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Post by USAFAN on Aug 21, 2008 9:39:30 GMT -5
Brazil continues to roll as they handily swept China today. If there is any team that "deserves" the gold medal for displaying a high level of consistent play over the last quadrennial it would be Brazil. The improved passing of Mari and her steady attacking have taken the team to another level which really opens up things for their middles and opposite, Sheilla. Brazil is similar in the sense that they are in-system type team which relies on the speed and complexity of their offense to score points as opposed to just throwing high balls up and use athleticism to win matches. What makes Brazil so good in comparison to a team like USA is that they are predictably almost always insystem where as the USA is up and down. However, these teams match up very well and if the USA passes well they could definitely take the match.
Waleska/Fabiana vs. Scott/Bown(MBs)
The Brazilian middles are very quick in transition and are successful in large part due to the consistent passing of the team and Fofao's precise placement. However, they are not as physically dominating as other middles in the world and I actually have a preference for Scott and Bown. The US middles are the strength of the US offense and allow the OH's to benefit from late blocks and seams to attack against. Ah Mow/Berg needs to establish them to keep the Brazilian block honest and then make the right decisions as to when to go to them when they are being defended. Waleska seems much more effective on the quick step out, where as Fabiana almost exclusively hits the quick out of the middle. Heather Bown seems to be at her best on the step out, while Dani has been very effective in front of the setter.
Mari/Paula vs. Tom/Glass
The emergence of Mari has added yet another offensive facet to the already complex Brazilian offense. Mari has given Brazil an attacker on the outside who can put the ball away for a side out and in transition as well as throw her up a high ball in out of system plays for points. Paula on the other hand isn't as dominant and relies on quicker sets to the outside to beat the block. They are both pretty steady passes, but aren't as precise as their libero for example and I expect the USA to almost exclusively serve Mari to make them earn their points. Tom and Glass picked up their passing big time against Cuba and will need to have a similar showing against Brazil for the USA to have a chance. Tom's all-around game is coming around and her attacking is looking better and more accurate, her blocking has been stellar and her serving has been the best on the US squad. This is the best that I've seen Logan play during her time with the NT and you can tell by her body language and play that she is engaged and focused both physically and mentally. Kim Glass has come in and been able to provide some offense and steady out the US passing. She may not be the best passer in the entire world, but the team is winning with her on the floor and she provides a lot of positivity and emotion on the court. Her serving has been inconsistent throughout the tournament, and at times she makes some rookie errors, but for the most part I have been pleased with her performance.
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Post by itsallrelative on Aug 21, 2008 9:42:08 GMT -5
Could you provide analysis of the opposites/setters as well?
I assume we lose the libero position....
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Post by USAFAN on Aug 21, 2008 9:45:53 GMT -5
Sheilla vs. Haneef/Willoughby
Sheilla is one of the premier opposites in the world and she shines even brighter with Fofao setting and running her on all types of different sets. She is critical to the Brazilian offense both in the front and backrow and puts a lot of pressure on the opposition's block off of the right side which frequently results in opposing middle blockers arriving late to the left side against Mari and Paula. Hopefully, Tom and Glass can continue to block well off of the leftside and slow Sheilla who isn't necessarily dominant every single match. Haneef's play has steadily improved match to match and she definitely got some crucial kills for the US against Cuba. Her serve was very much on as well and put a lot of pressure on the Cubans. However, her blocking, especially for a woman of 6'7'', has been very disappointing. She needs to put more pressure on Brazilians left side and get some blocks and cause hitting errors. IMO it seems like Haneef lapses in and out as far as focus and intensity go, which could very well be due to the medical issues she deals with, but she needs to be consistently involved and fired up. Willoughby has been quite frankly amazing. Coming off the bench cold and killing the ball with precision and power has been fun to watch. She needs to continue to come in whenever they need her offensive spark and continue to be effective. As long as they run a quicker set to either side and give Kim a chance to beat the block and stay behind the ball, her attacking is as lethal as the Cubans.
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Post by USAFAN on Aug 21, 2008 9:55:34 GMT -5
Fabi vs. Davis (Libero)
Fabi, as far as I'm concerned, is the best libero in the world and she is proving that as the top libero in the competition according to the stats. She is a libero who excels in both the passing and defensive phases of the game. Her consistent and accurate passing allow Brazil to run the complex offense that they do and she takes up a lot of court. Defensively, she is fantastic instinctually and picks up a lot of digs that other players can't. Another thing that impresses me about Fabi is that she consistently positions herself in the correct places defensively around the holes in the Brazilian block. One of my critiques of the US defense has been that the wing defenders (left and right back) are caught many times behind the block and are not playing around the block. Brazil puts up a solid block and Fabi positions herself correctly which creates difficult offensive situations for opposing attackers. Davis has been a mixed bag up to this point in the tournament. Judging from her body language alone, she seems to be the type of player who doesn't dictate her own play but allows play to dictate her performance. By that I mean, when she is doing something well the rest of her game rises due to her boost in her own confidence and belief. However, on the flip side when one thing is going wrong, it effects every part of her game negatively and she isn't nearly as aggressive or assertive. To me it's a sign of immaturity at this level and rather than believing in the technical and strategical skill that she possesses, she let's things get to her head rather quickly. With that being said, she has been playing a lot better the last two matches, especially defensively. When she positions herself correctly she is good at digging balls that come directly at her, regardless of their speed. She needs to pass better and more consistently.
