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Post by redbeard2008 on Sept 20, 2014 13:55:08 GMT -5
I really hope Sybeldon joins Vansant and Nelson as All American's this year. Quick as Rowland, strong as Swarbrick. And to think that as a freshman blocking was her weakness.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Sept 20, 2014 14:15:37 GMT -5
Wow, that was the most fun I've had at a Husky game since Oregon in 2012 (ridiculously long and thrilling five-setter). Both teams rose to the occasion and played like they deserve top 5 rankings. The crowd was large, loud, and appreciative. The difference between the teams is very small; I could easily see this going the Badgers way if the match had been in Madison. I think redbeard got it exactly right when he suggested that this match would be more valuable as a barometer of where the teams stand, and what they need to work on, than as a win or loss. I hope the Huskies continue to schedule preseason games against elite competition. Here are some of my takeaways from the match: Passing, passing, passing - this is the key to the Huskies season. Last night was OK -- better than my worst fears and not as good as my best hopes. But still a long way to go. With the potent, diversified attack WA now runs, a good pass should end most points. Team defense - another big key, but last night gave reason to be more hopeful. The Huskies improved as the match went on, although a good deal of that was Wisconsin fading. But Strickland, in particular, was making a positive impact in sets 4 and 5. Towards the end she looked like the Cassie of old, flying around the court, laying out, bringing her fiery personality in a good way. She still has a long way to go as a libero, but I saw improvement. BTW, is Taylor Morey freaking amazing or what? I felt like she was personally responsible for bringing down the Huskies attack % by 100 points. She has an uncanny ability to be in the right position at the right time. Just beautiful to watch. Oh, one more thing, the Huskies looked better last night at converting free balls. Early in the season, there were many cringe-worthy free balls where the Huskies were discombobulated. As the transition D and passing improves, the middle attack is just going to get more devastating. Serving - lots of room for improvement. Way too many service errors. Besides Wade (and usually Beals), no one is really consistent (though Vansant had a nice serving game last night). Tia Scambray is the real deal - hard to believe she's been playing college ball for less than a month. She is smart, steady, and makes very few errors (though too many missed serves last night). Volleyball IQ is off the charts. She is a critical part of the Huskies success so far. The middles! I love watching Sybeldon's cat-like quickness. She had one solo block where it was just astounding she even got up in time, let alone make the block. Melanie was one of the best players on the court last night. Few teams in the country have a pair of middles as good as this. Tanner, Jones, Schwan (throw in Finau and DeHoog as well) - all works in progress but with tremendous upside. For someone with just a few matches under her belt, I thought Bailey did OK against a tough Badger team. I am confident that, under JMac's tutelage, she will be a more confident setter by season's end. It would appear that JMac believes the team is better with her on the court than Finau at the moment. I think Schwan gets the nod over Jones right now because she simply makes fewer errors. Schwan had a lovely solo block last night. Confidence in the clutch - the Huskies have now won three five-setters, with very good performances in all three of the fifth sets. These matches will help the Huskies and their younger players as the season goes on. I think the Badgers just wore down last night, but give the Huskies credit for staying strong to the final whistle. Wisconsin reminded me a lot of that 2012 Oregon team - great floor defense, great setter, very good transition offense. Just lacking the hammer (Bergsma), but if Kristova can get on the floor... Encouraging that the Huskies are winning these kinds of matches (BYU and Wisconsin) while there's still a LOT of improvement that can be made. In both cases, our blocking carried us.
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Post by tomclen on Sept 20, 2014 15:07:03 GMT -5
Playing BYU and Wisconsin in pre-conference is great for the fans. I suspect it will be great for the team as well. Two tough matches where they know if they keep it close they can outlast tough competition.
