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Post by ay2013 on Oct 26, 2014 12:08:09 GMT -5
Did some quick searching for Kara Bajema on the web. The Bellingham Herald article about her exploits in the division 1A championship game (when she was a sophomore) focuses on her clutch 3-point shooting. Also mentions that she was in the top 2 on her team in steals. And the Puget Sound Volleyball Club Facebook page mentions that, going into her junior year, she had played only one year of club vball. Sounds promising. Good height as a HS junior too. Wow, that's a long commute from Lynden to Puget Sound VBA in Puyallup! Agreed that is a commute, must come from a bit of $$$. but players commuting for a VB club isn't rare. In the midwest players will travel hundreds of miles to play for the name brand clubs. with that said, while Puget Sound VBA is fine, I'm surprised she's not playing for Kent Juniors. That's the Washington club that turns out the stars.
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Post by tomclen on Oct 27, 2014 4:27:19 GMT -5
This upcoming SoCal road trip looks tough. It always is, of course. But UCLA is playing great and USC could be much tougher than they were vs. Stanford if they are injury-recovered.
An 0-2 road trip would take the luster off the Stanford match.
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Post by alwayslearning on Oct 27, 2014 11:58:43 GMT -5
This upcoming SoCal road trip looks tough. It always is, of course. But UCLA is playing great and USC could be much tougher than they were vs. Stanford if they are injury-recovered. An 0-2 road trip would take the luster off the Stanford match. Yeah, as I was watching the USC-Stanford match last night, I got the feeling that a slumbering giant had been awakened. It took Haley a long time (probably too long) to find a lineup that worked better, but putting in Ruddins and having Young set is clearly better for the Trojans. And I'm personally happy for Nwanebu, who is looking so much better than just a few weeks ago, though still not back to her form at the end of last season. But for Ruddins' inability to pass a ball at the end of set 2 against the Cardinal, USC likely would have been up 2-0 at the break with a real chance for an upset. So this will be a tough road trip for the Huskies. Despite USC's resurgence, they are still vulnerable to a tough-serving team. My feeling is that if the Huskies serve tough and pass well, they will be OK against the Trojans. Both USC and Stanford looked beatable last night, but only if a team is really on top of its game. UCLA may be an even tougher challenge because they really can pass the ball, so the Huskies not-so-secret weapon, serving, will probably not be as effective. I wouldn't be surprised to see some looong matches in LA this week. Go Huskies!
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Post by mikegarrison on Oct 27, 2014 12:07:54 GMT -5
Obviously the Huskies will have to play well this week if they are to win, but I think they serve much tougher than Stanford (or at least tougher than Stanford did last night, anyway). If they can avoid digging themselves too deep of a hole at the start of the matches, the Huskies are still definitely the favorites. They need to continue to neutralize Bricio like they have done nearly all her career, and they need to wear down Lowe (and not allow the other Bruins to beat them). But both of those are doable.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Oct 27, 2014 16:37:47 GMT -5
Nelson looks to be out of her slump:
vs Arizona 4s, 10k, 1e, 18ta, .500 vs Utah 3s, 8k, 3e, 16ta, .312 vs Colorado 3s, 6k, 1e, 17ta, .294
Total: 10s, 24k, 5e, 50ta, .380 (2.40 k/s)
Compared to the slump in the previous three matches:
vs OSU: 4s, 7k, 4e, 27ta, .111 vs Oregon: 4s, 8k, 4e, 19ta, .211 vs ASU: 3s, 4k, 4e, 18ta, .000
Total: 11s, 19k, 12e, 64ta, .109 (1.73 k/s)
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Post by tomclen on Oct 28, 2014 16:05:09 GMT -5
So, do I have this right?
Washington had to play a Sunday afternoon match. Then travel mid-week to LAX for a Wednesday night match against USC. Then spend two nights in hotels. Then play Friday night against UCLA.
UCLA, meanwhile, has the entire week off to prepare for Washington Friday night.
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Post by mikegarrison on Oct 28, 2014 16:11:08 GMT -5
So, do I have this right? Washington had to play a Sunday afternoon match. Then travel mid-week to LAX for a Wednesday night match against USC. Then spend two nights in hotels. Then play Friday night against UCLA. UCLA, meanwhile, has the entire week off to prepare for Washington Friday night. Yup. Same thing USC faced when they came to Seattle a few weeks ago, IIRC. The combination of late Sunday matches and Wed matches (plus some teams playing their first match of the week against other teams who are playing their second match of the week) has made for some really unfair situations.
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Post by alwayslearning on Oct 28, 2014 17:54:44 GMT -5
Just the vagaries of the schedule. All teams have to deal with it at some point. Dealing with scheduling adversity might just be another opportunity to learn more about yourself and the team.
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Post by mikegarrison on Oct 28, 2014 18:14:12 GMT -5
Just the vagaries of the schedule. All teams have to deal with it at some point. Dealing with scheduling adversity might just be another opportunity to learn more about yourself and the team. But there is no good reason why teams should have to learn to deal with schedule adversity. This situation is a creation of the PAC-12 Network office. It's like saying burning yourself is OK because you learn how to deal with painful burns. Wouldn't it be better just to not get burned?
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Post by baywatcher on Oct 28, 2014 18:15:13 GMT -5
Or a way to go down to inglorious defeat. I look at factors like unfair schedules as reasons, not excuses. But USC has to travel, also.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Oct 28, 2014 18:20:15 GMT -5
The biggest issue in preparing for USC is they're now running a 5-2 system, with Nwanebu playing backrow, so just throw out any previous scouting reports. Ruddins didn't play last time, so she'll be a new element. Young is a lefty setter, so watch for dumps.
With UCLA, it's Lowe, Lowe, Lowe. Plus uncertainty over who'll set.
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Post by tomclen on Oct 28, 2014 18:29:29 GMT -5
I may go trick-or-treating as Nwanebu.
Just so when they ask who I'm supposed to be, I can say Nwane-BOO!
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Post by ay2013 on Oct 28, 2014 19:08:08 GMT -5
If Vansant plays the way she did against Colorado, UW is losing both of these matches
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Post by redbeard2008 on Oct 28, 2014 21:58:22 GMT -5
Conference Only:
Vansant 5.03 k/s, .297, 3.00 dg/s Scambray 2.78 k/s, .283, 1.89 dg/s Nelson 1.89 k/s, .253, 0.84 bl/s Sybeldon 1.73 k/s, .375, 1.51 bl/s Jones 1.56 k/s, .320, 1.00 bl/s Wade 1.24 k/s, .305, 1.19 bl/s Strickland 0.57 sa/s, 3.54 dg/s Beals 5.97 a/s, 2.05 dg/s Tanner 6.05 a/s, 1.73 dg/s
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Post by tomclen on Oct 28, 2014 22:27:01 GMT -5
If Vansant plays the way she did against Colorado, UW is losing both of these matches Her last college trip to USC & UCLA...I'm betting Vansant may have to be restrained by LAPD.
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