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Post by itssteve on Nov 3, 2019 23:35:18 GMT -5
So you don’t know why Kerri and Sarah didn’t play together after summer got hurt?
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Post by VolleyFanFL on Nov 4, 2019 10:10:51 GMT -5
This is the first time I've gotten to watch Kerri/Brooke on a HQ stream in a hot minute. A few thoughts: 6) I still think Kerri can do a better job setting Brooke. Brooke could have gotten a half a dozen more easy kills if those sets weren't so mediocre. She also can do a better job finding ways to go on 2. They waited way too long in the first set to get in that groove. I agree with most of your other points and this one as well, I think Kerri/Brooke are actually a little mismatched as partners. In part its because no player on tour is more in need of a great set every time than Brooke, its one reason she and Summer were good together, and its also because their best skills (digging hard hit balls and blocking big swings) are only partially complimentary. A player who was much faster, but didnt handle bullets as well as Brooke would make for a more formidable defensive team - and they are already pretty great on defense. In terms of how good Brooke is, I am a fan of hers, but in pretty much every match I have seen where they have played top half of the draw teams, she has been the worst player on the court. Her sideout percentage is so poor and her other skills arent good enough to make up for it. She is average or below average at everything other than offense - where she may be the worst main draw player - and defense, where she is probably top 10-20 but is nowhere near the best in the world because she isnt very fast. Watching them lose to Borger/Sude after being up 2 late in game 2, and seeing how easily they gave up a 6-1 lead earlier in Game 3 reminded me how frustrating they can be to watch. I almost wish Stocsen would break out and win 3 straight events and put qualifying out of reach so Kerri and one of the Saras could team up and really contend. Every Brooke/Kerri match is about whether Kerri is great enough to win despite Brooke. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm curious who you think would make the best partner for Keri right now??
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Post by downtheline on Nov 4, 2019 10:21:30 GMT -5
So you don’t know why Kerri and Sara didn’t play together after summer got hurt? It is pretty simple. The call was made to KW and she turned down the invite to switch.. She probably didn't know it at the time but partnering with SH would have brought new sponsorships piggybacking Nike, Mikasa & Oakley as well as both with KT Tape, and others in the marketing pipeline. It seems like a big mistake both on the court and in the wallet. However my guess is that KW is playing money ball. No other player on tour has the family financial resources like BS to augment travel, lodging & expenses, imho.
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Post by guest2 on Nov 4, 2019 16:20:02 GMT -5
So you don’t know why Kerri and Sara didn’t play together after summer got hurt? It is pretty simple. The call was made to KW and she turned down the invite to switch.. She probably didn't know it at the time but partnering with SH would have brought new sponsorships piggybacking Nike, Mikasa & Oakley as well as both with KT Tape, and others in the marketing pipeline. It seems like a big mistake both on the court and in the wallet. However my guess is that KW is playing money ball. No other player on tour has the family financial resources like BS to augment travel, lodging & expenses, imho. I love your persistence on the topic of how lucrative endorsing Sara is. Assuming it happened, Kerri turning down Sara was absolutely idiotic and I have no idea why Kerri did it. I do know one reason that is absolutely not why and thats Brooke's financial resources, thats one of the most ludicrous assertions ever made on this board.
