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Post by tigfan on Apr 27, 2005 15:55:23 GMT -5
I know there is the ADDED pressure of on the MPSF teams to beat the MIVA and EIVA schools... and as we've seen from this past weekend with #2, #3, and #4 going down in the MPSF tournament, even good teams are vulnerable down the stretch.
Penn State is just as good as 2 of the teams still in the tournament, UCSB and Northridge... and look who they beat already...
I'm just looking forward to the day when the MIVA and EIVA win the title (again), it's not taken away, and all the california bitches have to eat crow... it's gonna be great, hopefully pepperdine chokes again...
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Post by vb on Apr 27, 2005 16:13:23 GMT -5
What has to happen to get the Loyola-Penn State matchup?
Very tough for EIVA and MIVA teams to go out and play 2 Cali teams and win the title.
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Post by Serendipity on Apr 27, 2005 16:36:51 GMT -5
What has to happen to get the Loyola-Penn State matchup? They need to get either in the 1-seed/4-seed match or the 2-seed/3-seed match. It could happen. If it's Long Beach and Pepperdine in the MPSF final and Pepp loses, could they give Penn State the 1 seed, Pepp the 2 seed, LB the 3 seed and Loyola the 4 seed? OTOH, Pepp could win and they could give LB the 4 seed, again making it an MPSF semifinal. Would they do that? I wouldn't want to be the committee.
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Post by sonofbarcelonabob on Apr 27, 2005 19:51:57 GMT -5
If I was Penn State, I'd lose in the EIVA final on purpose. Assuming Pepperdine wins (which is not a done deal) and Loyola wins (pretty much a done deal unless they absolutely choke)... Penn State would be almost garaunteed the At-Large spot saying as they are ranked #2... By losing on purpose, they would eliminate 1 of the MPSF powerhouses... It's crazy, but it's the only shot they have of winning the whole thing... I'd sure like to hear the MPSF crowd if this were to happen... lol Tigdork, Just because you may have missed the other 10 million times this came up on this board....lemme break it down for your goofy ass (I know since UOP rarely makes the Final Four....oh wait....what's that...they NEVER have made the Final Four? Okay, my bad then...). It goes like this: AVCA POLL RANK IS NOT A SELECTION CRITERIA CONSIDERED BY THE SELECTION COMMITTEE FOR THE AT-LARGE BERTH
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Post by tigfan on Apr 27, 2005 20:01:17 GMT -5
easy douchebag... i'm well aware of that.. I was being facetious... look it up...
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Post by TheProfessor on Apr 28, 2005 0:26:14 GMT -5
I was in attendance in Pauley Pavilion when UCLA hosted Penn State this year. UCLA won 30-22, 30-27, 30-28.
Frankly, Penn State really did not impress me. Even Long Beach State looked like a better overall team. UCSB gave UCLA a tougher match. Even lowly USC showed more fire than Penn State did against UCLA.
I'd even say Cal Baptist is a better team, and would most likely beat Penn State if they met on a neutral court. (Cal Baptist did take both UCLA and Pepperdine to 5-game thrillers before falling.)
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Post by palo on Apr 28, 2005 10:29:22 GMT -5
I was in attendance in Pauley Pavilion when UCLA hosted Penn State this year. UCLA won 30-22, 30-27, 30-28. Frankly, Penn State really did not impress me. Even Long Beach State looked like a better overall team. UCSB gave UCLA a tougher match. Even lowly USC showed more fire than Penn State did against UCLA. I'd even say Cal Baptist is a better team, and would most likely beat Penn State if they met on a neutral court. (Cal Baptist did take both UCLA and Pepperdine to 5-game thrillers before falling.) Maybe Penn State doesn't have the FIRE, heart, emotion, whatever it is they need. But the do have some very physical players with lots of talent. There rightside is a beast and if he ever did find that passion would be one of the best in the country. And there middles as a duo might be the best in the country. If they handle the ball well PSU can beat alot of teams. I heard they just got served off the court at UCLA. Hard to set the middles if you can't pass. If they were in the MPSF I think they would finish in the top four this year. BTW Loyola beat Cal Bap twice. On a neutral court and at CAL BAP.
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Post by akbar on Apr 28, 2005 10:57:07 GMT -5
If PSU, Loyola, LB and Pepp make it
PSU has progressively gotten better and stronger as the year has gone on. Kowal has gotten his head on straight and fully realized why he came back for his 5th year and not earning $80,000 as an Electrical Engineer. Meerstein has been probably a top 2 middle in the nation all year. Proper is an animal and his goofball attitude and funky armswing has been tempered. The Ukranian kid needed an attitude adjustment this year and Pav gave it too him....mind you he still is a prick but you need that type of player on a team like this. Smith has been giving some very crucial playing while in for the injured Wetzel and all 3 OH's , while can't carry a team for a whole match, are effective. The Freshman libero has been playing like a college player since he was a Junior in HS. While Ker was playing little bigman for SCVC on the outside this kid was playing Libero with a caste(broken arm) for his overachieving Damon's team. O'dell has finally become a location setter and has showed a shutdown ability in his blocking......which no other setter has demonstrated to any extent this year.
Point of Passing is correct....PSU passes well....pressure of the OH....PSU can win a National Championship THIS YEAR!
