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Post by bowtastic on Jul 17, 2016 5:35:50 GMT -5
We were favored in London and should have won...easily. Sorry to beat a dead horse here...but without another hitter (fawcett), they are going to have a hard time making top 4. Some might say and think that the 12th person on the team shouldn't make a difference in the medal standing, but in Karch's system...it does. He might have taken Thompson for her leadership, fire, etc. But I feel those roles are met with Foluke, Dietzen and Larson. We need another OH that will not be afraid to break a few teeth if necessary to win a point when needed. That is what Fawcett can bring. An aggressive and strong outside hitting position. Maybe top 4, playing for Bronze, but I'm not sure they will even get to that match. Top 5. Brasil for sure is the favorite...especially and mainly because they are at home and they are going to feed off that crazy crowd. China/Serbia/Russia will fight for the silver and bronze. China and Serbia are my picks for the other two medals. What has Serbia shown that you think is getting them a medal? In your scenario is the USA finishing 3rd in pool? I can't see the United States doing worse than 4-1 in pool play. That would get us a match likely against South Korea or Japan, a possible loss but not very likely. The thing with Serbia is that unless the players are playing significantly more consistent than they have in 2016, they just don't have the capability to beat multiple good teams in consecutive matches. They are a huge threat i=to get hot any one day however, which is why we're lucky they're in our ppool, hopefully they can take out Russia or Brazil in the quarters. In other news, Russia's toast unless Kosheleva gets back to form. Yup...I can easily seeing them going 3-2...maybe even 2-3. Sorry, but choosing Thompson, to me, was disastrous. Someone on Cindy's blog mentioned Hancock and her serving. What is Thompson's role on this team? Come in, serve a couple balls and then disappear. I feel Hancock could do a lot more damage in that type of role than Thompson. At least her serve could cause some havoc on the other side of the net. But anyway...if Lowe and Murphy get into trouble on that right side, which they both have shown they can, what then? Fawcett, even being the "12th player" could have made a difference here. This is where they USA will find trouble and not be able to get out of it. In my opinion...just mine. I feel Serbia has the best roster at these games. If they can pull it together..which I think they can, they will not just medal, they could pull off the upset and beat Brasil for the gold. Serbia is NO JOKE. Best setter in the games...best right side hitter in the games. Top notch outsides and solid middles, maybe the best middle combo. I'm not sure how you don't think Serbia are not medal contenders. |
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Post by trianglevolleyball on Jul 17, 2016 11:41:25 GMT -5
I think what people forget about last year's World Cup second for Serbia is how diluted the field was, with 3 of the current 9 best teams not playing (Italy, the Dutch, Brasil). And since neither South Korea nor Japan were much of a threat it was basically a competition between the top 4 teams (China, Serbia, USA, Russia) who combined for 0 losses against the rest of the teams. Of those teams Serbia had the worst set ratio and 2nd worst point ratio because they are an incredibly streaky squad (3-2 victories over Japan and Argentina), while they had their good days against Russia and the USA.
Serbia just has off days and the structure of that tournament helped them squeak by because the 2nd tier squads there were so much worse than the top ones. Adding solid threats Italy and the Netherlands really hurts Serbia because they have to play at a high level for 4 (maybe 5 depending on how Puerto Rico plays) of their pool matches. I've yet to see them be capable of this. They wouldn't have placed 2nd in WCup if FIVB hadn't messed with the geographic distribution. They showed the same streakiness in this year's WGP. They're a medal threat because they can beat (maybe even destroy) any team in the field, but they aren't a threat to win pool and will likely place 3rd IMO.
Also, their opposite is not even top 2 in Europe, there are 3 or 4 girls I'd rather have at OPP. Ognjenovic is great but I don't think the offense utilizes her potential. Their middles are the most physical but they've all been playing down (except Veljkovic kinda) since the the club year ended and it's unclear who's even starting. I would take US, Brazilian, Chinese and maybe Russian (if I was using my middles primarily for blocking) above theirs.
Yes the Thompson move was ridiculous, but the US is not going 2-3 in pool. That's ridiculous and I can't even explain why.
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Post by ironhammer on Jul 17, 2016 20:16:59 GMT -5
Maybe not just chances...anyone willing to go out on a limb and say US will win the medal that counts...finally?
