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Post by lalalaluuuke on Mar 2, 2004 14:34:08 GMT -5
After the Gauchos clean sweep of VBmag's #1 (at the time) they certainly have my attention. LBSU seems to be fairly one-dimensional. Either shut down Touzinsky as SB did, or outlast them as BYU did. Scott's numbers were probably his lowest of the season.
What will be tough for SB is finding one person to focus on at BYU. We saw that last week when Pessoa had an off-night that there are 4 or 5 others that will step up. And now that Burke is back and Gorny to follow, they will certainly be a force.
My Prediction- BYU Cougars over SB Gauchos: 3-0; 3-1
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Post by cougarize on Mar 2, 2004 23:31:53 GMT -5
With how things have transpired this season, BYU is begging to be upset in one of the matches. That said, I still think BYU will win pretty handily both nights.
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Post by vballguy2001 on Mar 3, 2004 11:03:19 GMT -5
I think Santa Barbara could steal a match away from BYU. However, not likely. I think Hawaii, UCLA, and Pepp will be a bunch of tough games. For sure they will lose a couple of games against those 3 teams.
With that in mind they haven't really played that many consistent team. LBSU is the closest to being a good team. Can't count UCI. Any team that will let Aaron Ferre hit .900 can't be that good. Pacific, Northridge are not that great.
The real test of BYU's greatness will be if they can beat those 3 teams, and sweeping one of em would be huge.
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Post by vballguy2001 on Mar 3, 2004 11:04:42 GMT -5
Sorry forgot my prediction
BYU in 3
BYU in 4
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Post by Bookumdanoaloha on Mar 3, 2004 11:23:16 GMT -5
My pre-season pick was Long Beach State, but BYU has so much experience in Moreno, Burke, Gorney, Alleman and now Pessoa. They will be counted on heavily towards the end of the season and into the playoffs. Getting Burke and Gorney healthy is Huge. The toughest home Gym in the Country is Smith Field House. That Crowd is unbelieveable. I'd take 2,000 screaming BYU fans over 8,000 Hawaii nice fans any day. I'd watch out for BYU that team is peaking. Bookumdanoaloha.
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Post by vballguy2001 on Mar 3, 2004 11:27:03 GMT -5
Very true. Although I heard Gorny might be out for the season. If that is true.................OUCH.
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Post by lalalaluuuke on Mar 3, 2004 11:33:26 GMT -5
I have to disagree about CSUN. They are ranked #7 for good reason. They beat LBSU, Pepperdine, and (at the time w/o their mb's) BYU. These are all Top 5 teams, 2 earning first place votes. To Aaron Ferre's credit, he is a decent middle. Young, but decent. Give credit to his teammates which I am sure, drew most of the block to the edges. Give credit as well to his setter for recognizing this and taking advantage of it.
I agree that with the play thus far BYU is prime for an upset. Then again, if they can get through the next 2 weekends they will certainly have enough confidence at UH and UCLA. The biggest challeng at those places I believe will be adjusting to the open stadium feel of the Stan Sherif Center and Pauley Pavilion. That is always a challenge. Last year they KILLED UH in the fieldhouse 3-0 and then the next night lost at the wide open Marriott Center, 3-1. They had a hard time adjusting to it. If they adjust to the place, they should be fine.
One thing they have been able to do is pass the ball well and play errorless ball at the right times. That enables them to make their 4-8 pt. runs in the game which set them apart from their opponents. If you read the comments of the losing coaches almost all have commented on that.
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Post by Makawao on Mar 3, 2004 14:28:45 GMT -5
MPFS match ups are hard to predict. UCSB has losses against UCLA, Pep, Hawaii BYU has losses against Pep, USUN.
UCSB has wins against LBSU, Hawaii BYU has wins against LBSU
If we thought LBSU was the team riding a momentum they just got banged down by UCSB...
LBSU beat UCLA
MPFS team stats has Hitting and Kills with BYU #1 Blocking at #3 and Assists at #1.
Got to give the edge to BYU, however UCSB could steal a match...I am glad that I don't gamble...
The other key game for Friday is the Pep vs LBSU...
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Post by lalalaluuuke on Mar 3, 2004 14:46:35 GMT -5
FYI: I read www.byucougars.com/volleyball_m/filings/0000004891_rel.htmlPeterson says that Gorny is expected to be out a couple of weeks, not the rest of the season. Knowing Chris, he wouldn't let an ankle sprain end his senior season. He is a competitor and has made huge strides since his first 2 seasons. Fortunately for BYU Burke is back so a healthy Gorny will just be icing on the middle-blocking cake.
