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Post by ay2013 on Oct 28, 2014 22:58:16 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. lets hope so!
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Post by prosem on Oct 30, 2014 1:24:07 GMT -5
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Post by redbeard2008 on Oct 30, 2014 2:00:51 GMT -5
Would be interesting to see a rundown of all of the family members attending tonight. Going to L.A. is going "home" for a large portion of the UW roster: Vansant (Redlands), Strickland (Huntington Beach), Tanner (San Clemente), DeHoog (Ontario), Scambray (Dana Point), Jones (Los Alamitos), Meyer-Whalley (Los Angeles).
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Post by bobk3333 on Oct 30, 2014 17:56:48 GMT -5
If Vansant plays the way she did against Colorado, UW is losing both of these matches That was true in the past -- certainly last year and maybe even earlier this year -- but it is absolutely wrong now. First, the rest of the team is strong enough to beat most teams and certainly strong enough to compensate for an off-hitting day by Vansant against all but a handful of teams. The blocking is great. Beales is setting extremely well and Tanner is coming along nicely. Strickland is shaping into the force many of us knew she would be. Scambray will be a big star, probably future 1st team AA, possible future POY. Sybeldon, Jones and Nelson are all great hitters. This team has been improving by leaps and bounds and will continue to improve. They are already better than the 2005 championship team, in my opinion. There is plenty of fire power even if Vansant is having an off-day hitting or the other team is over-compensating in defending against her. Second, Vansant has a phenomenal all-around game and even if she appears to be having an off-day on her hitting, she is probably doing a lot elsewhere (as she did against Colorado.) She is a great blocker and the best on the team at both serving and digging. A lot of fans don't see all the other things she does. My impression is that in the earlier sets and even early in every game, Vansant has been taking a little bit off her jumps and hits. She plays more of an all-around finesse game. She is in on almost every play and gets very little bench time, so I hope she is saving her legs a little bit for the playoffs. The rest of the team is very strong and will be very strong again next year, but make no mistake about it, this is Krista Vansant's team. She has been an unselfish and hard working player; the best volleyball player ever at UW and one of the best athletes in her sport Seattle has ever seen (along with Ken Griffey Jr, Alex Rodriguez, Felix Hernandez.) The entire team and most fans want to win the national championship for Vansant (at least partly). She deserves it. There will be no other team, including Wisconsin, that will be more motivated in the playoffs than the Huskies. There will be no letdown this year -- just the opposite, they will play like they are possessed by a higher power. As far as volleyball -- get ready for a very strong opinion -- Vansant is, in my book, the best all-around American woman college volleyball player of all time. A lot of people don't recognize how good she is because she is not 6-5 and doesn't pound the ball as hard as some of the giants; and because she hasn't won a national championship yet. With her all-around game, I used to think that Vansant (6'-2") was the next Logan Tom (6'1"), but now I think she might be beyond that: she might become the Karch Karily (6'2") of womens volleyball. I am sure Karch Karily recognized her talent last night and that she will be not only a team member, but a major force in the 2016 Olympics.
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Post by volleyfuntimes on Oct 30, 2014 18:14:27 GMT -5
If Vansant plays the way she did against Colorado, UW is losing both of these matches That was true in the past -- certainly last year and maybe even earlier this year -- but it is absolutely wrong now. First, the rest of the team is strong enough to beat most teams and certainly strong enough to compensate for an off-hitting day by Vansant against all but a handful of teams. The blocking is great. Beales is setting extremely well and Tanner is coming along nicely. Strickland is shaping into the force many of us knew she would be. Scambray will be a big star, probably future 1st team AA, possible future POY. Sybeldon, Jones and Nelson are all great hitters. This team has been improving by leaps and bounds and will continue to improve. They are already better than the 2005 championship team, in my opinion. There is plenty of fire power even if Vansant is having an off-day hitting or the other team is over-compensating in defending against her. Second, Vansant has a phenomenal all-around game and even if she appears to be having an off-day on her hitting, she is probably doing a lot elsewhere (as she did against Colorado.) She is a great blocker and the best on the team at both serving and digging. A lot of fans don't see all the other things she does. My impression is that in the earlier sets and even early in every game, Vansant has been taking a little bit off her jumps and hits. She plays more of an all-around finesse game. She is in on almost every play and gets very little bench time, so I hope she is saving her legs a little bit for the playoffs. The rest of the team is very strong and will be very strong again next year, but make no mistake about it, this is Krista Vansant's team. She has been an unselfish and hard working player; the best volleyball player ever at UW and one of the best athletes in her sport Seattle has ever seen (along with Ken Griffey Jr, Alex Rodriguez, Felix Hernandez.) The entire team and most fans want to win the national championship for Vansant (at least partly). She deserves it. There will be no other team, including Wisconsin, that will be more motivated in the playoffs than the Huskies. There will be no letdown this year -- just the opposite, they will play like they are possessed by a higher power. As far as volleyball -- get ready for a very strong opinion -- Vansant is, in my book, the best all-around American woman college volleyball player of all time. A lot of people don't recognize how good she is because she is not 6-5 and doesn't pound the ball as hard as some of the giants; and because she hasn't won a national championship yet. With her all-around game, I used to think that Vansant (6'-2") was the next Logan Tom (6'1"), but now I think she might be beyond that: she might become the Karch Karily (6'2") of womens volleyball. I am sure Karch Karily recognized her talent last night and that she will be not only a team member, but a major force in the 2016 Olympics. Wow, love reading your take on Vansant. I wish I could see her play more in person or on a big clear screen! Washington is my favorite team and it all stems from JMac. I met him years ago at a volleyball camp. Vansant is an amazing player and IMO choosing to play for Washington--a great choice! Hope we get to see Vansant in action for years to come!
