Cook's comments on Husker's Recruiting Class

[SaltNPepper]

There really aren't many surprises anymore about who's signing where, but this is the first chance to see what the coaches have to say about the players they just signed. Here is Nebraska's signees:

Brooke Delano MB 6-4 Bellevue, Neb. (Bellevue West)
Lindsey Licht RS 6-5 Aurora, Colo. (Grandview)
Tara Mueller OH 6-0 Scottsdale, Ariz. (Desert Mountain)
Danielle Minch OH 6-1 Sterling, Colo. (Sterling)

Cook On Delano:
“There haven’t been very many 6-foot-4 girls to come out of this state who are as athletic as Brooke. She had a difficult decision to choose between volleyball and basketball, and we are glad she chose volleyball. Brooke is very athletic for her size, moves exceptionally well, and is also very competitive. We think that she will blossom in our program over the next four years.

Cook on Licht
“Lindsey is someone we recruited to replace Sarah Pavan. It is hard to find too many 6-foot-5 lefties, and we have been very successful with Sarah in our program. Lindsey is someone who we think can play right away and allows us the ability to run a 6-2 system next season. Lindsey is an exceptional blocker and blocks as well as any high school player that I have recruited. She also has a great personality and a lot of energy and passion for the game.”

Cook on Mueller:
“We feel like she is an exceptional passer and defensive player, but she is also a very strong attacker and blocker. One of her greatest strengths is her passion for the game. She has a great personality, and she brings a spirit and energy to the court. We felt that combination of things makes her a great recruit for our program.”

Cook on Minch
“Danielle is a typical Nebraska volleyball recruit, as she comes from a small town and has played several sports in high school. She is playing middle blocker in high school, but we are going to move her outside, and we think she has the potential to be a very good player for us. Dani is a tremendous athlete with a big-time arm swing, and we look forward to watching her develop in our program.”

So if Licht is ready to step into a starting role we'd be looking at a 6-2 something like this:

RS - Pavan-Licht
OH - Houghtelling-Larson
MB - Stalls-Cooper
S - Holloway-Griffin
L - Schwartz

[charger]

If they run a 6-2 they either won't use a libero or they will pull someone from the backrow. Pavan hits better from the back row, Larson's digs speak for themselves and Houghtelling's back row defense is solid, so would they pull Licht when she goes to the back? They tried running a 6-2 last year and it didn't produce the results they wanted. Also Holloway is tremendous with the setter dump so that would take away that threat. I'm not sure if this is the way to go or not. Once again, he has way too much talent standing on the sidelines.

[2c]

charger said:

I'm not sure if this is the way to go or not. Once again, he has way too much talent standing on the sidelines.

As will Texas, Penn State, Stanford, USC and UCLA.

[cvbc14]

Pavan does hit well out of the back row, and so you wouldn't pull her out of there. Depending on how good of a server Licht is, I can see this happening.

Schwartz or Mueller playing Libero and coming in for Licht in the back row, but also serving for Pavan.

[gobigred]

charger said:

They tried running a 6-2 last year and it didn't produce the results they wanted.

I know you didn't mean anything negative with this comment charger, but it still makes me laugh. I love the the fact that having a season where we went 33-2, with one of our losses to the National Champs, easily beat just about every other great team in the country, won the Big 12 conference with a 19-1 record, had the player of the year, 3 First-team AA's, 4 AA's total, and were the national runners-up...and it's still considered a disappointment.

Hey, I wanted and expected to win the National Championship as much as the next guy wearing red, but winning one isn't easy, especially when you're trying to do it the same year as those purple husker eaters were.

Sky high expectations can be a good thing, especially with a program's like Nebraska's. But let's not do or say anything drastic when we do fall short of said expectations.

[Ye Olde Dawg]

Last year's 6-2 wasn't exactly chopped liver! I'd say more, but gobigred42 said it better.

The nice thing about the libero is that she can substitute at any back row position. If you need ball control, she can come in for the right side hitters. If you need the back row attack, she can either come in for whichever left-side hitter, or just sit out. Even with the libero in there, you have four hitters available in every rotation. It isn't five like last year, but there's still lots of offense there.

The main thing I would be concerned about is the setting. Setters benefit from lots of reps too, and sticking with Holloway, say, would mean nobody has to adjust. And there would still be four offensive threats in every rotation AND plenty of ball control.

I say let Cook do what Cook wants to do. Next year's Huskers are going to be contenders either way.