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Post by rda on Oct 1, 2014 21:08:14 GMT -5
PSU can match Texas' big physical front line .
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Post by usvballfan on Oct 1, 2014 21:28:47 GMT -5
Agree somewhat, but Penn State has strong front row hitters that are better all-around players.
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Post by ay2013 on Oct 1, 2014 21:32:28 GMT -5
Texas has the best hitters in the country nobody has better more physical girls in the front. Being the best hitter and being the most physical are NOT synonymous.
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Post by FTLOG on Oct 1, 2014 21:32:43 GMT -5
Agree somewhat, but Penn State has strong front row hitters that are better all-around players. And USC has strong front row hitters that are worse all-around players...
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Post by ay2013 on Oct 1, 2014 21:33:21 GMT -5
PSU can match Texas' big physical front line . So? Neither could Wisconsin last year, that didn't stop them from winning. Volleyball isn't always about being big and "physical"
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Post by ay2013 on Oct 1, 2014 21:34:37 GMT -5
Agree somewhat, but Penn State has strong front row hitters that are better all-around players. And USC has strong front row hitters that are worse all-around players... USC right now is a prime example of having great physical specimens....but that doesn't mean they are the best team.
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Post by elevationvb on Oct 1, 2014 21:41:21 GMT -5
Jerritt just said the team has to become more middle and right-side dominant, "especially in rotations with Amy up there" . . . I went to the Point Texas club get together before the match and Elliott spoke to the group and took questions. He spoke about Amy and the need for setting the middles / RS when she's on the front row. I'm going to provide an update about his talk in the Texas 2014 thread.
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Post by southie on Oct 1, 2014 21:46:03 GMT -5
Eckerman was tremendous tonight. Believe she was 15 for 25 with zero errors, and hit over .500. Definitely her best match of the season. She looked very comfortable and relaxed tonight.
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Post by volleyfan24 on Oct 1, 2014 22:27:40 GMT -5
PSU can match Texas' big physical front line . So? Neither could Wisconsin last year, that didn't stop them from winning. Volleyball isn't always about being big and "physical" First I will say PSU does not match Texas front line as far as hitting is concerned in my opinion. Second I was saying physical and being able to terminate, and blocking. I am referring to Eckerman, Bell, Chiaka, and McCage. Now we all know that these girls don't play backrow so I wasn't referring to all around. I agree volleyball isn't always about being physical and big but I think those girls could and would earn a starting spot on most teams. The fact that Texas is number 2 in the country with questionable backrow play and definitely inconsistencies at the setter position speaks to the talent they have on the third contact. Also someone said USC but I think outside of Bricio and Nwanebu USC is not very amazing and clearly Nwanebu is not the same player who won NFOY last season.
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Post by TexVB on Oct 1, 2014 22:38:35 GMT -5
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Post by elevationvb on Oct 1, 2014 23:21:16 GMT -5
My perspective after attending the match.
Iowa State was scrappy at times, but they look like they have fallen back to the middle of the pack in the conference. How many doubles / ball handling errors did they have and how many should have been called on them. Terrible.
Nicole Dalton is not the Nicole Dalton from the beginning of the season. At the pre match gathering, Elliott was asked specifically if Nicole was 100%. He said yes, but he did not seem convincing. He followed up with comments about watching her closely, etc. Whatever it is, her failure / refusal to set the middle (especially Chiaka) when receiving good passes is very troubling. This is magnified when you see how well Collins is setting the middle.
Collins looked good. She and Amy did seem to get in each other's way a couple of times in set 3.
Serving from Neal, Collins and McCoy was excellent.
Eckerman easily had her best match of the season. Looked to me like there was a greater effort to set her high balls. Having said this it appeared to me Bell does not do as well with the high sets.
Neal is the smartest Texas player on the court. She reads the block very well. But as southie posted what Elliot said - she cannot be the focus of he setters when she is on the front court. Dalton passed up sets to the middle and set them to Neal instead. Like a safety net.
I like Prieto. Her stats didn't show it, but after too much tipping early on, she started pounding the ball. Most of her misses were hard hitting attacks down the line and didn't miss by much.
I agree about the individual talent on this team, but do not see a final 4 team at this point. Hopefully, like the '12 team, they will begin jelling late in the season.
Just watched the game day show. Loved it. Elliott said the next game day show will be for the Florida match. He also said the LHN is working on an overhead court camera. Should be interesting.
