Was this Final THAT good?

[tigfan]

Without getting into an argument of MPSF vs MIVA and who is better, i would like to raise the question of the overall performance by BOTH teams in the final...

...There have been people on this board that have posted that this was the best final they have ever seen, or that it should be shown to ALL junior volleyball players. I got a completely different view from watching this final. The team that played less poorly was the team that came out on top... consider these numbers...

The top offensive team in the country, Lewis, had a team hitting percentage of .260 including game 4 in which they hit ZERO. Any coach will tell you that is quite poor. Even worse, was the hitting percentage of BYU, at .211 who hit ZERO in game 3. It sure as hell wasn't the defense that was making percentages so poor, as each team had an average defensive night for their team at roughly 8.6 digs per game. Blocking numbers pretty even... both nothing astronomical for a 5 game match, including a 44-42 game.

I couldn't help but notice the overwhelming number of errors... 2 service footfaults (and that's only the ones that were called), FORTY FOUR service errors between the two teams (including 2 FLOAT serves in game 1 that missed by AT LEAST 15 feet long), SIXTY-EIGHT attacking errors...(even if you subtract the 30 total blocks, that's 38 balls that missed the court), and a number of missed opportunities to win game 1 by both teams.

Passing was solid at the start and them had a steady decline for the rest of the match... my opinion is that it's easier to pass later in a match due to the fatigue of the servers. I understand the passers also get fatigued, but i don't think it affects passing as much as the height and pace of a jump serve.

I know that there is a lot of pressure on these guy to play for the national title, and I respect them for playing hard all the way through... Congrats to Lewis for a WELL-DESERVED win, as they definitely played better than BYU... But was this really that good of a match to watch? I personally didn't think so...am I way of base here?

[Ms X]

Finally, a decent post from Tigfan. I always thought you are "Jewel". I can say now that I made the wrong impression.

[bAnthony]

I wouldn't say that numbers were great, but it was a great match. Some great comebacks, big serves when they were needed, some great shots in crunch time. While one may be upset with the performance, it was a real exciting match to be at. I spent 9 hours driving yesterday and the first game alone was worth it.

[tigfan]

Ms X...believe it or not, i do know SOMETHING about volleyball...

[V]

tigfan said:

Ms X...believe it or not, i do know SOMETHING about volleyball...

Was that a smite against Jewel? lol

[Snapple2788]

Are u guys ANTI-JEWEL?!!!!!!!!!! I cant believe it! Didnt u see his great posts about warm up songs! I mean that one about Donny osmond! WoW I wouldnt be suprised if Jewel was secretly Karch Kiraly or sumthin!

[V]

Snapple2788 said:

Are u guys ANTI-JEWEL?!!!!!!!!!!!

I am not anti-Jewel, I am just amused by her/his presence.

[need more lithium]

Actually, the secret to Jewel's identity was announced during the match, when Chris said that Marvin was a 'heavyweight' in the volleybal community. The conclusion is obvious.

[quikset]

I've watched the NCAA championship match each year since '93, either on tape or live ('96 and '99 Pauley Pavilion, and '03 Pyramid). I'd have to say this year's Final was very exciting in terms of fan interest and the ebb and flow of the match. From a technical standpoint it wasn't played very well.

Best championship matches in terms of level of play, IMHO, would be the '96 Final between UH and UCLA which went 5 very emotional games and saw some incredible individual and team performances (Yuval Katz, Stein Metzger), and the '97 Final between UCLA and Stanford, also 5 emotional games ending with Matt Fuerbringer's block of Paul Nihipali to give Stanford their first and only men's championship.

-Aaron

[VBCrusin]

I have to agree with Aaron and others...

The Final between BYU and Lewis was an emotional roller coaster...it really wasn't about the important stats & numbers (unless you count all the errors, foot faults, net grabs, etc.). It was all about the uncertainties at various stages in the matches...for example, BYU was 2 points from winning and they lose. Lewis was 7 points up and they eventually lose. The crowds never knew what would happen next, since the momentum of the match sifted so many times through those 5 games.

Was it a "textbook" match to show younger volleyballers how the game should be played? NO. But it was very entertaining and had a edge-of-your-seat type of appeal. All those in attendance witnessed that the match could have been won by either team. It had so many twists and turns that it could have made a great "murder mystery" who-dunnit play.

The Final might prove two things...the MIVA wasn't that weak, AND the MPSF can be beaten on any given night. I enjoyed it in any event. ;D

[tigfan]

The MPSF proved that they could be beaten on any given night all season long... just look at some of the upsets during the regular season... It wasn't your average MPSF season... Anyone could be anyone on any given night... Lewis proved that 2 nights in a row.

[accsuperfan]

Personally I thought the final was solid match ... Not the best volleyball ... but an fun match to watch ... I do think some of the errors they made were unacceptable like hitting float serves 20 feet out abounds. The RS for Lewis was a stud, coming up with big swing after big swing. Stuntz (DS for lewis) played a great match.

One thing about guys volleyball is in my opion is that a great / good libero is almost more important the a setter. The libero can change the tide of the game.

[tigfan]

I disagree...liberos can be taken out of a match by the other team's refusal to serve the ball anywhere near them. Even if a team uses it's blcoking strategy to funnel balls to the libero, the attackers USUALLY know where the soft spot in the defense is. If that soft spot is the libero, your team's got problems. The other team can do nothing to limit the setter's touches on the ball. I agree that a good libero is important, by not nearly as important as a good setter.

[the future]

The setter is and will always be the most important Key position. What coaches sometimes fail to recognize or harp on is height/block rather than Athleticism. "Oh but he is such a good blocker". Who cares!!! That is not in the top 5 lists of importance of a setter.

Can he move and better the ball? Is he game savvy?

Look how many stuffs or assist blocks any of teh setters in the Final 4 had....very few!

The two setters in the finals were very good and superior athletic/competitors. Personally Moreno looked a little psyched out by his older countrymen.

Point being the Libero is nice to have but no way controls a match or his teammates the way a good setter can.

[pacific25]

i really enjoyed the pepperdine / lewis match. i've never seen a team dig the ball crazy like that. i wasnt too impressed by the final match. i think the pepper/lewis spoiled me. during the final match i was more concerned with where i was going to party. By the way i picked lewis out in three against pepper, so that just shows i have a long ways in my predictions. i found some good bars and good women so i must say the after final was that good.