UW/USC in game thread

[pedro el leon]

uw wins -18 -25 27- -21.

[blastingsand]

Big skid for USC, 3 matches lost in a row

[pedro el leon]

tough ass conference.

[BeiBei]

blastingsand said:

Big skid for USC, 3 matches lost in a row

they did beat Cal before the loss to UCLA, so 2 losses in a row

[blastingsand]

ucla said:

blastingsand said:

Big skid for USC, 3 matches lost in a row

they did beat Cal before the loss to UCLA, so 2 losses in a row

Oh sorry, lol, the losses just came from the top of my head.

[roofed!]

Disappointing result for USC. The players aren't mentally tough enough to stay at the top of their games. Passing and defensive lapses as well as the lack of well-executed side-out plays make it difficult for the team to pull themselves out of the hole.

At the moment, much of the burden on offense is on Kaczor's shoulder, but she can't win the game all by herself. Opponents keyed in on her, but other OHs and MBs have not been able to take advantage of having slightly open net. USC desperately needs top-notch MBs to establish the middle attack and to help out the OHs. Maybe I'm spoiled by Adams and Candelas, but the team needs players of those caliber who can hit high 1s, slides etc above the blocks. Or they need MBs who are fast on their feet and hit before the blocks close in.

[foreignball]

Let's see: Gysin, Copenhagen, Tennant and also Johansen, and Siemiatkowska. All these names will make a lot of D1 coaches drool but you say USC have only only player for real (Kacsor)and they need some better ones. I don't get it.

[pedro el leon]

box score:
gohuskies.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stats/102706aaa.html


Huskies Take Down No. 5 USC In Four Games


Huskies win 26th consecutive home game.

Oct. 26, 2006

SEATTLE-- The sixth-ranked University of Washington volleyball team defeated fifth-ranked USC Thursday night, 3-1, in front of 1,897 fans at Bank of America Arena. The victory lifts the Huskies to an 18-3 record overall and 8-2 mark in the Pac-10 as they pick up their 26th consecutive home win. The Women of Troy dip to 18-3 overall and 7-3 in the Pac-10.

Washington used a balanced attack with four Huskies recording double-figure kills. Stevie Mussie led the way with 18 kills, followed by Christal Morrison (17), Jessica Swarbrick (16) and Alesha Deesing (13).

Senior All-American Courtney Thompson paced the offense with 64 assists as the Huskies out-hit USC .298-.156.

Four Huskies also picked up double-figure digs, including Morrison who dug 21 balls for her 10th double-double of the season and her eighth in the last nine matches. Thompson also had a strong performance on defense with 15 digs, while libero Tamari Miyashiro added 13 digs and Mussie chipped in 10.

The match was evenly played throughout most of the night with 28 tie scores. Washington held advantages in hitting percentage and kills (71-61), while the teams were even in service aces (2-2), service errors (9-9), digs (74-74) and blocks (12-12).

The Huskies raced out of the gates in game one, taking a four-point lead at 14-10 after back-to-back kills by Janine Sandell to trigger a USC timeout. The Huskies kept the pressure on, scoring 10 of the final 12 points of the game to take the first set, 30-18.





Washington out-hit the Women of Troy .413-.043 in the game as UW made just one error on 41 swings and USC made 10 errors on 46 attacks. Husky middle blockers Deesing and Swarbrick were perfect with a combined nine kills on nine swings. Mussie also added five kills in the set.

Game two had 12 ties and Washington did not take the lead until 21-20 after a Swarbrick kill and Deesing and Mussie block. USC called a timeout but the Huskies never relengquished the lead. Washington scored three of the next four points to go up 24-21 and force another Women of Troy timeout but the Huskies rolled to the 30-25 win to take a two game lead headed into the break.

Washington out-hit USC .273-.191 in the set and was led by Morrison with seven kills.

Game three had 10 ties as late as 17-17, before USC battled back to take the four-point lead at 24-20 to force a Washington timeout. The Huskies used back-to-back Morrison kills and a block by Sandell and Swarbrick to pull within one point at 27-26, but the Women of Troy used a kill by Diane Copenhagen and block by Gysin and Bethany Johansen to take the game, 30-27.

USC out-hit the Huskies .260-.196 in game three as Copenhagen and Morrison led the attacks with seven kills apiece.

Washington never trailed in game four, building a four-point lead at 18-14 after a Deesing kill, Mussie block and a USC hitting error. The Women of Troy called a timeout but could not slow the Dawgs as they rolled to the 30-21 victory. Deesing recorded Washington's final three points with a block and two kills.

UW out-hit USC .333-.116 in game four and was led by Mussie with six kills and Swarbrick with five.

The Huskies return to action Friday when they host fourth-ranked and Pac-10 leader UCLA at 7 p.m. The match will be televised on FSN and will air on a tape-delayed basis on Saturday at 7 p.m. Washington is one match out of first place in the conference behind the Bruins and Stanford.

[roofed!]

foreignball said:

Let's see: Gysin, Copenhagen, Tennant and also Johansen, and Siemiatkowska. All these names will make a lot of D1 coaches drool but you say USC have only only player for real (Kacsor)and they need some better ones. I don't get it.

