|
|
Post by cyclonepower on Aug 13, 2017 0:10:32 GMT -5
My excitement for VB season has finally kicked in now that I got to see my Cyclones in action today! Spent tonight doing some reading on the conference opponents, and decided to fire up a thread for the other eight teams in the conference (I will happily talk Texas, but there are already plenty of threads and words on the Horns).
Probably four tiers in the Big 12 this year.
Tier 1: Big 12 Championship Contenders (Kansas, Texas)
Look, if Shook works out at setter, I think it is over. However, KU is going all-in this year, with three of the four best players in school history as seniors, this could be the end of an era in Lawrence. Plus ... they won the Big 12 last year! Those two matches will be fun>
Tier 2: Not Big 12 Contenders, but NCAA Probables (Baylor, Iowa State)
These two teams are really close. Katie Staiger is a monster who is possibly from another planet, plus the addition of Pressley will be a boon for BU. However, they have two major questions in the lineup at middle and setter. As for Iowa State, the lineup seems fairly set, with many familiar faces, but I worry about my team's depth. One injury or slump could lead to CJL doing some massive lineup shuffling.
Tier 3: Wide Rangers, NCAAs to Terrible Seasons (Kansas State, TCU, West Virginia)
Both K-State and TCU lost a lot from last year's teams. K-State has more hitters back, but have a huge challenge replacing Katie Brand, who was essentially three players in one. TCU's front row is virtually all gone, but they have the recruits to jump up a tier and into the NCAA conversation. Frogs have the largest range of any Big 12 team, anywhere from third to ninth would not be surprising. As for WVU, not securing Baylee Johnson really clouds their outlook, but they have lots of good players in other areas that will make them better.
Tier 4: Working for 2018 and Beyond (Oklahoma, Texas Tech)
Regardless of what the deal is at OU, the fact is, they do not have many good players, especially on the pins. The scary part is that this is a fairly old team, too, so it is not like there are a bunch of young studs en route. Tech's front row situation is terrible. Owens from LBSU is a great get to set and Akiu might be the best libero in the Big 12 ... but they have no one to get the kills!
|
|
|
|
Post by Steve vb on Aug 13, 2017 0:42:32 GMT -5
I appreciate the summary. You do seem to know your "Big 12 Volleyball". The KU vs TX matches are must TV. I'm also looking forward to the Iowa State vs Creighton match in four weeks.
|
|
|
|
Post by houstonbear15 on Aug 13, 2017 2:01:12 GMT -5
I don't think the position of middle and setter are as questionable as you may think. Camryn Frieberg led the conference in total blocks last year and returns for her senior season in the middle. She may be undersized but she can jump out of the gym. The squad also returns 3 middle blockers from injury, Jaelyn Jackson, Shelly Fanning and Tola Itiola. Sophomore Nicole Thomas played as MB2 when those three were injured. That's 5 middle blockers who are capable of starting for this team. The depth of Baylor lies in this position. As far as setter, Baylor has second team UA All-American Hannah Lockin to take over. Hannah is 6 foot and can hit really well also so I expect Baylor to run a 6-2 with Braya Hunt as the other setter.