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Post by c4ndlelight on Oct 30, 2014 18:20:32 GMT -5
As far as volleyball -- get ready for a very strong opinion -- Vansant is, in my book, the best all-around American woman college volleyball player of all time. A lot of people don't recognize how good she is because she is not 6-5 and doesn't pound the ball as hard as some of the giants; and because she hasn't won a national championship yet. With her all-around game, I used to think that Vansant (6'-2") was the next Logan Tom (6'1"), but now I think she might be beyond that: she might become the Karch Karily (6'2") of womens volleyball. I am sure Karch Karily recognized her talent last night and that she will be not only a team member, but a major force in the 2016 Olympics.
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Post by ay2013 on Oct 30, 2014 19:17:08 GMT -5
If Vansant plays the way she did against Colorado, UW is losing both of these matches That was true in the past -- certainly last year and maybe even earlier this year -- but it is absolutely wrong now. First, the rest of the team is strong enough to beat most teams and certainly strong enough to compensate for an off-hitting day by Vansant against all but a handful of teams. The blocking is great. Beales is setting extremely well and Tanner is coming along nicely. Strickland is shaping into the force many of us knew she would be. Scambray will be a big star, probably future 1st team AA, possible future POY. Sybeldon, Jones and Nelson are all great hitters. This team has been improving by leaps and bounds and will continue to improve. They are already better than the 2005 championship team, in my opinion. There is plenty of fire power even if Vansant is having an off-day hitting or the other team is over-compensating in defending against her. Second, Vansant has a phenomenal all-around game and even if she appears to be having an off-day on her hitting, she is probably doing a lot elsewhere (as she did against Colorado.) She is a great blocker and the best on the team at both serving and digging. A lot of fans don't see all the other things she does. My impression is that in the earlier sets and even early in every game, Vansant has been taking a little bit off her jumps and hits. She plays more of an all-around finesse game. She is in on almost every play and gets very little bench time, so I hope she is saving her legs a little bit for the playoffs. The rest of the team is very strong and will be very strong again next year, but make no mistake about it, this is Krista Vansant's team. She has been an unselfish and hard working player; the best volleyball player ever at UW and one of the best athletes in her sport Seattle has ever seen (along with Ken Griffey Jr, Alex Rodriguez, Felix Hernandez.) The entire team and most fans want to win the national championship for Vansant (at least partly). She deserves it. There will be no other team, including Wisconsin, that will be more motivated in the playoffs than the Huskies. There will be no letdown this year -- just the opposite, they will play like they are possessed by a higher power. As far as volleyball -- get ready for a very strong opinion -- Vansant is, in my book, the best all-around American woman college volleyball player of all time. A lot of people don't recognize how good she is because she is not 6-5 and doesn't pound the ball as hard as some of the giants; and because she hasn't won a national championship yet. With her all-around game, I used to think that Vansant (6'-2") was the next Logan Tom (6'1"), but now I think she might be beyond that: she might become the Karch Karily (6'2") of womens volleyball. I am sure Karch Karily recognized her talent last night and that she will be not only a team member, but a major force in the 2016 Olympics. my comment was that if Vansant plays the way she did against Colorado, UW will lose @ USC and UCLA. I can agree that UW is good enough to beat most teams without big contribution from Vansant, however they aren't good enough, IMO, to beat USC and UCLA without big contribution from Vansant. Just look at last night, she hit over .300 with 6 points per set (much better showing than against Colorado) and USC still kept it very close. As to the rest of your comments, well....Beals is not setting "extremely well" and while Tanner is fine, for a freshmen, she certainly isn't a rockstar out there. They are NOT better than 2005, 2005 would crush them in 3, maybe 4. I've seen a lot of Vansant, I'm well aware of what she is capable of, which is also why I'm also well aware of what UW's record would be if they either didn't have her at all, or she had off matches against big competition. While I think Vansant is very good all around, her height has nothing to do with people not agreeing with your best all around accolade. Name me one 6-5 player who people consider to be among the great all around players?