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Post by guest2 on Nov 4, 2019 16:22:45 GMT -5
I agree with most of your other points and this one as well, I think Kerri/Brooke are actually a little mismatched as partners. In part its because no player on tour is more in need of a great set every time than Brooke, its one reason she and Summer were good together, and its also because their best skills (digging hard hit balls and blocking big swings) are only partially complimentary. A player who was much faster, but didnt handle bullets as well as Brooke would make for a more formidable defensive team - and they are already pretty great on defense. In terms of how good Brooke is, I am a fan of hers, but in pretty much every match I have seen where they have played top half of the draw teams, she has been the worst player on the court. Her sideout percentage is so poor and her other skills arent good enough to make up for it. She is average or below average at everything other than offense - where she may be the worst main draw player - and defense, where she is probably top 10-20 but is nowhere near the best in the world because she isnt very fast. Watching them lose to Borger/Sude after being up 2 late in game 2, and seeing how easily they gave up a 6-1 lead earlier in Game 3 reminded me how frustrating they can be to watch. I almost wish Stocsen would break out and win 3 straight events and put qualifying out of reach so Kerri and one of the Saras could team up and really contend. Every Brooke/Kerri match is about whether Kerri is great enough to win despite Brooke. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm curious who you think would make the best partner for Keri right now?? April, but of the realistic partners, I think Hughes. Sponcil is incredibly inconsistent and I dont see her as much stronger than Hughes in any areas - she is just the new flavor right now. Walsh/Hughes would surpass BS/KW as an incredible point scoring combination and also have a real chance in the sideout game. Id next take Flint or Stockman in the short term (5 events say) and Sponcil for longer than that. Kerri suffered when she was with Nicole in part because Nicole could be so up and down so I think someone like Betsi might be better than Sponcil who can be the worst or best player in almost any match
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Post by downtheline on Nov 4, 2019 17:43:55 GMT -5
G2 I know it sounds good to label your overraction to a statement as indisputable fact but did you check with former partners first before you blasted from the hip?
Answer : No! I just shot it down from the blue sky because your vantage point cannot be more on point than mine.
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Post by guest2 on Nov 4, 2019 18:32:31 GMT -5
G2 I know it sounds good to label your overraction to a statement as indisputable fact but did you check with former partners first before you blasted from the hip? Answer : No! I just shot it down from the blue sky because your vantage point cannot be more on point than mine. Is your assertion that Kerri made previous partnership decisions based on who could get her from a Motel 6 to a Hampton Inn? Reading it again, perhaps you were asserting there is some sort of breakdown of prize money or payments from Brooke to Kerri to partner. Assuming those financial incentives were enough that is somewhat believable so if thats what you mean would you clarify? Otherwise I took what you wrote to mean you were asserting that the GOAT decided to burn down her chances of an Olympic medal, a medal that makes her indisputably the greatest female Olympic athlete ever and brings millions with it, for better per diem and nicer hotels. Is there a minute chance its possible? Sure, I guess its also possible that Kerri chose Brooke because she is married and Christian and thus no threat to lure Casey into an illicit affair, but I think thats also grossly unlikely and I am comfortable labeling both hypothetical reasons preposterous
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Post by dunninla3 on Nov 4, 2019 20:58:54 GMT -5
Sponcil who can be the worst or best player in almost any match You know I like watching Sponcil play, but I hate it too. I love her speed, her boundary pushing and sweet sets, her balls out attitude in pursuing shanks, etc. But I hate it because she hasn't matured as a competitor. Her emotions are all over the map, and when she gets frustrated everything goes to hell in a handbasket. I heard he say once in an interview that at LMU when she was an OH Tom Black worked with her to reign in her frustration after a bad point. I think she needs to look him up for a refresher. If she gets her head right, and gets better with her cutties, she would certainly be the best defender the US has.
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Post by VolleyFanFL on Nov 5, 2019 8:54:18 GMT -5
April, but of the realistic partners, I think Hughes. Sponcil is incredibly inconsistent and I dont see her as much stronger than Hughes in any areas - she is just the new flavor right now. Walsh/Hughes would surpass BS/KW as an incredible point scoring combination and also have a real chance in the sideout game. Id next take Flint or Stockman in the short term (5 events say) and Sponcil for longer than that. Kerri suffered when she was with Nicole in part because Nicole could be so up and down so I think someone like Betsi might be better than Sponcil who can be the worst or best player in almost any match Hughes would be great. At this point is there any possibility of partner swapping for the Olympics, or are the teams already set due to the qualification system? I dont know how it works.