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Post by texasex01 on Oct 1, 2014 23:38:00 GMT -5
First I will say PSU does not match Texas front line as far as hitting is concerned in my opinion. Second I was saying physical and being able to terminate, and blocking. I am referring to Eckerman, Bell, Chiaka, and McCage. Now we all know that these girls don't play backrow so I wasn't referring to all around. I agree volleyball isn't always about being physical and big but I think those girls could and would earn a starting spot on most teams. The fact that Texas is number 2 in the country with questionable backrow play and definitely inconsistencies at the setter position speaks to the talent they have on the third contact. Also someone said USC but I think outside of Bricio and Nwanebu USC is not very amazing and clearly Nwanebu is not the same player who won NFOY last season. Texas doesn't have the ball control to consistently pass the ball 2-3 feet off the net to run the middles efficiently, so out of those 4 players (Eckerman, Bell, Chiaka, McCage), Eckerman and Bell are the two being relied to carry the team offensively on the pins...especially when Paulina continues to struggle with her hitting. Don't get me wrong, overall ball control has improved with the addition of McCoy, but she is a freshman and will make mistakes. Brooks and Neal have improved since they no longer have to pass in 2-person receive formations, but they still have a bad habit of passing the ball 10 feet off the net where the setters can only throw it up to the pins. And the setting to me is still a work in progress. I have yet to see a match where both Dalton and Collins are "on" at the same time. Dalton really struggles with having to chase errant passes, but does well when the ball is passed directly above her. And I've been impressed with her solid floor defense. Chloe had a very good match tonight and made a conscientious effort to deliver Eckerman the high ball she needs to terminate... and Haley delivered! I must say that I do like how they are now attempting different offensive plays like Bell hitting on the left, Prieto attacking from the middle, and Eckerman hitting on the right. I still wish they'd play Eckerman all the way around so she could attack from the back row but if they are going to run the 6-2, I can understand the need for Brooks' ball control/floor defense instead. I hope Jerritt is done experimenting and changing up the player line-up. He needs to stick with this current 6-2 line-up for the rest of Big 12 play so that the players develop the chemistry of not only playing next to each other but also knowing how to work through stressful situations during a match.
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Post by elevationvb on Oct 2, 2014 0:10:58 GMT -5
First I will say PSU does not match Texas front line as far as hitting is concerned in my opinion. Second I was saying physical and being able to terminate, and blocking. I am referring to Eckerman, Bell, Chiaka, and McCage. Now we all know that these girls don't play backrow so I wasn't referring to all around. I agree volleyball isn't always about being physical and big but I think those girls could and would earn a starting spot on most teams. The fact that Texas is number 2 in the country with questionable backrow play and definitely inconsistencies at the setter position speaks to the talent they have on the third contact. Also someone said USC but I think outside of Bricio and Nwanebu USC is not very amazing and clearly Nwanebu is not the same player who won NFOY last season. Texas doesn't have the ball control to consistently pass the ball 2-3 feet off the net to run the middles efficiently, so out of those 4 players (Eckerman, Bell, Chiaka, McCage), Eckerman and Bell are the two being relied to carry the team offensively on the pins...especially when Paulina continues to struggle with her hitting. Don't get me wrong, overall ball control has improved with the addition of McCoy, but she is a freshman and will make mistakes. Brooks and Neal have improved since they no longer have to pass in 2-person receive formations, but they still have a bad habit of passing the ball 10 feet off the net where the setters can only throw it up to the pins. And the setting to me is still a work in progress. I have yet to see a match where both Dalton and Collins are "on" at the same time. Dalton really struggles with having to chase errant passes, but does well when the ball is passed directly above her. And I've been impressed with her solid floor defense. Chloe had a very good match tonight and made a conscientious effort to deliver Eckerman the high ball she needs to terminate... and Haley delivered! I must say that I do like how they are now attempting different offensive plays like Bell hitting on the left, Prieto attacking from the middle, and Eckerman hitting on the right. I still wish they'd play Eckerman all the way around so she could attack from the back row but if they are going to run the 6-2, I can understand the need for Brooks' ball control/floor defense instead. I hope Jerritt is done experimenting and changing up the player line-up. He needs to stick with this current 6-2 line-up for the rest of Big 12 play so that the players develop the chemistry of not only playing next to each other but also knowing how to work through stressful situations during a match. Elliott said during the pre match talk with Foundation Members that the lineup is set. Agree about the ball control issues, but Dalton was not setting the middle consistently when she was receiving good passes. Elliott made a point to say that Neal cannot be receiving the number of sets she is receiving and that the middles and right sides need to be set. He was talked about her physical limitations. That said, Amy was good tonight tooling the block. Her passing issues in set 3 led to her being replaced by Victoria.
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Post by utexrulz23 on Oct 2, 2014 0:14:53 GMT -5
ISU hit .400 in set #2 and still lost by 10. WOW!
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Post by southie on Oct 2, 2014 7:52:21 GMT -5
This might be the first time we've carried the 6-2 offense into Big 12 play. While the starting lineup has been pretty consistent recently, Elliott won't hesitate to pull someone if they are struggling. Also, he has already demonstrated the ability to transition into a 5-1 offense during a set, if necessary; so, that option is always going to be there.
If Amy is going to struggle like she did with here serve-receive, there's really no reason for her to be on the court. It didn't appear to me as if ISU was serving unusually tough, so Elliott pulling her was the right move; I actually would have done it a little earlier than he did.
It's too bad Amy Neal and Pilar Victoria have their bad moments; seems like it's more mental than physical. Glad to see Pilar come in and swing away with confidence. I think it was her tentative swings and constant tipping that led to her losing her starting OH job earlier in the season.
Overall, very pleased with last night's match.
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