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Post by waynevb1 on Dec 2, 2021 20:32:37 GMT -5
Whatever Hambly does with a healthy roster heading into the tournament, one thing that he should NOT do is move Baird back to OH2. I never liked having her and Kipp next to each other in the lineup. They were taking kill attempts away from each other, and Francis is too "green" to handle that big of a load when they're in the back row.
I get it...the passing rotation is easier when you're subbing the OH1 and the OH2 is a 6-rotation player. But it's not as if this team was passing lights out prior to the Baird move. At least now the offense has a chance to compensate for a mediocre pass with Baird and Kipp two spots away from each other. Plus, Kipp hitting the pipe has been a thing of beauty lately.
I say keep rolling the dice with this lineup and risk Kipp passing a rotation or two. If you get in trouble, you've got a healthy Lougeay or a Beaven (whichever one doesn't sub for Francis) to come in and pass. That should be their role in the tourney. Keep using Berty or Xu or Tufuga as a serving sub. Berty has actually been serving really tough lately, and Tufuga has a really nice short serve to run interference with the other team's hitting patterns.
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Post by hammer on Dec 2, 2021 21:51:24 GMT -5
Kansas (two matches at home) split with Iowa State 3-1 and 0-3. Just a point of reference since Oregon was swept by Kansas.
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Post by crando on Dec 3, 2021 16:13:02 GMT -5
Responding to many things... Remember during the first 6-8 matches when we said Kipp's good, but she makes way too many hitting errors? I think she's done a great job of improving over the course of the season since those times, and she's become really good right now (ditto for Kipp's and Baird's, and everyone's, reduction in service errors). With an actual spring practice, she becomes even better for next year.
Totally agree about Baird in the O1 being better!
Francis seems like a competitor; hopefully she can clear her head of nerves and rookie-ness, and take another step forward this weekend. Because with two excellent pins, two middles hitting .300+ and blocking, and then add an O2 who is hitting effectively, the team could get on a bit of a run. That said, I think the injuries/illnesses might have just taken too much time away from her, Miner, and the team as a whole; they might have needed a couple more weeks of working together to really get to a level where they'd have a puncher's chance at the FF.
KS played quite well yesterday; Oregon played pretty iffy. I'm not sure the transitive property applies. Stanford has a lot of firepower -- even playing against a not-great defensive team, my guess is that it'll be tough for ISU to keep up with the Card in the kills category. Hopefully I didn't jinx it, but I feel like Stanford has a great shot at getting to tomorrow, and giving MN a pretty decent run for their money. Go Card!
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Post by crando on Dec 3, 2021 16:18:06 GMT -5
Oh, and having Hentz ON the court would make a huge difference in the defense for sure. But I'm not sure how having Hentz on the bench would make a difference, because I'm not sure what her coaching experience is. I assume the people currently on the bench have a lot more experience at helping others learn to play better defense than Morgan does. I don't think having Michael Jordan coach me would suddenly help me be able to dunk...
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Post by neurovolley on Dec 3, 2021 22:41:00 GMT -5
Decent win today. Passing and defense still iffy but our aces/error ratio seems to be getting better. Baird and Kipp did their usual 20 kills each. Blocking seemed okay but it picked up towards the end of the match. The one set that we lost was the set that Francis had 0 kills so her getting a few kills can definitely be the difference maker. Obviously we need more offense from the middle but that doesn't seem like it's gonna happen.
Going to be a tough match against Minnesota but it seems like McGraw is going to be out.
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Post by naujack85 on Dec 3, 2021 23:10:05 GMT -5
Decent win today. Passing and defense still iffy but our aces/error ratio seems to be getting better. Baird and Kipp did their usual 20 kills each. Blocking seemed okay but it picked up towards the end of the match. The one set that we lost was the set that Francis had 0 kills so her getting a few kills can definitely be the difference maker. Obviously we need more offense from the middle but that doesn't seem like it's gonna happen. Going to be a tough match against Minnesota but it seems like McGraw is going to be out. We need to remember that this is essentially the FIRST postseason game for everyone on the floor except Holly. I mean, Kipp played maybe 10 points in the 2019 postseason but that's it. I thought there was a lot of very solid play along with some pretty boneheaded mistakes. Still, if Caitie and Kendall are playing well, I like our chances against Minny. I actually think Kami might be the key for us tomorrow, she needs to be a little bit better with her location than she was today, and be a bit better with her blocking too. Her future seems so bright though
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Post by myhouse911 on Dec 4, 2021 9:12:11 GMT -5
Decent win today. Passing and defense still iffy but our aces/error ratio seems to be getting better. Baird and Kipp did their usual 20 kills each. Blocking seemed okay but it picked up towards the end of the match. The one set that we lost was the set that Francis had 0 kills so her getting a few kills can definitely be the difference maker. Obviously we need more offense from the middle but that doesn't seem like it's gonna happen. Going to be a tough match against Minnesota but it seems like McGraw is going to be out. We need to remember that this is essentially the FIRST postseason game for everyone on the floor except Holly. I mean, Kipp played maybe 10 points in the 2019 postseason but that's it. I thought there was a lot of very solid play along with some pretty boneheaded mistakes. Still, if Caitie and Kendall are playing well, I like our chances against Minny. I actually think Kami might be the key for us tomorrow, she needs to be a little bit better with her location than she was today, and be a bit better with her blocking too. Her future seems so bright though Not even ten points. Kipp played for one point as a blocking sub in the 2019 tournament.
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Post by stanfordvb on Dec 4, 2021 21:30:50 GMT -5
Well. What a fitting last point of the season lol
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Post by hammer on Dec 4, 2021 21:40:44 GMT -5
Well. What a fitting last point of the season lol I had no illusions that this team was going to get close to the Final Four, but the way they played tonight was just head-shaking.
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Post by neurovolley on Dec 4, 2021 21:42:03 GMT -5
there's always next year. lets hope for a competitive, injury-free offseason/season
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Post by leland99 on Dec 4, 2021 21:43:44 GMT -5
Well. What a fitting last point of the season lol I had no illusions that this team was going to get close to the Final Four, but the way they played tonight was just head-shaking.
I was hoping they'd prove me wrong. At least take a set off of Minny. Nope.
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Post by leland99 on Dec 4, 2021 21:46:25 GMT -5
there's always next year. lets hope for a competitive, injury-free offseason/season
I hope the new recruits, in 2022, can bring something to this team. Otherwise, Stanford will be mediocre for a number of years to come.
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Post by stanfordvb on Dec 4, 2021 21:46:50 GMT -5
They need major work in the off-season. Major. Passing and miner need to be the #1 focuses. The tempo of the offense needs to be sped up. Francis still looks like a MB playing OH
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Post by Turlington on Dec 4, 2021 21:52:08 GMT -5
I had no illusions that this team was going to get close to the Final Four, but the way they played tonight was just head-shaking. I was hoping they'd prove me wrong. At least take a set off of Minny. Nope.
The team showed flashes of brilliance pre conference so that made expectations higher. I really think that Hambly needs to focus on recruiting a real libero (I would love Oglivie to be a DS) that will take charge of the back row. I cringed when Miner took so many free balls.
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Post by Turlington on Dec 4, 2021 21:53:47 GMT -5
there's always next year. lets hope for a competitive, injury-free offseason/season I hope the new recruits, in 2022, can bring something to this team. Otherwise, Stanford will be mediocre for a number of years to come.
Haven't seen Rubin but hearing good things about her ball control.
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