UCLA-Colorado

[lilred]

UCLA wins first game 30-25, up 10-9 second game

[lilred]

UCLA leads 2 games to 0 winning both 30-25

[FloridaPerson]

UCLA takes all 3 by identical -25 scores

[roy]

Thoughts on the match.

UCLA didn't look as crisp as I thought they would. They return 5 starters (I think). They should be used to the SSC, as they have been here every year. I expected them to be at a higher level right as the season starts. They look like a team just starting the season, but again, returning so many seasoned players, I expected them to be better in form. Overall, the Bruins has a solid team. Definitely top 10 material. They don't stand out in terms of something they really excel at. They aren't putting up a huge block like Nebraska or outdigging teams like Hawaii or UCSB. But all the players are just solid volleyball players. Everyone can dig, block and hit fairly well. Meriwether looked like she could be AA material. Very quick, but something in her arm swing bothers me. She is a very effective hitter. Banachowski emptied his bench and really used a lot of players. Overall, UCLA could have a really good year if they can continue to improve.

Colorado impressed me. They serve very well. They gave UCLA some fits in terms of passing. A lot of really good hard serves. Nu'u is a very good offensive setter. She dumped the ball all over the court and gave UCLA some problems blocking. Colorado has some impressive players. Another solid all around team. They stayed with UCLA for most of the match. But it came down to the fact that UCLA's hitters didn't make hitting errors. Colorado looked a bit intimitated by the UCLA block, which is interesting as most of them have seen that huge Nebraska and Texas block. Serving, digging, blocking, and most definitely setting, Colorado can hang with the top teams. If they can find a go-to hitter and another player or two that can be good role players and hit for a high percentage, they could be a top 25 team. They have the overall game to do it, just needs a bit of work on the hitting.

[bucky415]

How do you think UCLA will match up with Florida and Hawaii? I know that the Hawaii-Florida match got top billing, but UCLA is pretty good, and Colorado has some talent as well. It should be a very good tournament to watch. Do Hawaii fans watch the neutral site matches in large numbers?

[roy]

bucky415 said:

How do you think UCLA will match up with Florida and Hawaii? I know that the Hawaii-Florida match got top billing, but UCLA is pretty good, and Colorado has some talent as well. It should be a very good tournament to watch. Do Hawaii fans watch the neutral site matches in large numbers?

Hard to say the fan turn out. Usually its not a huge turn out for the first match. But today it was due to factors like work. The first match takes place at 4:30 and most are just getting off from work. Some fans start to trickle in and usually by the second game, there is a fair amount of people in the stands. It just seems really empty because the SSC is so big.

Florida v. UCLA could be really good. It will all depend on UCLA's passing. If UCLA can pass well, they can match Florida attacker for attacker. I think Florida has the better attackers, but I think UCLA has the overall system down a bit better than Florida. Both are solid looking teams, but UCLA hasn't played anyone of Florida's caliber.

Florida v. Colorado could be fun. This match will depend on Florida's defense. If they can slow down Nu'u from dumping the ball, they can win this easily. They got thrown off when Kamanao dumped the ball and she isn't an agressive setter. A very good agressive setter could take Florida out of their system and that will keep Colorado in the match. But Florida has too much firepower. The only difference in defending the setter is between keeping it "competitive" and a blow out. Florida will most definitely win.

UCLA v. Hawaii could be interesting. I think style wise, Hawaii matches up with UCLA better than Florida. Hawaii has always had trouble stopping athletic players and Florida is just loaded with them. UCLA doesn't have this kind of athletic players aside from Meriwether. This match could go either way, but I think UCLA has the edge as far as being in system better.

Hawaii v. Colorado. Hawaii matches up best with Colorado compared to the other 3 teams. Hawaii relies on their back court defense and has seen aggressive setters like Johnson of Nevada. Defending the dump shot tends to be won from the back row not the block, and Hawaii is the best back court team in this tournament (traditionally). After that, Hawaii has the better hitters and Colorado shouldn't do much to challenge the Hawaii offense.

[StuffU]

My thoughts on the UCLA - Colorado match.

Colorado was simply out gunned.

UCLA is pretty solid all the way around. They have a myriad of players that are all-around players and Banachowski used a lot of them. Katie Carter is definitely the OH1. She played very well. She is also a really big block on the left side. She was penetrating way over the net on the block and will give fits to a team that utilizes a right side attack. UCLA played Sather, Daley, and Mehring in the OH2 position. Of the three I like Sather, then Mehring, then Daley. That is some serious depth in the outside hitter position that I think few teams can match. They are all solid passers, smart hitters, and good blockers.

Merriweather and Johnson manned the middle effectively and the Bruin block touched A LOT of balls. Those that they didn't block, they were usually able to transition off the block. I love Lyman, she is so solid and just does everything well.

Spicer is fun setter to watch, but she made some questionable decisions. Sometimes she tends to go for the most difficult set when its not necessary. But she is certainly entertaining and brings a lot of energy to the court.

Colorado just didn't have the offense to hang with UCLA. I also didn't think they were very strong defensively. When the Buff block got a piece of the ball, the back row defense rarely transitioned. Nu'u (the setting sister) was impressive. Gibson on the Outside takes a good swing at the ball and was fun to watch, but needs to learn a few more shots to be truly effective.

[LanaiBoy]

Watched Ashley Nu'u to see why she was number two in Tawa's top 100 high school player. Actually, I was impressed. She is an attacking setter and she got quite a number of dumps. She also set the ball well distributing the ball to all parts of the court. Unfortunately, Colorado does not have the firepower that UCLA has but that is only relatively speaking. The only player that comes close to being a terminator for UCLA is the middle Nana Meriweather. Perhaps Nu'u is not AA caliber but she is an excellent setter nontheless.

[IdahoBoy]

lanaiboy said:

The only player that comes close to being a terminator for UCLA is the middle Nana Meriweather. Perhaps Nu'u is not AA caliber but she is an excellent setter nontheless.

Did I watch the same match as you?

Yes, Nana can finish, but what about Carter? Lyman was also very savvy and Raechel Johnson was much improved again this year, and able to put a good smack on a lot of balls.

Spicer is a very good setter... better than Nu'u, in my opinion. UCLA was barely sweating against the Buffs.

[LanaiBoy]

idahoboy said:

lanaiboy said:

The only player that comes close to being a terminator for UCLA is the middle Nana Meriweather. Perhaps Nu'u is not AA caliber but she is an excellent setter nontheless.

Did I watch the same match as you?

Yes, Nana can finish, but what about Carter? Lyman was also very savvy and Raechel Johnson was much improved again this year, and able to put a good smack on a lot of balls.

Spicer is a very good setter... better than Nu'u, in my opinion. UCLA was barely sweating against the Buffs.

Idaho. It was you that made me curious about Ashley Nu'u. You asked, Who is she? I wanted to find out. My conclusion, an excellent attacking setter who is not AA caliber as is Nellie Spicer and KK. Did not belong in top five on Tawa's rating but belongs somewhere in the top hundred, but I don't know where. Both she and Spicer were really not tested yesterday. Neither spent the night chasing bad passes like KK had to do this year.

I watch the Na Wahine from the nosebleed section (an exagerration). There are a lots of volleyball players coming into the Stan Sheriff Center who are good, hard hitters. However, there are only a few that really stand out and who make me search for my program, asking, "who dat girl?" Fawcett and Harmotto of Penn State were such players last year. My mouth opened wide when I found that both were freshman. Nana was such a player last year too. This year Nana started slow but showed flashes later in the match of what made her stand out the previous year.