These are good players but without doubt a drop-off from the 2002/2003 USC teams due to several reasons:

Gysin has been injured for the past 2 seasons, and this is the first season she is playing full-time, and she has a lot of adjustments to make, especially as she may not be 100% healthy yet. Looking at her jumping approach in her true freshman year (in between the ankle injuries), she had more dynamic jumping and hitting back then, compared to now. She is an excellent passer but her hitting needs to improve. Currently, she has been hitting mostly through the seams, and if the double blocks are well-formed, she's often roofed as she hits into the belly of the blocks.

Copenhagen is still inconsistent. Unlike many players who have played their positions for years, Copenhagen has been a true OH only for the past 2 years. In HS and club, she was MB (except in her final club season when she switched to Opp). In her freshman year at USC, she was playing Opp. In her sophomore season, she was switched to OH out of necessity after Gysin went down with ACL injury and Florian transfering out. Almost overnight, she (as well as Bishop who is an MB) had to become a main passer and backcourt defender too.

Tennant has been showing some improvement in her play lately, becoming more physical at the net. She, like Copenhagen, has been moved around due to necessity. If I am right, she was primarily a MB in high school and played OH for her final club season. Last season, she played Opp but this year, she's been shifted back to MB.

Johansen played well in the early part of the season, but she's been less efficient as the Pac-10 season progresses. In part, I guess, this is due to the rigors of the Pac-10 conference (which I think is starting to affect Gysin as well). Lately, she looked tired playing in the matches.

As I have stated earlier, I have been spoiled by Candelas and Adams, who used their heights to maximum advantage. These players fully extend their hitting arms to contact the balls over the blocks. Nana Meriwether of UCLA used her jumping ability well to hit over the blocks. USC's MBs usually hit at lower points of contact, but they are not fast enough to outrun the blocks. Compare them to UW's MBs who are fast and hit before the blocks are fully up.

Siemiatkowska might have been a stud at junior college scene, but Pac-10 is several notches above that. Even Haley noted that she needs to improve her plays at the MB position to get any meaningful time at that position. In the meantime, Haley is trying to get her some swings on the left to back up the OHs. Of the few times she has come into the match for Gysin, she looked out of position and "lost" in the offensive plays.

So, to answer your question, yes, USC needs better players to contend for Pac-10 and national championships. The current MBs themselves need to play better -- be more efficient, able to hit the quick balls and over the blocks (rather than low 1s which are easily covered by the blockers), more variety of sets (currently the sets to the MBs are 1s and slides .... no x-plays, multiple combos etc).

The OHs (both Copenhagen and Gysin) need to cut down on their errors and avoid the blocks, instead of trying to power through the blocks.

If Gysin and Copenhagen provide solid, minimum error plays, they can provide well-needed support for Kaczor. If the MBs contribute to efficient offense and help to open the net for the OHs, then USC can then make a deep run into the post-season.

[pedro el leon]

^not saying it reflects the season, but tonight the opposite was true... Kaczor was 12-13-42 @ -.024. And she didn't play the 3rd game, the one in which usc won.

Gysin and Copenhagen didn't play spectacular, but definitely better than Kaczor, especially Copenhagen.

[Wallyball]

Nice to see Dees hitting effectively again after a mediocre couple of matches.

Go Dawgs...kick some baby bear butt tomorrow!

[Deleted]

USC lacking talent?

Oh, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease. Maybe too much talent?

[Pirate VB Fan]

kevin said:

^not saying it reflects the season, but tonight the opposite was true... Kaczor was 12-13-42 @ -.024. And she didn't play the 3rd game, the one in which usc won.

Gysin and Copenhagen didn't play spectacular, but definitely better than Kaczor, especially Copenhagen.

In game 3 I was hoping they would put Kaczor back in, but they did not listen. At least they got it "right" in game 4.

[wiscvball]

Weird... Thompson had 15 digs, but only 2 assists didn't come from her hands.

Has UW struggled this season with putting away balls where the second contact is a non-setter? I haven't seen enough of their matches to know. But a 2 for 15 ratio doesn't seem very good.

Maybe that's the secret to beating UW! Hit every ball to Thompson because they likely won't put it away on that rally

[Pirate VB Fan]

wiscvball said:

Weird... Thompson had 15 digs, but only 2 assists didn't come from her hands.

Has UW struggled this season with putting away balls where the second contact is a non-setter? I haven't seen enough of their matches to know. But a 2 for 15 ratio doesn't seem very good.

Maybe that's the secret to beating UW! Hit every ball to Thompson because they likely won't put it away on that rally

A lot of the time that Court digs the ball it is a "scrambling" type play we we are just trying to get the ball back over the net. The UW Libero, Tamari Myashiro, came in as a setter and was the back-up setter last year, so we have a very good option when Court takes the first one. Of course, the Libero can only overhand set the ball behind the ten foot line, so that limits Tamari's options.

Also, in the UW system the MB is the designated "second setter" but shall we say Brick and Dees are not Court...