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Post by redheaded1 on Sept 20, 2014 16:23:56 GMT -5
Wow, that was the most fun I've had at a Husky game since Oregon in 2012 (ridiculously long and thrilling five-setter). Both teams rose to the occasion and played like they deserve top 5 rankings. The crowd was large, loud, and appreciative. The difference between the teams is very small; I could easily see this going the Badgers way if the match had been in Madison. I think redbeard got it exactly right when he suggested that this match would be more valuable as a barometer of where the teams stand, and what they need to work on, than as a win or loss. I hope the Huskies continue to schedule preseason games against elite competition. Here are some of my takeaways from the match: Passing, passing, passing - this is the key to the Huskies season. Last night was OK -- better than my worst fears and not as good as my best hopes. But still a long way to go. With the potent, diversified attack WA now runs, a good pass should end most points. t). Tia Scambray is the real deal - hard to believe she's been playing college ball for less than a Team defense - another big key, but last night gave reason to be more hopeful. The Huskies improved as the match went on, although a good deal of that was Wisconsin fading. But Strickland, in particular, was making a positive impact in sets 4 and 5. Towards the end she looked like the Cassie of old, flying around the court, laying out, bringing her fiery personality in a good way. She still has a long way to go as a libero, but I saw improvement. BTW, is Taylor Morey freaking amazing or what? I felt like she was personally responsible for bringing down the Huskies attack % by 100 points. She has an uncanny ability to be in the right position at the right time. Just beautiful to watch. Oh, one more thing, the Huskies looked better last night at converting free balls. Early in the season, there were many cringe-worthy free balls where the Huskies were discombobulated. As the transition D and passing improves, the middle attack is just going to get more devastating. Serving - lots of room for improvement. Way too many service errors. Besides Wade (and usually Beals), no one is really consistent (though Vansant had a nice serving game last nigh month. She is smart, steady, and makes very few errors (though too many missed serves last night). Volleyball IQ is off the charts. She is a critical part of the Huskies success so far. The middles! I love watching Sybeldon's cat-like quickness. She had one solo block where it was just astounding she even got up in time, let alone make the block. Melanie was one of the best players on the court last night. Few teams in the country have a pair of middles as good as this. Tanner, Jones, Schwan (throw in Finau and DeHoog as well) - all works in progress but with tremendous upside. For someone with just a few matches under her belt, I thought Bailey did OK against a tough Badger team. I am confident that, under JMac's tutelage, she will be a more confident setter by season's end. It would appear that JMac believes the team is better with her on the court than Finau at the moment. I think Schwan gets the nod over Jones right now because she simply makes fewer errors. Schwan had a lovely solo block last night. Confidence in the clutch - the Huskies have now won three five-setters, with very good performances in all three of the fifth sets. These matches will help the Huskies and their younger players as the season goes on. I think the Badgers just wore down last night, but give the Huskies credit for staying strong to the final whistle. Wisconsin reminded me a lot of that 2012 Oregon team - great floor defense, great setter, very good transition offense. Just lacking the hammer (Bergsma), but if Kristova can get on the floor... Encouraging that the Huskies are winning these kinds of matches (BYU and Wisconsin) while there's still a LOT of improvement that can be made. In both cases, our blocking carried us. The Middles: What was more impressive was the solo block by Jones against 6'7 Hamson of BYU.
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duggo
Sophomore
Posts: 238
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Post by duggo on Sept 20, 2014 18:42:47 GMT -5
I really hope Scambray will get Pac 12 freshman of the week. I'm so impressed with her play/skills. She has wide range of shots, timing of shots, good form/timing of blocks, serve receptions etc etc....I also like her demeanor in the court too.
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Post by mikegarrison on Sept 20, 2014 21:56:30 GMT -5
I really hope Scambray will get Pac 12 freshman of the week. I'm so impressed with her play/skills. She has wide range of shots, timing of shots, good form/timing of blocks, serve receptions etc etc....I also like her demeanor in the court too. UW will probably get at least one, maybe two of the POW awards this week. Even though those awards are supposed to be for individual performance, they tend to go to players on teams that get signature wins that week.
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Post by dawgnerd on Sept 20, 2014 22:37:06 GMT -5
I really hope Sybeldon joins Vansant and Nelson as All American's this year. Quick as Rowland, strong as Swarbrick. And to think that as a freshman blocking was her weakness. The role of Sybeldon's further improvement has been an overlooked part of the continuation of UW success, behind the newcomers stepping up. She is hitting higher and harder (part of that due to better connections with the setters) with more consistently successful shot selection. It looks to me as though she has slowed her approach in many situations (noted in warm ups, that she delays enough that she did not jump when not set). I wonder if that has improved her connections with Katy. As Redbeard alluded to, her blocking has shown similar advances. Will the pair of Sybeldon and Wade push Desilets and Tui for the best set of middles for UW?