Projected lineup:
OH: Katie Staiger
OH: Yossi Pressley or Aniah Philo
MB: Camryn Frieberg
MB: Shelly Fanning
S: Braya Hunt
S/OPP: Hannah Lockin
OPP: Ashley Fritcher
L: Jana Brusek
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclonepower on Aug 13, 2017 8:53:44 GMT -5
I don't think the position of middle and setter are as questionable as you may think. Camryn Frieberg led the conference in total blocks last year and returns for her senior season in the middle. She may be undersized but she can jump out of the gym. The squad also returns 3 middle blockers from injury, Jaelyn Jackson, Shelly Fanning and Tola Itiola. Sophomore Nicole Thomas played as MB2 when those three were injured. That's 5 middle blockers who are capable of starting for this team. The depth of Baylor lies in this position. As far as setter, Baylor has second team UA All-American Hannah Lockin to take over. Hannah is 6 foot and can hit really well also so I expect Baylor to run a 6-2 with Braya Hunt as the other setter. Projected lineup: OH: Katie Staiger OH: Yossi Pressley or Aniah Philo MB: Camryn Frieberg MB: Shelly Fanning S: Braya Hunt S/OPP: Hannah Lockin OPP: Ashley Fritcher L: Jana Brusek If Baylor goes Fanning at MB that does solve that, but I was thinking Fanning at OPP, so that opens that up (especially if BU goes 6-2). However, I did not consider whether Baylor goes 6-2, which would not be bad for Lockin, who was a 6-2 S/OPP in HS (her HS is a couple miles from where I live, so I have seen her in action). But that puts your OPP position on a freshman who also has to set and Fricther, who is average. It will be interesting to watch, Baylor has a tough non-con, so they will get tested early and often. |
|
|
|
Post by houstonbear15 on Aug 13, 2017 9:37:45 GMT -5
I don't think the position of middle and setter are as questionable as you may think. Camryn Frieberg led the conference in total blocks last year and returns for her senior season in the middle. She may be undersized but she can jump out of the gym. The squad also returns 3 middle blockers from injury, Jaelyn Jackson, Shelly Fanning and Tola Itiola. Sophomore Nicole Thomas played as MB2 when those three were injured. That's 5 middle blockers who are capable of starting for this team. The depth of Baylor lies in this position. As far as setter, Baylor has second team UA All-American Hannah Lockin to take over. Hannah is 6 foot and can hit really well also so I expect Baylor to run a 6-2 with Braya Hunt as the other setter. Projected lineup: OH: Katie Staiger OH: Yossi Pressley or Aniah Philo MB: Camryn Frieberg MB: Shelly Fanning S: Braya Hunt S/OPP: Hannah Lockin OPP: Ashley Fritcher L: Jana Brusek If Baylor goes Fanning at MB that does solve that, but I was thinking Fanning at OPP, so that opens that up (especially if BU goes 6-2). However, I did not consider whether Baylor goes 6-2, which would not be bad for Lockin, who was a 6-2 S/OPP in HS (her HS is a couple miles from where I live, so I have seen her in action). But that puts your OPP position on a freshman who also has to set and Fricther, who is average. It will be interesting to watch, Baylor has a tough non-con, so they will get tested early and often. I think the good thing for Lockin was that she was here in the spring so she'll have a good head start going into the season. Fanning played both MB and OPP in the spring scrimmages. Baylor could use her on the right side and then use Tola Itiola in the middle. She redshirted last year but led the team in both blocks and hitting percentage two consecutive years prior to that. There's also a 6'6 freshman opposite on the team, Marieke Vandermark, but I'm not sure how well her skills will transfer to the college game. I'll be at the intersquad scrimmage this week so I'll get a better look at where they end up using Fanning and how good the freshmen actually are. It'll be interesting to see Aniah Philo and Yossi Pressley battle it out for the other OH position |
|
|
|
Post by garnet04 on Aug 13, 2017 9:54:07 GMT -5
Texas Tech does have a good outside in Chandler Atwood.
And they have new coach previously at Texas A and M - Corpus Christie who may be able to develop another good pin. They looked good vs TCU and Texas in the spring.
Agree that TCU has the potential to be really good if several inexperienced players have good seasons:
Abigail Buckinham - top recruit with big arm just coming back from injury
Sarah Langs - UA first team AA, 2x Tx state champion, physically and mentally tough with size and power
Alley Beth Deaton - Freshman with big arm
Lexi McClean - OH transfer from ASU
Several others have potential.
|
|
|
|
Post by southie on Aug 13, 2017 11:29:33 GMT -5
Kansas has been a great story the last 2 (maybe 3) seasons. Reaching the Final Four in 2015 was a huge milestone for the KU program. But, despite winning the Big 12 title outright last season, they didn't perform well in the NCAA tourney and made an early exit in the second round. Where does the program go from here?
While they have 3 great seniors in Payne, Havili, and Rigdon, do they have anyone else on their roster who is all Big 12 caliber? If not, I don't think they have enough firepower to advance beyond the round of 16. How do they match up with Texas? I'm not sure. Payne will get her points no doubt, but if their left-side attack isn't effective against the big Texas block, then offense is gonna have to need some help from the middles, and I think KU is very young and inexperienced there.