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Post by keeweekid on Nov 5, 2019 9:47:18 GMT -5
April, but of the realistic partners, I think Hughes. Sponcil is incredibly inconsistent and I dont see her as much stronger than Hughes in any areas - she is just the new flavor right now. Walsh/Hughes would surpass BS/KW as an incredible point scoring combination and also have a real chance in the sideout game. Id next take Flint or Stockman in the short term (5 events say) and Sponcil for longer than that. Kerri suffered when she was with Nicole in part because Nicole could be so up and down so I think someone like Betsi might be better than Sponcil who can be the worst or best player in almost any match Hughes would be great. At this point is there any possibility of partner swapping for the Olympics, or are the teams already set due to the qualification system? I dont know how it works. Teams are set. To qualify, a team has to play in 12 FIVB tournaments together. They would also have to have the top 1 or 2 highest point total from 12 tournaments for their country (against other teams from the USA) and finally be ranked in the Top 18 in the world (though that might vary slightly). With only about 10ish bigger point FIVB tournaments left (3* or higher), a team realistically would not be able to make up the required points in order to be the Top 1 or 2 points team in the USA. The A-Team basically has 1 of the 2 spots due to having tons of points. The race is on for the 2nd team for the USA. Just to be clear, technically a new team could form and give it a go as there are actually a lot of FIVB tournaments left when you include ALL FIVB tournaments including 1*. So, a team could meet the 12 tournament requirement. The issue is that the lower tournaments, say a 1*, hardly give any points. Thus, with only about ~10 BIG tournaments left, a new team would have to play in some of these 1*'s, get relatively no points AND then have a lot of high high finishes in the 4*'s and I believe one 5* tournament to have any realistic shot of catching say Claes. Possible...yes, but a very very low probability this late in qualification period. The other factor is this new team will have no points overall together so they will need to play in all the Country Qualification (as only 3 teams from any country automatically make it to the Main Draw). In the Country Qualification, if this new team lost...then there goes an opportunity to get Main Draw points. IF they win the CQ, they then move on to the qualification tournament where they play other qually teams, again to just make Main Draw. A loss...and they get nothing. Possible- yes Realistically possible- extremely doubtful Granted with all that said, if a powerhouse team formed....it would be fun to see them give it a try.
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Post by graham on Nov 5, 2019 11:41:52 GMT -5
Hughes would be great. At this point is there any possibility of partner swapping for the Olympics, or are the teams already set due to the qualification system? I dont know how it works. Teams are set. To qualify, a team has to play in 12 FIVB tournaments together. They would also have to have the top 1 or 2 highest point total from 12 tournaments for their country (against other teams from the USA) and finally be ranked in the Top 18 in the world (though that might vary slightly). With only about 10ish bigger point FIVB tournaments left (3* or higher), a team realistically would not be able to make up the required points in order to be the Top 1 or 2 points team in the USA. The A-Team basically has 1 of the 2 spots due to having tons of points. The race is on for the 2nd team for the USA. Just to be clear, technically a new team could form and give it a go as there are actually a lot of FIVB tournaments left when you include ALL FIVB tournaments including 1*. So, a team could meet the 12 tournament requirement. The issue is that the lower tournaments, say a 1*, hardly give any points. Thus, with only about ~10 BIG tournaments left, a new team would have to play in some of these 1*'s, get relatively no points AND then have a lot of high high finishes in the 4*'s and I believe one 5* tournament to have any realistic shot of catching say Claes. Possible...yes, but a very very low probability this late in qualification period. The other factor is this new team will have no points overall together so they will need to play in all the Country Qualification (as only 3 teams from any country automatically make it to the Main Draw). In the Country Qualification, if this new team lost...then there goes an opportunity to get Main Draw points. IF they win the CQ, they then move on to the qualification tournament where they play other qually teams, again to just make Main Draw. A loss...and they get nothing. Possible- yes Realistically possible- extremely doubtful Granted with all that said, if a powerhouse team formed....it would be fun to see them give it a try. Not entirely true. It is unlikely a newly formed team would represent the USA, but it would be because USAV made the decision not because they didn't meet FIVB requirements. Per the FIVB, a team does have to play 12 tournaments together and be in the top 15 to qualify, but the spots earned go to the country. Right now April/Alix are number 2 in Olympic Qualification ranking and Kerri/Brooke are number 5. Both teams have played the required 12 tournaments together to earn a spot for the USA. And it's safe to say USA will have those two berths into the Olympics as I doubt enough teams from other countries would pass either of them to knock them out of the top 15. Now that the spots are "secured" and awarded to the USA, USAV can send ANY combination of four athletes they wanted, as long as the individual athlete has played 12 FIVB tournaments (doesn't matter who with). USAV hasn't interfered in the past, meaning "the team that earned the spot is the team that goes". But if one of the teams that earned the spot split up, USAV would have to make a tough decision. Do you send only on of the players that earned the spot, along with their new partner; or do send the next highest ranked USA team (assuming they haven't split up as well).
