makes sets this past year I didn't think possible.... like full sprinting to a shank pass close to the net and hand setting back over her head across the entire court into the hitting zone. Who DOES that... who even TRIES to do that? Maybe two or three guys (I think Rafu made a set like that in Austin on Saturday), but not even Phil would try that. We’ll see. Sponcil can get overly ambitious and start throwing the ball all over the place. She largely got away with it in NCAA, but I’m not sure FIVB refs will be as charitable. She’s already played eight FIVB events with pretty decent results. No reason to believe she won’t be able to adjust if she gets called a couple times or will have to resort to bump setting exclusively. I think her biggest challenge will be putting the ball away in transition because the defenders at this level are so much better.
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Post by ajm on May 20, 2019 7:47:04 GMT -5
And I’m not saying they should be hand setting cross court into the wind on a bad pass way off the net. But if the pass is good and you have time to get under it, a good hand set is usually more accurate and easier to hit than a bump set. For whatever reason women seem to be more reluctant to work on using their hands. It’s somewhat understandable for the older players who grew up in an era where overhand passing was illegal indoors. But most younger players should already be comfortable putting their hands on the ball and motivated enough to work on a skill that will improve their game.
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Post by tamz on May 20, 2019 8:19:43 GMT -5
Ahh so happy! Ateam are tied at 3rd for entry ranking points with Agatha/Duda and AP/Rebecca.
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Post by bigfan on May 20, 2019 11:53:50 GMT -5
Ross playing like the best player in the world right now.
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