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Post by rainbowbadger on Feb 23, 2015 9:26:33 GMT -5
I agree with what you are both saying. However, if LC does get injured in a match, such as in the semi-finals, do you really want the first match time for a freshman setter to be in an emergency? We saw EJ struggle at times when she played, and that was as an experienced setter, and not in an emergency. As it is, because Sheffield does so little subbing in general, it seems there is a struggle when a new face subs in as a hitter. Now, that could be attributed entirely to the talent level of the individual (which is why she doesn't play much) but I have to think some of it is the unfamiliarity of the situation. I do agree that there are issues when the starting hitters play with the backup setter, or when the backup hitters play with the starting setter. The connection is not as strong. It's probably due to a lack of familiarity. Last year, IMO, Fric and Jules played better when EJ set them than when LC set them. Especially Jules. LC seemed hesitant to set the right when Jules was in, in situations where she'd not have hesitated to set Court. So there is that. This is really a coaching judgement call, one that is well above my pay grade. How much do you mix it up in practice and in matches? Is it better to spend that time contingency planning, or drilling for the more likely scenario? I would argue that in the beginning of the season, when your team is 50% freshmen and you have concerns about chemistry, that you absolutely give your starters every opportunity to work together and gel in pressure situations, e.g., matches. Especially if your hope is to redshirt your backup setter, a decision that carries long-term implications for that player's future success and for the future of your program. If you want your backup setter to be able to have a better connection with the staring hitters, you mix t up in practice, not in matches. As many coaches on here have said, you don't earn playing time in matches, but at practice, and a match is the last place you want to try something new. So my prediction is that we see LC starting all matches and HJ only coming in of LC is injured or too sick to play - which, knowing LC, means she's in a coma. |
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Post by bucky415 on Feb 23, 2015 12:26:02 GMT -5
It would have been awkward if they had found a way to beat Penn State and what we heard was true. I think they would have had to tie Carlini to a chair or something to keep her from trying to play even if she clearly couldn't.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2015 15:06:27 GMT -5
As it is, because Sheffield does so little subbing in general, it seems there is a struggle when a new face subs in as a hitter. Now, that could be attributed entirely to the talent level of the individual (which is why she doesn't play much) but I have to think some of it is the unfamiliarity of the situation. This is really my one complaint for Shef and my concern for the team. He doesn't give other players enough time, even a little time, to play real matches and gain valuable experience. Next season will be different with all the youth coming in. |
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Post by braveheart on Feb 23, 2015 15:10:43 GMT -5
I guess HJ wont be redshirting. 13 players, 8 new for next year. Glass half empty says 10-10 in conference. They could really use a ds/setter transfer. 10-10 in conference - boy, the jovial badger faithful seems to have lost its' belief in the returning and recruited talent that has received so much press. |
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Post by badgerbreath on Feb 23, 2015 15:17:43 GMT -5
I guess HJ wont be redshirting. 13 players, 8 new for next year. Glass half empty says 10-10 in conference. They could really use a ds/setter transfer. 10-10 in conference - boy, the jovial badger faithful seems to have lost its' belief in the returning and recruited talent that has received so much press. Gobucky just worries. But if you read the thread you realize it has nothing to do with the quality of the freshman, its the fact that so many freshman are coming in and so few upperclassman are left. It leaves some space for worry. |
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Post by Wiswell on Feb 23, 2015 20:00:48 GMT -5
I figure there is a lot of room for happiness with a 10-10 expectation, right?
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Post by badgerbreath on Feb 24, 2015 0:06:42 GMT -5
I expect better than that...but I admit, it's hard to predict what will happen. It will be a really interesting ride this season. Can't wait for it to start!
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Post by WahineFan44 on Feb 24, 2015 3:30:52 GMT -5
My lord, you guys are worrying too much. You guys are bringing in the best freshman class in the country with correct me if I'm wrong 2 top ten players. You return the Baby Jesus of volleyball herself, and bring in some talented role players from last year. Yes you lost some VERY VERY good players, but your restocking your team with gold. I don't expect you to beat PSU or nebraska, but you're definitely going to be fighting for third in conference and you certainly have the talent to do so, and in the big ten, thats good.
Long story short, as LONG as you have lauren carlini on your team, the badgers will be doing great.
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Post by BadgerAce42 on Feb 24, 2015 12:14:52 GMT -5
My lord, you guys are worrying too much. You guys are bringing in the best freshman class in the country with correct me if I'm wrong 2 top ten players. You return the Baby Jesus of volleyball herself, and bring in some talented role players from last year. Yes you lost some VERY VERY good players, but your restocking your team with gold. I don't expect you to beat PSU or nebraska, but you're definitely going to be fighting for third in conference and you certainly have the talent to do so, and in the big ten, thats good. Long story short, as LONG as you have lauren carlini on your team, the badgers will be doing great. I really respect the heck out of Nebraska and they'll be a beast for years with Holman, Foecke, etc., but they really need some strong leadership for the 2015-2016 season because they were really lacking last year (judgment based only off the Wisconsin and BYU games, but those were pretty telling). The most exciting thing about Wisconsin bringing in so many freshman + Kriskova is that nobody knows how the season will go. PSU's 2014 season was real nice given the new talent, but how many people were expecting them to win the championship? I agree, having Lauren will most likely make this transition much nicer, but sky's the limit with this group. |
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Post by rainbowbadger on Feb 24, 2015 19:22:57 GMT -5
Correction: as long as we have LC HEALTHY, we're in good shape.