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Post by USAFAN on Aug 21, 2008 10:04:50 GMT -5
Fofao vs. Berg/Ah Mow
If you think Scott is amazing in her fourth Olympics, which she is, then you have to be awestruck by the performance of Fofao in her 5th Olympics. One of the most composed and underrated players in the women's game, this woman runs the Brazilian offense to perfection. At the international level what experience equates to isn't the ability to be necessarily the most physically or technically dominant player on the floor, but rather someone who makes the correct decisions in the correct situations consistently, and Fofao does this. She takes every advantage of good passing and runs a very deceptive and varied offense that puts a lot of pressure on the opposing blockers. What I like the most is that she always seems to run, what I would consider to be, the best ratio of sets amongst the different attackers at different positions. She believes in the system and offense that Brazil runs and gets everyone involved. The USA is a good blocking team and Fofao will have to work her magic to give her hitters seams and holes to work with. Berg/Ah Mow aren't the best setters technically in the world, they aren't the most physical setters in the world, nor are they the most deceptive setters in the world, but they are extremely intense and competitive setters who play a critical role in the morale and performance of the US. When the passing and they don't have to run all over the court they can be very deceptive. Berg has done a great job coming in cold and serving well and connecting at key times. Ah Mow is the true quarterback of the team and lends a calm to the squad. My critique of Ah Mow is that she runs the same plays too many times and doesn't vary the offense enough. It's almost as if when one player gets a few kills that she thinks they are the only player who is capable of scoring and ignores the other hitters. She can't afford to do this against Brazil and needs to get all players involved offensively. I'd also like to see Lang Ping move Ah Mow around on the block more often as she can be a huge liability in the front row as we saw against Cuba.
Brazil and the US are my two favorite teams internationally so I can't really give an unbiased prediction, but I think it will be a 3-1 match either way.
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Post by itsallrelative on Aug 21, 2008 10:07:38 GMT -5
wow...thanks. what a great preview.
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Post by ladeda on Aug 21, 2008 10:26:12 GMT -5
This match up should give us some crowd advantage. Ping is such a hero to the Chinese I'm thinking there will be big support for her at this match.
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Post by XAsstCoach on Aug 21, 2008 10:35:28 GMT -5
Here is a good omen for the US:
US women's soccer team beat Brazil in the Gold Medal match.
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Post by Edmond on Aug 21, 2008 10:40:57 GMT -5
Great analysis! The final will be exciting for sure. New champs in the making!!!
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Post by vbfamily on Aug 21, 2008 11:18:37 GMT -5
When is this Gold Medal match being played? Any idea of TV converage?
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Post by 5100 on Aug 21, 2008 11:24:53 GMT -5
This match up should give us some crowd advantage. Ping is such a hero to the Chinese I'm thinking there will be big support for her at this match. That's almost certain. Against Cuba, the crowd was chanting U-S-A! |
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Post by cardfan15 on Aug 21, 2008 12:04:35 GMT -5
When is this Gold Medal match being played? Any idea of TV converage? The gold medal match is Saturday evening, 8 PM local time which means 8 AM on the east coast, 7 AM central. I'm pretty certain NBC will broadcast this one live, at least for the East and Central time zones. |
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Post by hammer on Aug 21, 2008 13:14:33 GMT -5
We all know that Brazil appears to be the class of this Olympic tournament. We also know that in the past Brazil has not lived up to expectations probably due to focus and mental issues. The Brazilian coaches know this too and they assuredly will place emphasis on how USA manhandled (or womanhandled) Cuba. So BIG key to this match will be how Brazil handles adversity. Once the US gets a lead, how will the the Brazilians respond? Will they play with too much emotion, or will they shrug off the little ups and downs, dig deep, and let their talent shine through.
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Post by bownlovingfreak on Aug 21, 2008 13:31:22 GMT -5
Interesting that Brazil hasn't dropped a set yet! Even if the USA loses, hopefully they take a set off them!
Go USA!
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Post by USAFAN on Aug 21, 2008 13:56:07 GMT -5
Watching the China vs. Brazil match right now and I am actually thinking the US has a legitimate chance. China is passing horribly and has resorted to a high ball Russia type offense and Yimei is clearly fatigued and the other Chinese OH is not nearly as good as prior Chinese OH. Keys to the match will be serving Mari almost exclusively. Her passing is the shakiest out of all the Brazilian receivers and the Brazilian pin hitters are not nearly as effective out of system. Fofao really likes to use Sheilla as often as she can, but when the pass isn't perfect and Sheilla is off the net she is error prone. Blocking will be HUGE for the US in the final. Brazil is streaky in the sense that if you block their hitters they start making errors and get emotionally upset. The Brazilian block is also looking very good on the left side and I'd like to see Ah Mow/Berg run some quicker sets to the OH when Sheilla is in the front row. Also Fofao is a blocking liability and she hasn't been exploited enough.
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