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Post by chisovnik on Oct 30, 2014 22:51:49 GMT -5
One of my favorite players of all time.
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Post by alwayslearning on Nov 1, 2014 11:41:30 GMT -5
Well folks, I missed the beatdown of UCLA last night. I'm assuming that this was a mixed case of excellent Husky vball and meltdown by the Bruins. Perplexing, given the fact that UCLA had a week to prepare, they were playing at home against the #2 team in the country, and they took UW to 5 in Seattle. It is really hard to believe that we are not more than three years removed from UCLA's national championship team in 2011. If I'm an elite recruit from Southern Cal (or anywhere else) and I'm considering UW and UCLA, a match like this, with UCLA in disarray and Huskies just terminating points, might be a tipping point.
I was also a little perplexed at some of the comments in the game thread. Who really cares if Strickland should have had more than 5 digs? Or who gets player of the week? How about TEAM of the week? Or, now that October is over, team of the month? We are witnessing something special this season. No doubt the Huskies have a prodigious amount of individual talent on this squad, but what is truly exciting is the way they are coming together as a team. JMac appears to be getting the most out of his horses.
Just looking at the stats and comments from last night, there are so many positives but these stand out for me:
- With hitting percentages so high, the setters must have done really well. As a former setter, I have tended to be critical of their inconsistent performance this season, but let's give credit when credit is due. (JMac: "Whenever you hit the numbers we did, the setters were good. We passed well and the setters put up good hittable balls.”)
- Lianna Sybeldon looks to have had a monster night. If the middle connection is working, the Huskies are scary.
- UW was dominant in both serving and blocking against what is normally a very good passing and hitting team. Going into last night's game, UCLA was third in the PAC 12 in hitting %, first in assists, and first in kills.
I've always thought that the Huskies would lose a few games before their showdown with Stanford, and of course that could happen (beware of the Buffs in Boulder). But I'm not so sure now. Overall team balance is impressive, to the point where key players can have off nights and Huskies still find a way to win.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Nov 1, 2014 12:05:13 GMT -5
I'm not sure it was a home court advantage for UCLA - they hadn't played there this season, it was mostly empty (even though free), and the Husky fans might have outnumbered the Bruin fans.
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Post by alwayslearning on Nov 1, 2014 12:31:20 GMT -5
Even if you view the John Wooden Center as a neutral court last night, UCLA's performance is still inexplicable, at least to me. I've watched three UCLA matches this season before last night: Illinois (at Maples -- a dominant win for UCLA); UW (a five-setter in Seattle that I saw in person); and Stanford (at Maples where UCLA was certainly competitive). Maybe you just chalk it up as one of those flukey matches where one team plays really well, the other really bad, and it snowballs from there.
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Post by redbeard2008 on Nov 1, 2014 12:40:34 GMT -5
Even if you view the John Wooden Center as a neutral court last night, UCLA's performance is still inexplicable, at least to me. I've watched three UCLA matches this season before last night: Illinois (at Maples -- a dominant win for UCLA); UW (a five-setter in Seattle that I saw in person); and Stanford (at Maples where UCLA was certainly competitive). Maybe you just chalk it up as one of those flukey matches where one team plays really well, the other really bad, and it snowballs from there. Except that's now six straight sets the Huskies have dominated. Last night was pretty much a continuation of the last three sets in Seattle.
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Post by tomclen on Nov 1, 2014 14:05:39 GMT -5
I think it's fair to say that UCLA played one of their worst matches of the season, and UW played their best start-to-finish match of the season.
That's a combination that's going to make the losing team look especially bad.
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Post by hammer on Nov 1, 2014 14:17:19 GMT -5
UCLA's implosion last night reminds me of a certain Seattle landmark ...
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Post by redbeard2008 on Nov 1, 2014 15:54:59 GMT -5
Or:
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