We're all too familiar with what happens when the cornerstone of your offense goes down in a key match. We can't afford to rely on one person for our success.
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Post by badgerbreath on Feb 25, 2015 0:00:03 GMT -5
I have a feeling, seeing how the last two seasons have gone, that Sheff may try to spell LC a little bit more if he can get Hannah into the mix. I realize LC is all-world, absolutely, but she has broken down a bit at the end of both seasons. She was carrying an injury into the PSU regional that was unrelated to the injury she got by falling on Frantti's foot. And she had a partially torn hammy toward the end of her freshman season.
The question is whether he can keep her off. She does not go quietly into the night. Her personality on the court is really influential as well.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2015 2:47:43 GMT -5
I have a feeling, seeing how the last two seasons have gone, that Sheff may try to spell LC a little bit more if he can get Hannah into the mix. I realize LC is all-world, absolutely, but she has broken down a bit at the end of both seasons. She was carrying an injury into the PSU regional that was unrelated to the injury she got by falling on Frantti's foot. And she had a partially torn hammy toward the end of her freshman season. The question is whether he can keep her off. She does not go quietly into the night. Her personality on the court is really influential as well. The partial tear in her hamstring was sustained during preseason before her freshman year started, not at the end. She was 100% (as close to 100% as possible for these kids in December) at the end. Regardless, even an injured Carlini is your very best option to win matches. If it wasn't, you would've seen Thomas set the rest of the PSU match. He can't keep her off the floor. He tried against Rutgers and couldn't. A player of her caliber shouldn't come off anyway. |
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Post by SportyBucky on Feb 25, 2015 9:49:59 GMT -5
I have a feeling, seeing how the last two seasons have gone, that Sheff may try to spell LC a little bit more if he can get Hannah into the mix. I realize LC is all-world, absolutely, but she has broken down a bit at the end of both seasons. She was carrying an injury into the PSU regional that was unrelated to the injury she got by falling on Frantti's foot. And she had a partially torn hammy toward the end of her freshman season. The question is whether he can keep her off. She does not go quietly into the night. Her personality on the court is really influential as well. The partial tear in her hamstring was sustained during preseason before her freshman year started, not at the end. She was 100% (as close to 100% as possible for these kids in December) at the end. Regardless, even an injured Carlini is your very best option to win matches. If it wasn't, you would've seen Thomas set the rest of the PSU match. He can't keep her off the floor. He tried against Rutgers and couldn't. A player of her caliber shouldn't come off anyway. The reason Thomas wasn't setting was less related to Lauren's setting at that time and more related to Courtney's prowess as a RS player. No one else had as much as sniffed the court at RS last year. Courtney was a huge reason for our success. Yes, Lauren was even good injured, but don't fool yourself as to the reason she stayed on the court. She wasn't moving, blocking, playing defense and getting balls to position after the injury. |
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Post by Wiswell on Feb 25, 2015 10:47:20 GMT -5
I agree with Sportybucky 100% on this one. The gamble was between a gimpy setter and effective RS vs. an excellent setter and a little-playing RS. He went with the former. We've beaten to death the importance of a good setter, but if you don't have good terminators anyway, it doesn't much matter.
Given what we know now, and what we saw, if there was someone who could have even more than adequately replaced Thomas at RS, he would have done it. We're all grateful for Carlini's toughness, but "toughness" can lead to permanent injury or impediment, which will hope will not be the case here.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Feb 25, 2015 11:47:19 GMT -5
I have a feeling, seeing how the last two seasons have gone, that Sheff may try to spell LC a little bit more if he can get Hannah into the mix. I realize LC is all-world, absolutely, but she has broken down a bit at the end of both seasons. She was carrying an injury into the PSU regional that was unrelated to the injury she got by falling on Frantti's foot. And she had a partially torn hammy toward the end of her freshman season. The question is whether he can keep her off. She does not go quietly into the night. Her personality on the court is really influential as well. The partial tear in her hamstring was sustained during preseason before her freshman year started, not at the end. She was 100% (as close to 100% as possible for these kids in December) at the end. Regardless, even an injured Carlini is your very best option to win matches. If it wasn't, you would've seen Thomas set the rest of the PSU match. He can't keep her off the floor. He tried against Rutgers and couldn't. A player of her caliber shouldn't come off anyway. Minor correction: The reason Lauren wound up coming in at Rutgers wasn't that Erin was not playing well. The team got off to a rocky start with Erin setting for sure, probably because the hitters aren't used to Erin's tempo, and because LC is a much stronger blocker. That said, Erin got into the swing of things at the end of set 1 against Rutgers and was doing just fine in set 2. The reason that LC went in for Erin is that Erin had chugged some BadgerMax (Wisconsin's home-grown version of Gatorade) during a time-out, but it'd been under-diluted, so her stomach said "NOPE!" and she wound up vomiting in the middle of a play. She was in no condition to keep going after that. I'm a runner, and have had something similar happen to me when out for a long run. It sucks, and you feel awful. So as much as I'm sure LC wanted to come in right away at Rutgers, the staff's intention was to rest her and play Erin as long as we were winning. I'm pretty sure that they'd've stuck with Plan A had Erin not suffered the hydration mishap. |
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