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Post by powerblocker on Sept 18, 2006 10:44:25 GMT -5
Everybody thinks PSU will take the Big Ten, But... Who will be the second team in the BT?
Purdue? I'd make the case. Merlau and Mader need to block better, but will swing with the best of the BT on this offense minded team. Other top hitters are stepping forward (Lynch, Liz J Miller and fr. Gurnell). If passing and blocking can improve it will be hard to stop the Boilermakers from being a 0.750 club on the road during the Big Ten. Purdue will win all home BT matches except one..(lose to either PSU or Mich. or OSU).
The serving has been great, as well as the defensive past the net, setting is being handled by the freshman Gray and by Shondell. Passing is a sore point in their game but the 6-2 rotation should help with ball handling.
The Pepperdine match has shown that blocking can and will improve.
The two wildcards of the season are: How will Dave Shondell use Miller (too small against double blockers) and will he spread the sets out evenly across all the big hitters? Thirty (30) swings by 4 hitters will be better than 40 swings by 2 hitters.
Best of luck to all the Big Ten women this year and please no serious injuries on any team.
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Post by sweetspot on Sept 18, 2006 11:01:01 GMT -5
I like Ohio State or Minnesota to finish in the 2nd spot. Although OSU has only one quality win over Arizona State, they have a lot of experience and the young kids are improving. Minnesota has the talent to challenge Penn State. They are the only team who can match up with the Lyons with talent and experience. Bowman has owned Penn State in the past. Look for Minnesota to upset Penn State at home this year. Michigan and Michigan State will pull off some major upsets this year. Big Ten disappointments this year will be Northwestern and Wisconsin. Look for Wisconsin to finish in the five spot and Northwestern in the nine spot.
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Post by rockstar on Sept 18, 2006 11:03:27 GMT -5
Purdue has not demonstrated the firepower to contend for the title. I see Purdue as a 4-6 team right now. They are hitting .250 and allowing .210. Look at the other contenders and you will see a much larger discrepancy in the hitting percentages. Penn State will get better and better so I can't see anyone topping them in the standings. Ohio State and Minnesota are the two teams who will battle for second place.
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Post by The Bofa on the Sofa on Sept 18, 2006 11:10:06 GMT -5
Purdue has not demonstrated the firepower to contend for the title. I see Purdue as a 4-6 team right now. They are hitting .250 and allowing .210. Look at the other contenders and you will see a much larger discrepancy in the hitting percentages. Of course, in many of those, you will see weaker schedules, too Moreover, as the OP noted, if the newfound blocking ability that showed up in LA is for real, and if Jacques and Gurnell have made the turn, then the .250 hitting and allowing .210 are not representative. I still think Minnesota probably has the firepower to shoot for #2, but IF the things we saw happen in LA for Purdue are for real, then they are going to be barking on the Gophs' heels. |
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Post by dontknowjack on Sept 18, 2006 11:17:38 GMT -5
Please, I am so sick of the Minnesota and Ohio State love fest. OSU beat an Arizona State team that is better, but has finished 7-9 in the Pac-10 the last several years. The French kid may be legit, and if so, I concede to the Buckeye fans, but the cakewalk preconference tells me nothing.
Minnesota proved they can't sustain withotu Bowman and Penianta, but I'm not sure with them back in the line-up that it's a done deal. And PSU will eat them up. Home and away.
Michigan -- overrated. Improved, but their schedule has been less than impressive IMO. Look for them to peak early then fall.
Wisconsin -- could have told you in the preseason they were overrated. Shaw and Meirotto were major players for them. The freshman and musical M2 aren't working out. I put them at 4th, but they will win at home. Always.
Northwestern -- wow, they play really tight with Stanford and at Hawaii, beat Arizona, but suddenly they suck to the new predicition of almost last in the Big Ten? Get with it.
Purdue -- big talent, I kudos for a tough pre-Big Ten slate (Pepperdine and USC on the same weekend -- at least Purdue and Nwestern have the balls to play tough). They are too error prone now, and need to determine a 5-1 or 6-2 and lock it in, but much like last year they will take a lump or two, but steadily rise at the end of the season into NCAAs.
Illinois -- anyone think it odd that Don didn't play AT ALL this weekend? Literally 10 days between the last match and the Big Ten opener. I think they'll get trounced.
