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Post by pogoball on Dec 16, 2011 0:09:55 GMT -5
What was with the connection between the USC setter and Williams? Sorry, I haven't been paying attention to college volleyball. I'm not so sure that Williams' hits weren't designed that way. She was hitting at the top of her armswing and the Illini MB couldn't even touch it. It allowed her to hit in front of the defense all night. I'm not familiar enough with SC to know for sure, but it sure was effective.
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Post by psumaui on Dec 16, 2011 0:11:07 GMT -5
How's the championship match going to top this one? Reminds of the Nebraska/Penn State semi final five setter a few years ago which turned out to be waaaaaay better than the final. The final hasn't been played yet but I'm thinking it will be anti-climatic compared to this epic instant classic. that was the best match I have ever seen You must not have seen the PSU vs Texas Final in 2009 then. This was a great match overall but Illinois ran away with it at the end of the 5th set. Congrats to USC for a great year!
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Post by Psychopotamus on Dec 16, 2011 0:11:30 GMT -5
Jeezmo, Liz McMahon, that 6'6" OH for Illinois, is just a freshman. That young lady has a scarey upside. By the time she's a senior-------LOOK OUT!!!! I hope Shoji was watching this match. Hawaii needs a blocker like this on the RS, that is how you stop USC and all the other LS-oriented teams.
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Post by andrewwmic on Dec 16, 2011 0:12:13 GMT -5
that was the best match I have ever seen You must not have seen the PSU vs Texas Final in 2009 then. This was a great match overall but Illinois ran away with it at the end. Congrats to USC for a great year! I did see that match, and yes it was awesome...I was talking about PennState / Nebraska in Omaha...not this match tonight
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Post by redincolorado on Dec 16, 2011 0:12:47 GMT -5
i think the big10 may have a great run in the last 4-5 yrs, but overall, pac12/10 has the most ncaa championships... can someone check.... the gap is closing. it's good to see high level vb for both east and west... im looking forward to championship match. i think illinois has more weapons than the bruins... What? Illinois and USC would be mid-west and west. FSU would be East, but nobody else in the final four would be considered east.
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Post by psumaui on Dec 16, 2011 0:13:06 GMT -5
Post Match Press conference links?
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Post by karellen on Dec 16, 2011 0:14:00 GMT -5
Great match - UNBELIEVABLE final rally - by my count there were 16 attacks and the ball crossed the net 13 or 14 times - wow!!
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Post by psumaui on Dec 16, 2011 0:16:20 GMT -5
Great match - UNBELIEVABLE final rally - by my count there were 16 attacks and the ball crossed the net 13 or 14 times - wow!! Definitely agree. There may have been a longer rally in another match but I haven't seen it!
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Post by bballnut90 on Dec 16, 2011 0:16:42 GMT -5
USC was too reliant on Jupiter. She took 40% of the swings, I would have liked to see Bateman run the middles more, I don't think she distributed the offense well.
Hagglund is a joy to watch, she picks up everything that comes near her and passes well. She'll definitely be a candidate for the Olympic team down the road (or maybe sooner than we think...) Side note: I hate how prepvolleyball.com, and the volleyball world in general, gives such little love to liberos/defensive specialists. Hagglund was ranked the #27 overall recruit in her class. Are you kidding me? Do people actually believe there are 26 players in the sophomore class who are better than Hagglund? 5 players even? Hagglund is a stud, looking forward to seeing her the next two seasons at USC.
Jupiter picked up her play a lot in sets 3 and 4, I just think she was over set. Finishing your career with 32 kills in the national semis isn't a bad way to go out, congrats to her on a great career, she should be the NPOY.
Lauren Williams was very good tonight, needed to add a bit more heat to some of her hits (didn't always connect well with Bateman) but she was very effective, especially in game 1. I would have liked to see Bateman use Williams and Olgard more throughout the match.
For Illinois, that was the best I've seen them play this season. Ward has really elevated her play the last couple of matches, she's hitting with more authority and has really established herself as the go to player for Illinois.
I was amazed with Bartsch's backrow play. Very strong defensively for a 6-3 girl. She hit very well tonight, almost .300 which is significantly higher than her just average season hitting percentage of .211. They'll need her to hit a similar percentage to beat USC.
McMahon was superb tonight, Reminds me so much of a young Blair Brown. Had some timely kills, I loved Hambly's decision to throw her on the left for one rotation to finish off game 3. She's still very raw but will get a lot more swings next season with Bartsch/Ward gone. Great match for McMahon.
Beltran was very solid tonight, didn't have as many ridiculous digs as her counterpart but I don't think anyone can sneer at 32 digs. Very good match for Beltran.
Best match I've seen all season in terms of quality and excitement. It definitely lived up to the billing. I think the main difference was the pin hitter trio. Hambly said it, whichever outsides hit better will determine the match. Bartsch/Ward/McMahon played phenomenally, Jupiter was a stud but Shaw/Fuller didn't have their best matches, and I think that may have been the difference tonight.
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Post by redincolorado on Dec 16, 2011 0:17:42 GMT -5
Great match - UNBELIEVABLE final rally - by my count there were 16 attacks and the ball crossed the net 13 or 14 times - wow!! That epic match point rally will put this match squarely into the "instant classic" category. Not that this awesome five setter isn't an instant classic anyway, but that amazing match point rally leaves no doubt.
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Post by IdahoBoy on Dec 16, 2011 0:21:54 GMT -5
Great match - UNBELIEVABLE final rally - by my count there were 16 attacks and the ball crossed the net 13 or 14 times - wow!! That epic match point rally will put this match squarely into the "instant classic" category. Not that this awesome five setter isn't an instant classic anyway, but that amazing match point rally leaves no doubt. The youtube link was just posted last page, but reposting with embedding. 1:08+ for the rally. Wow.
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Post by tomclen on Dec 16, 2011 0:24:34 GMT -5
Great match - UNBELIEVABLE final rally - by my count there were 16 attacks and the ball crossed the net 13 or 14 times - wow!! That epic match point rally will put this match squarely into the "instant classic" category. Not that this awesome five setter isn't an instant classic anyway, but that amazing match point rally leaves no doubt. That match point rally was incredible....really remarkable plays on both sides. Only thing that would have made it better would have been if the score had been closer. Illinois had it wrapped at the point, even if they had lost that rally. USC lost the match, or Illinois won it....in the 3rd set. Had USC, up 22-19 been able to close that out, they probably would have won 3 sets to 1. Illinois looked very impressive. Had an answer for most everything USC was doing, including too many Jupiter blocks/digs.
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Post by austintatious on Dec 16, 2011 0:25:29 GMT -5
Best match point I've ever seen!!!!! E V E R!!! SC never came close to giving in.
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Post by MTC on Dec 16, 2011 0:27:25 GMT -5
McMahon reminds me of Blair Brown I thought that too.
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Post by nelson56 on Dec 16, 2011 0:27:32 GMT -5
Illinois had two great outsides and USC had one, that's the difference.
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