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Post by gb77 on Jul 21, 2016 20:57:23 GMT -5
i'm looking at the schedule & it is better for usa than the rest of the pool with usa not facing ch/srb back to back. usa gets ita between ch/srb while ch & srb face each other & usa consecutively. www.fivb.org/Photos/W_OLYMPIC_Calendar.pdfno idea what the end will be but they will be the top 3 in pool unless injury f's up a team - can china 'recover' ? if the b-team in WGP was in fact because of a-team nagging injuries. to predict would require fly-on-wall info not available to us, so i'll just enjoy the competition & hope for close matches & high level play. |
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Post by nativevolley on Jul 21, 2016 21:37:05 GMT -5
I think what people forget about last year's World Cup second for Serbia is how diluted the field was, with 3 of the current 9 best teams not playing (Italy, the Dutch, Brasil). And since neither South Korea nor Japan were much of a threat it was basically a competition between the top 4 teams (China, Serbia, USA, Russia) who combined for 0 losses against the rest of the teams. Of those teams Serbia had the worst set ratio and 2nd worst point ratio because they are an incredibly streaky squad (3-2 victories over Japan and Argentina), while they had their good days against Russia and the USA. Serbia just has off days and the structure of that tournament helped them squeak by because the 2nd tier squads there were so much worse than the top ones. Adding solid threats Italy and the Netherlands really hurts Serbia because they have to play at a high level for 4 (maybe 5 depending on how Puerto Rico plays) of their pool matches. I've yet to see them be capable of this. They wouldn't have placed 2nd in WCup if FIVB hadn't messed with the geographic distribution. They showed the same streakiness in this year's WGP. They're a medal threat because they can beat (maybe even destroy) any team in the field, but they aren't a threat to win pool and will likely place 3rd IMO. Also, their opposite is not even top 2 in Europe, there are 3 or 4 girls I'd rather have at OPP. Ognjenovic is great but I don't think the offense utilizes her potential. Their middles are the most physical but they've all been playing down (except Veljkovic kinda) since the the club year ended and it's unclear who's even starting. I would take US, Brazilian, Chinese and maybe Russian (if I was using my middles primarily for blocking) above theirs. Yes the Thompson move was ridiculous, but the US is not going 2-3 in pool. That's ridiculous and I can't even explain why. I would hope they put that behind them. This is the Olympics. I feel like they're ready, and "they" I mean Serbia. If they set their middles like Brazil did against the USA then it opens up everything else. |
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Post by n00b on Jul 28, 2016 19:27:14 GMT -5
Rio odds (Jul 28)
Brazil (3/2)
USA (3/1)
China (5/1)
Russia (14/1)
Serbia (16/1)
Netherlands (18/1)
Italy (33/1)
Japan (100/1)
South Korea (250/1)
Puerto Rico (1000/1)
Argentina (2500/1)
Cameroon (4000/1)
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Post by mikegarrison on Jul 29, 2016 0:31:47 GMT -5
42
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Post by volleyguy on Jul 29, 2016 2:23:45 GMT -5
Both Kosheleva and Goncharova are in Rio with the Russian team.
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Post by gobruins on Jul 29, 2016 6:52:54 GMT -5
Rio odds (Jul 28) Brazil (3/2) USA (3/1) China (5/1) Russia (14/1) Serbia (16/1) Netherlands (18/1) Italy (33/1) Japan (100/1) South Korea (250/1) Puerto Rico (1000/1) Argentina (2500/1) Cameroon (4000/1) Can you actually wager on this line? I find it hard to believe than any bookmaker would make this line available to wager. It gives the bookmaker less than a 4% advantage. Usually, bookmakers get at least a 20-30% advantage on these types of wagers. |
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Post by n00b on Jul 29, 2016 12:08:35 GMT -5
Rio odds (Jul 28) Brazil (3/2) USA (3/1) China (5/1) Russia (14/1) Serbia (16/1) Netherlands (18/1) Italy (33/1) Japan (100/1) South Korea (250/1) Puerto Rico (1000/1) Argentina (2500/1) Cameroon (4000/1) Can you actually wager on this line? I find it hard to believe than any bookmaker would make this line available to wager. It gives the bookmaker less than a 4% advantage. Usually, bookmakers get at least a 20-30% advantage on these types of wagers. Those are the longest odds available for each team according to OddsChecker.com which lists odds from like 5 different site. www.oddschecker.com/olympics/volleyball/olympic-womens/olympic-volleyball/winner |
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Post by kurtndiego on Aug 2, 2016 18:28:56 GMT -5
We (US) is definitely "in the mix", but it ain't gonna be easy! I think there are about 5 different teams that could take gold in Rio. I'm staying positive and reachin out to my Volleyball God and hopin he can deliver like he did last year in Omaha for the Huskers! Maybe with 25% of this Olympic team ex-Huskers we can take it all in Rio!! Go Team USA & GBR!!!!!!
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Post by ciscokeed on Aug 2, 2016 21:15:29 GMT -5
Our chances are excellent. Great depth great chemistry great balance. Not many people in the world know as much as Karch about winning. Watch the magic happen in Rio!!!
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Post by Wolfgang on Aug 19, 2016 10:42:54 GMT -5
I like the discussion about Serbia on page 2 of this thread. Some prescient pre-Olympic comments by some knowledgable posters.
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Post by BuckysHeat on Aug 21, 2016 18:44:03 GMT -5
www.facebook.com/USAVolleyball/videos/10154441068658524/Our bronze medalist U.S. Olympic Women's Team displayed their medals at USA House today to family and friends while also presenting Karch Kiraly the Order of Ikkos award. #‎allin culture continues as captain Christa Dietzen and Karch beautifully sum up the journey of the last four years.
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