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Post by redbeard2008 on Sept 20, 2014 23:20:45 GMT -5
I think Sybeldon could be in the running for P12 Defensive Player of the Week, due to her 10 blocks against the Badgers. Watching the replay, it was clear that the Huskies' block had really got into the Badger hitters' heads in the 5th set - instead of hitting into the block, they were hitting away from it, and out. Wade, however had the better line for the weekend: Wade: 14k, 0e, 23ta, .609, 12bl Sybeldon: 13k, 3e, 22ta, .455, 12bl Makare Desilets - saw a Husky Classics replay on UWTV with her playing with Leslie Tuiasosopo a couple years ago. Fun player to watch. According to her French Wikipedia page, she's still playing professionally in Europe (Poland): fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makare_DesiletsAlso: dailyuw.com/archive/2013/10/22/volleyball/week-husky-history-leading-los-angeles#.VB5XIhawRoN
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Post by vbtraveler on Sept 20, 2014 23:33:32 GMT -5
And throw in the digs from Wade in her serving rotation I think she might nab the honors for the week.
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Post by alwayslearning on Sept 21, 2014 12:11:36 GMT -5
I agree that Wade should be right up there for player of the week -- she's the most consistent and lethal server for UW and plays pretty fair back row defense for a middle. More importantly, her blocking is a key to the Huskies success and her hitting has improved tremendously. Not quite up to Sybeldon's level right now (not many are), but still hitting very high % with very few errors. That wasn't the case even at the end of last year. Her spike on match point Friday night was just one example.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Sept 21, 2014 14:46:26 GMT -5
One thing I noticed is that Strickland is playing left-back when Vansant is in the backrow, but middle-back when Scambray is in the backrow.
Is this a change, or have they been doing that all along?
Morey looked to be consistently at left-back.
Note: According to the match announcer, Washington had their 22nd block at 18-11 in the fourth set, which was their match total.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Sept 22, 2014 15:39:54 GMT -5
Used my Husky Gold Card for the first time at the Wisconsin match. $40 for senior/youth and $50 for adults pays for itself after eight uses. I'm planning on attending at least that many matches, so that means I'll be able to attend women's basketball and softball for free. I was just passed through when I showed my card, so I wasn't included in the attendance count (unless they're keeping a mental count, although I doubt it). How many fans are using Gold Cards? I've always felt that the actual crowd was being under-counted. www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=208228897
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Post by mikegarrison on Sept 22, 2014 15:46:41 GMT -5
Used my Husky Gold Card for the first time at the Wisconsin match. $40 for senior/youth and $50 for adults pays for itself after eight uses. I'm planning on attending at least that many matches, so that means I'll be able to attend women's basketball and softball for free. I was just passed through when I showed my card, so I wasn't included in the attendance count (unless they're keeping a mental count, although I doubt it). How many fans are using Gold Cards? I've always felt that the actual crowd was being under-counted. www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=208228897You may not have noticed, but they have a separate clicker that they click when you enter using the card.
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Post by sasa on Sept 22, 2014 16:21:47 GMT -5
Playing BYU and Wisconsin in pre-conference is great for the fans. I suspect it will be great for the team as well. Two tough matches where they know if they keep it close they can outlast tough competition. The win in Provo, IMO, was quite impressive, and huge for the Huskies. I've watched matches in the Smith Field House, and it's a tough environment for opposing teams to win in, with the crowd almost cheering 'on top' of you. This home court advantage is why both the BYU men and women's volleyball teams will play there rather than the much larger, and nicer, Marriott Center. I was impressed by the Huskies' composure throughout the match, especially the freshmen, and see this team doing very well 'away' this season.
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Post by Mocha on Sept 22, 2014 18:44:15 GMT -5
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