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Post by vballguy2001 on Mar 3, 2004 21:12:57 GMT -5
I have to disagree about CSUN. They are ranked #7 for good reason. They beat LBSU, Pepperdine, and (at the time w/o their mb's) BYU. These are all Top 5 teams, 2 earning first place votes. To Aaron Ferre's credit, he is a decent middle. Young, but decent. Give credit to his teammates which I am sure, drew most of the block to the edges. Give credit as well to his setter for recognizing this and taking advantage of it. I agree that with the play thus far BYU is prime for an upset. Then again, if they can get through the next 2 weekends they will certainly have enough confidence at UH and UCLA. The biggest challeng at those places I believe will be adjusting to the open stadium feel of the Stan Sherif Center and Pauley Pavilion. That is always a challenge. Last year they KILLED UH in the fieldhouse 3-0 and then the next night lost at the wide open Marriott Center, 3-1. They had a hard time adjusting to it. If they adjust to the place, they should be fine. One thing they have been able to do is pass the ball well and play errorless ball at the right times. That enables them to make their 4-8 pt. runs in the game which set them apart from their opponents. If you read the comments of the losing coaches almost all have commented on that. I agree Aaron is a decent Middle Hitter. I say hitter cause he can't block. However those numbers are Millar ish. Just huge. I don't think he is that good. I think he could be good, in time, but he is not that amazing right now that is for sure. I am sure if he played against Pepp, or UCLA they would of found away to knock that down. I do give props though to the rest of the team..he would of never of done that if they weren't worrying about the rest of the boys.
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Post by vballguy2001 on Mar 3, 2004 21:17:08 GMT -5
I have to disagree about CSUN. They are ranked #7 for good reason. They beat LBSU, Pepperdine, and (at the time w/o their mb's) BYU. These are all Top 5 teams, 2 earning first place votes. To Aaron Ferre's credit, he is a decent middle. Young, but decent. Give credit to his teammates which I am sure, drew most of the block to the edges. Give credit as well to his setter for recognizing this and taking advantage of it. I agree that with the play thus far BYU is prime for an upset. Then again, if they can get through the next 2 weekends they will certainly have enough confidence at UH and UCLA. The biggest challeng at those places I believe will be adjusting to the open stadium feel of the Stan Sherif Center and Pauley Pavilion. That is always a challenge. Last year they KILLED UH in the fieldhouse 3-0 and then the next night lost at the wide open Marriott Center, 3-1. They had a hard time adjusting to it. If they adjust to the place, they should be fine. One thing they have been able to do is pass the ball well and play errorless ball at the right times. That enables them to make their 4-8 pt. runs in the game which set them apart from their opponents. If you read the comments of the losing coaches almost all have commented on that. They might of beaten LBSU in 5, but then got spanked in 3 For all the good teams they beat I have one team they didn't beat that makes them look really foolish USC!!!! Ouch
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Post by lalalaluuuke on Mar 3, 2004 22:02:06 GMT -5
I said Ferre was a decent middle blocker. Don't blow it out of proportion. And like I said before, he has some great hitters on the outsides keeping the blockers offguard-not to mention the best setter in the country. He is still young, give him time. In the meantime he is doing a commendable job filling in for some big shoes.
About CSUN, sure they lost to USC in 3. They also have some good wins under their belt. They have an opportunity to help themselves this week against Hawaii. They'll have to play well.
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Post by vballguy2001 on Mar 5, 2004 0:09:05 GMT -5
I said Ferre was a decent middle blocker. Don't blow it out of proportion. And like I said before, he has some great hitters on the outsides keeping the blockers offguard-not to mention the best setter in the country. He is still young, give him time. In the meantime he is doing a commendable job filling in for some big shoes. About CSUN, sure they lost to USC in 3. They also have some good wins under their belt. They have an opportunity to help themselves this week against Hawaii. They'll have to play well. I agreed with you bout Ferre being a decent middle. I am just saying .900 is huge. The reason how he got that was two 1 It was UCI against two freshmen middles that aren't very good at blocking. 2. Because he plays at BYU with a bunch of good players. So I agree with you.. just stating UCI is not one of the top teams in the nation . That is all. Not trying to rip on Aaron.
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Post by berder on Mar 5, 2004 0:35:50 GMT -5
It will be difficult for Santa Barbara to win without Patek who has an injured ankle and is not supposed to play.
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Post by socalbud on Mar 5, 2004 1:57:01 GMT -5
I heard the same thing, Patak may not play this weekend. Mike Nelson stepped up nicely earlier this season when Patak was out with his knee injury. Had a career night. Hitting about .320. I'm curious to see how Berman leads this team, assuming he starts at setter. SB has not done well on the road this year. Losses to UOP, Stanford and UCLA. If SB plays like they did v LB, SB may steal a match and my guess is that they'd be OK to leave Utah with a split.
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