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Post by bomber on Sept 18, 2006 11:40:23 GMT -5
I like Ohio State or Minnesota to finish in the 2nd spot. Although OSU has only one quality win over Arizona State, they have a lot of experience and the young kids are improving. Minnesota has the talent to challenge Penn State. They are the only team who can match up with the Lyons with talent and experience. Bowman has owned Penn State in the past. Look for Minnesota to upset Penn State at home this year. Michigan and Michigan State will pull off some major upsets this year. Big Ten disappointments this year will be Northwestern and Wisconsin. Look for Wisconsin to finish in the five spot and Northwestern in the nine spot. OSU's "quality" win is Arizona State???!!! Wow, that's some quality win. I think OSU is going to have their eyes opened a bit when they play some other teams that can play the game better. Their eye opening is going to start on Wednesday..... |
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Post by The Bofa on the Sofa on Sept 18, 2006 11:43:03 GMT -5
Minnesota proved they can't sustain withotu Bowman and Penianta, but I'm not sure with them back in the line-up that it's a done deal. And PSU will eat them up. Home and away. As opposed to all the other teams in the conference that will be challenging PSU? And Minnesota has looked a lot better with their two players back. OTOH, the general gist I get from your post is that you don't think any of the teams in the Big Ten will finish second |
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Post by The Bofa on the Sofa on Sept 18, 2006 11:47:57 GMT -5
[OSU's "quality" win is Arizona State???!!! Wow, that's some quality win...... If you define "quality win" as a win over a team in the top 50, then Arizona St certainly qualifies as a quality win. Remember, the bottom of the Pac Ten is a lot higher than a lot of places. No, Arizona St is not quite Ohio, but it's not too far from San Diego or UCSB (whoops) |
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Post by bomber on Sept 18, 2006 11:49:27 GMT -5
Wisconsin -- could have told you in the preseason they were overrated. Shaw and Meirotto were major players for them. The freshman and musical M2 aren't working out. I put them at 4th, but they will win at home. Always. I agree with the observation that Shaw and Meierotto were major players for them. But that's about it. Dolgner is working out beautifully. She'll make Badger fans forget Meierotto in a hurry. And I'll admit, I was somewhat skeptical of Bladow replacing Shaw. But to date she's playing great, hitting over .300 and blocking over 1.5 BPG. The Badgers are blocking better than last year's team. Offense has been slow to start, true, but they'll be in the hunt at the end. And they probably match up better vs Penn State than any other team, with the exception of Minnesota. |
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Post by OverAndUnder on Sept 18, 2006 11:49:53 GMT -5
Minnesota proved they can't sustain withotu Bowman and Penianta, but I'm not sure with them back in the line-up that it's a done deal. And PSU will eat them up. Home and away. OTOH, the general gist I get from your post is that you don't think any of the teams in the Big Ten will finish second LOL, but doesn't this match up with how y'all do things up in Cheeseland -- I can hear Garrison Keillor saying "Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average." |
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Post by bomber on Sept 18, 2006 11:52:48 GMT -5
[OSU's "quality" win is Arizona State???!!! Wow, that's some quality win...... If you define "quality win" as a win over a team in the top 50, then Arizona St certainly qualifies as a quality win. Remember, the bottom of the Pac Ten is a lot higher than a lot of places. No, Arizona St is not quite Ohio, but it's not too far from San Diego or UCSB (whoops) So are you prepared to tell me that Oregon State (bottom of Pac Ten) is a quality win. Please don't. |
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Post by The Bofa on the Sofa on Sept 18, 2006 11:59:57 GMT -5
Of course not. But not because they are at the bottom of the Pac Ten.
Teams are good and bad on their own accord, not by where they are in their conference.
If you define quality win as being a win against a top 50 team, then Oregon St is not a quality win. Of course, since NO ONE EVER CLAIMED THEY WERE, you have created a strawman.
Follow the process kitten, and try to not get lost:
Claim: Arizona St is a quality win
You: They are not a quality win, they are near the bottom of the Pac Ten
Response: Just because they are at the bottom of the Pac Ten does not mean they are not a quality win
Your logical error: So then you think Oregon St is a quality win?
I never said teams at the bottom of the Pac Ten are necessarily quality wins, only that being near the bottom of the Pac Ten does not preclude one from being a quality win.
I think it was pretty clear when I said, "If you define a quality win as one against a top 50 team" that conference position is not the relevant parameter.
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Post by sweetspot on Sept 18, 2006 12:10:23 GMT -5
I would consider Arizona State a quality win this year. Arizona State has beaten Loyola MM 3-0, Crushed Notre Dame 3-0, crushed a good Michigan State team 3-0 and played Purdue to a five gamer. Arizona State is a good team this year and a top 25 team. They will finish no worse than 6th in the PAC 10 and make the tournament.
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Post by The Bofa on the Sofa on Sept 18, 2006 12:14:01 GMT -5
While I don't quite share your optimism, I am rooting for them. Once they lost to Purdue, I wish them nothing but success (until we meet again!)
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2006 12:14:26 GMT -5
Top 25 may be a stretch, but they are definitely playing well. It'll be interesting to see if Arizona slips below ASU (big match this week) and Oregon.
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