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Post by dunninla3 on Nov 5, 2019 12:57:16 GMT -5
USA will have those two berths into the Olympics ... Now that the spots are "secured" and awarded to the USA, USAV can send ANY combination of four athletes they wanted, as long as the individual athlete has played 12 FIVB tournaments (doesn't matter who with).USAV hasn't interfered in the past, meaning "the team that earned the spot is the team that goes". But if one of the teams that earned the spot split up, USAV would have to make a tough decision. Do you send only on of the players that earned the spot, along with their new partner; or do send the next highest ranked USA team (assuming they haven't split up as well). This. Since it is not likely USAV will interfere, then the only way Kerri can play with Hughes is if 1) Brooke gets legit injured or impaired, giving USAV a reason to interfere, or 2) Kerri forces the issue and fires Brooke, based on her own reasons... maybe she has a contract with Brooke that requires an average finish of X in the six tournaments leading up to the Olympics, otherwise they split. Maybe they have a contract that requires Brooke to sideout 35% or more of the time, otherwise its splitsville. We don't know the specifics of the agreement/contract between Kerri/Brooke. This is a business.
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Post by ajm on Nov 5, 2019 14:17:06 GMT -5
April, but of the realistic partners, I think Hughes. Sponcil is incredibly inconsistent and I dont see her as much stronger than Hughes in any areas - she is just the new flavor right now. Walsh/Hughes would surpass BS/KW as an incredible point scoring combination and also have a real chance in the sideout game. Id next take Flint or Stockman in the short term (5 events say) and Sponcil for longer than that. Kerri suffered when she was with Nicole in part because Nicole could be so up and down so I think someone like Betsi might be better than Sponcil who can be the worst or best player in almost any match Hughes would be great. At this point is there any possibility of partner swapping for the Olympics, or are the teams already set due to the qualification system? I dont know how it works. Ha ha, I guess you didn’t read the other thread. But basically what everyone else said here is correct. Possible, but probably not likely.
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Post by pepperclove on Nov 5, 2019 14:54:26 GMT -5
I seriously doubt Kerri needs any help paying for hotels. I suspect she turned down Sara for some combination of the following reasons: 1. Loyalty to Brooke. For all the criticism here and the limitations of Brooke's game, she and Kerri are something like fifth in the Olympic rankings right now. That's really good, and it's hard to dump someone when you are having success. Brooke also said yes to Kerri when no one else wanted to play with her, which leads me to. . . . 2. Pride. I wouldn't be surprised if Kerri would find it more gratifying to prove that Sara never should have turned her down in the first place by beating her, rather than partnering with her. 3. Thinking there wouldn't be enough tournaments to make a switch viable. Most of us thought the 2020 schedule would have fewer tournaments in the qualifying window than it does (assuming they all actually happen, of course, which is certainly not guaranteed), and it's possible that Kerri thought it was too late to make a switch or too much of a gamble to give up on all the points she had already earned with Brooke.
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Post by tamz on Nov 5, 2019 18:25:40 GMT -5
They’re high on the charts for Olympics rankings but would you be surprised if I told you KWJ/BS are the 4th ranked USA in Entry Rankings. In other words, if seeding occurred for a tournament today and it’s a full field, ATeam, Slaes, and Stocksen would be automatically in MD.
KWJ/BS would be in CQ along with 2S and Flint/Day if they choose to compete.
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