Loyola can attack from everywhere.....they do not go away....they would need to steal a win.
Pepp and LB have the advantage of better competition all year and better OH's. They better serve well.
As far as a prediction I will wait to see if theses teams do indeed qualify.
SOBB - You are one Caustic fellow, aka "Barnes" ....'killin......what do you know about killin!
at least you are consistent!
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Post by vb on Apr 28, 2005 13:49:57 GMT -5
If PSU, Loyola, LB and Pepp make it PSU has progressively gotten better and stronger as the year has gone on. Kowal has gotten his head on straight and fully realized why he came back for his 5th year and not earning $80,000 as an Electrical Engineer. Meerstein has been probably a top 2 middle in the nation all year. Proper is an animal and his goofball attitude and funky armswing has been tempered. The Ukranian kid needed an attitude adjustment this year and Pav gave it too him....mind you he still is a jerk but you need that type of player on a team like this. Smith has been giving some very crucial playing while in for the injured Wetzel and all 3 OH's , while can't carry a team for a whole match, are effective. The Freshman libero has been playing like a college player since he was a Junior in HS. While Ker was playing little bigman for SCVC on the outside this kid was playing Libero with a caste(broken arm) for his overachieving Damon's team. O'dell has finally become a location setter and has showed a shutdown ability in his blocking......which no other setter has demonstrated to any extent this year. Point of Passing is correct....PSU passes well....pressure of the OH....PSU can win a National Championship THIS YEAR! Loyola can attack from everywhere.....they do not go away....they would need to steal a win. Pepp and LB have the advantage of better competition all year and better OH's. They better serve well. As far as a prediction I will wait to see if theses teams do indeed qualify. SOBB - You are one Caustic fellow, aka "Barnes" ....'killin......what do you know about killin! at least you are consistent! WOW! Who are you? (wanna do Loyola next?)
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Post by TheProfessor on Apr 28, 2005 21:16:27 GMT -5
Maybe Penn State doesn't have the FIRE, heart, emotion, whatever it is they need. But the do have some very physical players with lots of talent. There rightside is a beast and if he ever did find that passion would be one of the best in the country. And there middles as a duo might be the best in the country. If they handle the ball well PSU can beat alot of teams. I heard they just got served off the court at UCLA. Hard to set the middles if you can't pass. If they were in the MPSF I think they would finish in the top four this year. BTW Loyola beat Cal Bap twice. On a neutral court and at CAL BAP. OK, true, UCLA seemed on fire that night with their serving, with 9 aces. Perhaps that wasn't a good game to watch to gauge the true effectiveness of Penn State. Still, UCLA was able to take PSU out of their game with their serving, and PSU wasn't able to take UCLA off their rhythm when they were able to serve (one ace to 11 errors). Penn State would definitely finish in the upper echelon of the MPSF. They might have finished at #4 in the MPSF this year. UCLA and Hawaii both beat PSU in their only matchup this season, and PSU split with BYU. (Sweeping USC says nothing, LOL.) It seems PSU this year was on the same level as BYU, as both matches went to a 5th game. It would have been nice had Pepperdine had the guts to schedule a game with Penn State (quick trivia: How many non-MPSF teams did Pepperdine play in the regular season?). I also would've liked to see how PSU would've fared against Long Beach State. Frankly, beating the likes of Mercyhurst just isn't that good of an indicator as to how good PSU is or isn't. (Answer to trivia: 1. Cal Baptist was the ONLY non-MPSF team Pepperdine has faced this season.)
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Post by nosKILLS on Apr 29, 2005 23:48:30 GMT -5
Akbar, when did Kowal not have his head on straight this season? Was it when he was hitting .485 and blocking at an awesome rate while nursing a bad back?
Other than that, Proper being a one-time goofball and Gutor (the Ukranian kid, as you refer to him) being a thick-headed jerk, you do raise some good points. Yes, the passing will be the key to victory. Yes, Meerstein has been as consistent a player as you will find. Yes, O'Dell's height and block make him unique and a good player to have on a team.
This team has been practicing very well over the past two and a half weeks, and might very well be at the point where the passers can significantly cut down on service aces and lousy dishes against the big boys from out west.
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Post by vb on Apr 30, 2005 0:39:22 GMT -5
So what is PSU's weakness? Sounds like they have alot of tools to use on any given night.
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Post by nosKILLS on Apr 30, 2005 0:55:40 GMT -5
passing against UCLA in March raises concern... the Lions tend to start off slowly in the first game of the match, but that hasn't come back to haunt them too much yet
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Post by future on Apr 30, 2005 7:19:11 GMT -5
Fo me Pav has done an exellent job this year. The PSU teams focus has remained at a high level all year.
Pav rested guys when he needed to.....example short explosive practices......giving Kowal days off.....lots of PT to the backup setter and rotating his OH while Wetzel overcame his concussion. Too many coaches are so bent on 3 hour workouts and extra practices during the season, which break players down too much.
Kowal has become the player he should be and is demonstrating the quiet leadership that this team needs but I agree he was not himself early in the year.
This is a pretty dangerous team folks that has serious potential to hang a 2nd National Championship banner.
If Pepp loses PSU takes the #1 seed against OSU/IPFW .....guaranteed Finals
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