|
Post by doctordubya on Aug 22, 2008 6:36:15 GMT -5
Caught games 4 and 5 this morning. In game 4 it looked like what people on this board had feared was coming to pass - all very close, but Russia was just pulling away by hitting big serves, forcing USA out of system and winning points on blocks or hoovering up off-speed shots. USA's serving went south (6 errors in the game), Stanley wasn't really a factor and that was that.
Credit to Ball; he knew that he had to make the most of any chances to use the middle, and he did so. Pipe setting was also smartly done to keep the Russian tall guys honest. And Lee and Millar came up huge in offence throughout games 4 and 5 - they were hardly stopped and were mostly bouncing warm-up hits. This was key at a time when the outsides were struggling to terminate.
I think it was KO7 who warned that Mikhaylov was a menace - spot on, he had a fantastic game. But whoever said the key would be David Lee was right on the money. Come crunch time his attacking was unstoppable, he stuffed Volkov one-on-one to give USA the lead, and then shut down Mikhaylov on a split block for the match.
Salmon was very good in defence, and made one huge play in the tiebreak - given a high ball to 4, inside court, around the attack line in a broken play with the Russians calling downball, he absolutely pounded it for the kill. Real guts to make that swing at a crucial time.
This was an impressive win. Russia applied much more service pressure than USA in the two games I saw - and the USA let slip a 5-2 lead in the tiebreak to go behind by one. At that stage I thought Russia would carry that momentum to the end, but yet again USA turned it around.
|
|
|
Post by Phaedrus on Aug 22, 2008 6:49:08 GMT -5
Stanley was huge in the first game, getting six consecutive aces to end the game.
|
|
|
Post by halesvb11 on Aug 22, 2008 7:46:30 GMT -5
I made this mistake of watching the match before coming into work this morning. Jumping up and down at 7AM probably wasn't good for the neighbors, but I was on cloud 9 (I zipped through some stuff, but will watch in its entirety tonight). Games 1 and 2 couldn't have been any different from games 3 and 4. Seems like we let up on the service game, and it allowed Russia to get back in system. I watched game 5 from 10-10 on. Lee was huge. Blocking their M1 at such a key point in the match when he really had is way up to that point was big for the boys.
Russia has a little Miljkovic in the making. I was really impressed with what I saw from him. Only 20 too. He could be a 4 or 5 Olympic teamer for them.
I only heard what Sunderland said about a horrible set, I didn't see it. Was it really that bad? I hate seeing hands calls that late in matchs, and it sounded like it wasn't from his reaction.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2008 7:58:47 GMT -5
It was an impossible set. If it was clean, it was one of the best sets ever. Tight pass to the net on the leftside and he backsets it all the way across for a backrow attack on the rightside. Looked like a major throw on TV.
|
|
|
Post by future on Aug 22, 2008 8:44:30 GMT -5
Good morning USA - Warm and Sunny on the East Coast.........sunshine seems even brighter today.........humming a tune driving to practice!
It is such a pleasure to watch Hugh and JLP massage their teams , tactical stuff when needed, calmness when needed, fire and fist pumping....not often .......but man do they have the lifeline of their players.
Bravo!
13-12 US Game 5 "The thing that really sticks to me is our last break," Hoff said. "We had some confusion, the guys were pretty amped."
That's when coach Hugh McCutcheon took charge.
"Hugh came over to us and said, 'Here's what we're going to do on this serve,' It had a great calming effect on us."
|
|
|
Post by foreignball on Aug 22, 2008 9:13:00 GMT -5
Not to take away any of the well deserved credit, just from the analysis standpoint…
In the tiebreaker RUS hurt themselves badly by giving up 2 easy points which should have gone their way: 1st they decided not to put up even a single block against Salmon in that difficult for him situation and 2nd (a little later in the game) they missed to convert a free ball - they miss communicated in zone 4 and USA put it away in the next play.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2008 9:59:15 GMT -5
Russia gave away several points in game 5, but they were also given two -- a non-call on a set and a missed touch.
In short, this was no gift.
|
|
|
Post by USAFAN on Aug 22, 2008 10:07:52 GMT -5
Mikhaylov's performance was one of the best I've seen in Olympic play thus far. 30+ points in a five-game match is incredible and to think he's only 20 years old makes the performance under such high pressure circumstances is even more amazing. The non-call in the 5th was horrific and not even debatable. The second contact has to be clean and he threw that ball backwards with all kind of spin on the ball. The US showed great composure and didn't let that non-call rustle their feathers. Aside from the serving errors from both sides, this match was exactly what you would want to see in an Olympic semifinal match. Both teams exhibited two very different styles of volleyball that are both very effective when they are on. Hugh's presence on this team has been amazing and the USA's composure and adherence to their game plan won them the match down the stretch.
|
|
|
Post by doctordubya on Aug 22, 2008 11:41:56 GMT -5
I'm with you guys. That reverse set from Grankin was a throw, pure and simple - I've seen shot putters hang on to the ball for less time this Olympics. I yelled at the TV screen immediately I saw it; couldn't believe the up-ref didn't whistle.
|
|
|
Post by Murina on Aug 22, 2008 11:48:22 GMT -5
There is no way any set was going to be called late in a close and deciding game. USA hardly wasted any time arguing even. They knew...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2008 12:05:08 GMT -5
You have to call that set. It's like pulling the net down to 6 feet and then setting your middle.
|
|
|
Post by vballguy2001 on Aug 22, 2008 12:05:34 GMT -5
Murina is right. There is no way that the ref is going to call a lift or a double at that time of the match. Doubles and lifts are rarely called internationally as it is. It was a chuck, but we need to get use to it. The volleyball game is heading that direction in college this year so that less doubles will be called.
They are changing the rules to take judgement calls out of the refs hands. I think you are going to see more plays like that as volleyball continues to evolve.
I don't like it as much as everybody, but it is what it is.
|
|
|
Post by rhinovb14 on Aug 22, 2008 12:07:26 GMT -5
What day and time (east Coast) is the Gold Medal match?
|
|
|
Post by cruncher on Aug 22, 2008 12:09:47 GMT -5
Better get used to the setting, folks. Coming soon to a college campus near you.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2008 12:10:41 GMT -5
What it does is add another judgment call: Was that bad enough that I have to call it or should I just let it go?
|
|