Gold Medal Match

[Nutter]

PukaPants said:

Damn...looking at the stats, China had 5 players with double digit kills and the setter Feng leading all players in blocks. Simply amazing.

Agree. You've got a definite advantage when you have a setter that is as effective a blocker as your MBs. Feng pretty much set the match of her life for now.

[StuffU]

Nutter said:

Agree. You've got a definite advantage when you have a setter that is as effective a blocker as your MBs. Feng pretty much set the match of her life for now.

goes to show that you don't need a 6'7" opposite to block an outside attacking team

[tnp101]

I think it's been said before that an average setter can make a great team average, but a great setter can make an average team great. Feng was the latter one. She saved so many overpassed balls and set up her hitters perfectly (except one that she was called over in the fifth set. It was a great set but it seemed that the ref didn't want the match to end...)

Anyway, this match was just awesome. There were many memorable volleyball matches at this Olympics: Russia vs. Brazil and China vs. Cuba in the semi-finals where both went to 5. And China vs. Russia in the gold medal match. I felt kinda bad for the Brazilian team! What could have been if they didn't really let the golden opportunity slipped away after almost sweeping the Russians in 3 sets in the semi-final for a guaranteed chance of at least silver medal. They had 7 match points and couldn't convert. Now they went home without even a medal. Poor Brazil!

[KO7]

I couldn't sit down in the latter stages of the match. Best. Match. Evar. .... well, that I've watched anyway.

Feng Kun was amazing as were many of the Chinese and Russian players. Thank you ladies for a great great final match of these Olympics.

[PukaPants]

I don't feel sorry for Brazil at all...hahaha

“We couldn’t digest the loss against Russia, and we brought that bad feeling into the game,” coach Jose Guimaraes said. (msnbc.com)

Ain't that the truth.

Back to Feng, I noticed on several occasions she was blocking inside, and she was always WAAAY up above the net when blocking.

Even with 2 games down, China never had that slouchy, droopy look like Brazil did.

[sistahsledge]

PukaPants said:

I don't feel sorry for Brazil at all...hahaha

Even with 2 games down, China never had that slouchy, droopy look like Brazil did.

I don't think China ever gets slouchy or droopy, even if they're getting hammered. They always stay upbeat on an even keel, unlike the teams that rely on emotion and run hot or cold. It's just their sports culture.

You gotta wonder if they feel the pressure of a billion people wanting and expecting them to win. The women's VB team is probably the most revered team in China. Anyone know why the women have been a world power for twentysomething years but the men's team has always sucked? Also, is this the first time that there was no Asian men's team at the Olympics? I thought that Asia always sends a rep.

[KO7]

Australia got the "Asian" berth to the Olympics on the men's side.

[foreignball]

I find amazing the fact that with OG gold on the stake and in a 5 game very close match I saw only a few technical errors form both sides (receptions, double hits etc.). What level of skills and composure those ladies should have?

[brybry]

OMG, the level of play was so high. Both teams were passing right on a dime and just killing the crap out of the ball. *sigh* the US feels like they're light years behind. Anyhow, this has to be the best match I've ever seen.
I feel really bad for Russia but the Chinese simply beat them. Russia didn't choke (not the way Brazil did in the semis). They deserve the win too. I think I would have been a bit unhappy if Russia, Brazil or Cuba won the gold. None of those teams have been doing all that well over the past 3 or 4 years. They've just been sleep walking while the US, China and Italy have been the major contenders.
I think the comments about Gamova/Haneef are pretty right on. It's all about armswing. Haneef has never had a lightning fast armswing. But she has improved a lot since her college days.

[brybry]

Oh the other thing to note I think is how Russia, China and Brazil do not have the most towering MBs. There's are very quick, well-rounded, and have lightning attacks. I would like the US to ditch Heather Bown and invest in a MB that can hit and play all the way around. Have there been any good ones of late? Last one I remember was Angela Knofp from CSU.

[sonofbarcelonabob]

brybry said:

Oh the other thing to note I think is how Russia, China and Brazil do not have the most towering MBs. There's are very quick, well-rounded, and have lightning attacks. I would like the US to ditch Heather Bown and invest in a MB that can hit and play all the way around. Have there been any good ones of late? Last one I remember was Angela Knofp from CSU.

Quick, well-rounded, MBs with lighting attacks don't exist in this country. We are the country blessed (or cursed) with slow arm swings. It's prevalent on the men's side, and at all-time epidemic levels on the women's side. I can go to the bathroom, relieve myself, and come back and sit down on the sofa in the time it takes either one of Team USA's starting MBs to make an approach, jump, get their arms back, and hit a first-tempo set.

As long as women's college teams make prevalent use of the slide play as a first tempo attack option, instead of training their MBs to get up quicker and swing quicker on the quick set (front or back), then you won't see any MBs in the coming years with lighting attacks.

[Murina]

SonofBarcelonaBob said:

As long as women's college teams make prevalent use of the slide play as a first tempo attack option, instead of training their MBs to get up quicker and swing quicker on the quick set (front or back), then you won't see any MBs in the coming years with lighting attacks.

Hi,

I think most of the "lightning quick attacks" the middles brybry was refering to are slides. Tebenikhina, Tichtchenko, Valeskinha, Liu, and Zhang are all primarily slide hitters.

I wonder if Bown is capable of attacking a faster slide? I know Scott is for sure. I think Bown's apparent slowness is caused by Yoshida's philosophy of reducing risk at every opportunity. I know Scott can hit a far faster tempo, but they presist in setting her the same slow tempo ball they set Bown. They seem to be fast enought to be two of the best blocking middles in the world...

[sonofbarcelonabob]

Murina said:

Hi,

I think most of the "lightning quick attacks" the middles brybry was refering to are slides. Tebenikhina, Tichtchenko, Valeskinha, Liu, and Zhang are all primarily slide hitters.

I wonder if Bown is capable of attacking a faster slide? I know Scott is for sure. I think Bown's apparent slowness is caused by Yoshida's philosophy of reducing risk at every opportunity. I know Scott can hit a far faster tempo, but they presist in setting her the same slow tempo ball they set Bown. They seem to be fast enought to be two of the best blocking middles in the world...

I have no problem with the way the Chinese run stuff behind the setter, since it's low and fast and pretty close to her. Team USA likes to run the slide all the way out to the right antenna, and higher and slower.

Plus, the Chinese hitters hit front quicks faster than anyone else in the world. They are usually up in the air before the setter even has the ball in her hands and are swinging on it before the opposing block has time to react.

[Murina]

SonofBarcelonaBob said:

I have no problem with the way the Chinese run stuff behind the setter, since it's low and fast and pretty close to her. Team USA likes to run the slide all the way out to the right antenna, and higher and slower.

Plus, the Chinese hitters hit front quicks faster than anyone else in the world. They are usually up in the air before the setter even has the ball in her hands and are swinging on it before the opposing block has time to react.

That's what I was saying: All the above mentioned middles hit slides that are twice as fast as the americans. Having seen several of these players play in person I don't see why Bown isn't capable of hitting the same ball, and I've seen Scott hit balls this fast.

I'm suggesting that the players may be capable of more than they were able to show in the USA system.

[sonofbarcelonabob]

Murina said:

That's what I was saying: All the above mentioned middles hit slides that are twice as fast as the americans. Having seen several of these players play in person I don't see why Bown isn't capable of hitting the same ball, and I've seen Scott hit balls this fast.

I'm suggesting that the players may be capable of more than they were able to show in the USA system.

The simple answer is that their arms are not fast enough.