As I think about Kansas beyond this coming season, I'll be curious to see if their recruiting benefits from that 2015 Final Four appearance and 2016 Big 12 title. Losing their 3 seniors could set them back greatly if their recruiting didn't take an upswing.
|
|
|
|
Post by sunsuphornsup on Aug 13, 2017 12:45:48 GMT -5
Texas Tech does have a good outside in Chandler Atwood. And they have new coach previously at Texas A and M - Corpus Christie who may be able to develop another good pin. They looked good vs TCU and Texas in the spring. Agree that TCU has the potential to be really good if several inexperienced players have good seasons: Abigail Buckinham - top recruit with big arm just coming back from injury Sarah Langs - UA first team AA, 2x Tx state champion, physically and mentally tough with size and power Alley Beth Deaton - Freshman with big arm Lexi McClean - OH transfer from ASU Several others have potential. I think Buckingham and TCU will have a really good year. TCU is ranked too low in the tiers. |
|
|
|
Post by garnet04 on Aug 13, 2017 12:50:55 GMT -5
Kansas has been a great story the last 2 (maybe 3) seasons. Reaching the Final Four in 2015 was a huge milestone for the KU program. But, despite winning the Big 12 title outright last season, they didn't perform well in the NCAA tourney and made an early exit in the second round. Where does the program go from here? While they have 3 great seniors in Payne, Havili, and Rigdon, do they have anyone else on their roster who is all Big 12 caliber? If not, I don't think they have enough firepower to advance beyond the round of 16. How do they match up with Texas? I'm not sure. Payne will get her points no doubt, but if their left-side attack isn't effective against the big Textas block, then offense is gonna have to need some help from the middles, and I think KU is very young and inexperienced there. As I think about Kansas beyond this coming season, I'll be curious to see if their recruiting benefits from that 2015 Final Four appearance and 2016 Big 12 title. Losing their 3 seniors could set them back greatly if their recruiting didn't take an upswing. Perhaps the sr transfer will be of help this year in the middle. In 2018 Rachel Langs at 6'4" will likely help at middle. She was with TAV/Ping this year and they won nationals 11-0. Havilli is a TAV/Ping alum. Rachel is the "little sister" of Sarah Langs at TCU. They have "middle genes". B |
|
|
|
Post by stevehorn on Aug 13, 2017 12:50:58 GMT -5
In 2018 Rachel Langs at 6'4" will likely help at middle. She was with TAV/Ping this year and they won nationals 11-0. Havilli is a TAV/Ping alum. Rachel is the "little sister" of Sarah Langs at TCU. They have "middle genes".
Will be three good middles coming into the Big 12 off that team with Asjia O'Neal going to UT and Katie Clark to TCU.
|
|
|
|
Post by garnet04 on Aug 13, 2017 12:57:57 GMT -5
In 2018 Rachel Langs at 6'4" will likely help at middle. She was with TAV/Ping this year and they won nationals 11-0. Havilli is a TAV/Ping alum. Rachel is the "little sister" of Sarah Langs at TCU. They have "middle genes".
Will be three good middles coming into the Big 12 off that team with Asjia O'Neal going to UT and Katie Clark to TCU.
They were good...and intimidating. Look for Katie Clark to play at either pin at TCU. |
|
|
|
Post by southie on Aug 13, 2017 13:30:26 GMT -5
Iowa State always seems to play well against Texas. Their switch to the 6-2 offense during the 2016 season seemed to work out well for them. I thought they would do well in the NCAA tourney, but it just didn't happen. Coach Johnson hasn't been able to return to Iowa State to Top 16 status in several years. Maybe they can get there this season.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclonepower on Aug 13, 2017 14:19:38 GMT -5
The problem I have with TCU is that there is almost too much youth there. You can get away with that if you are shored up in the other areas, but they are not. Walsh could be an All-Big 12 MB this year, but I do not know how much more Ashleigh Martin has to move up as an OPP, she already seemed to be at the peak of her abilities last year. Neither of their setters are that impressive, and the libero situation was a disaster last season. As I said, TCU could move up to battle BU and ISU for third, but it could also just flat-out not work this year. 2018 and beyond, I'm buying TCU stock, but I might have to pass in 2017.
Kansas has been recruiting better with this run, but it is tough to hit the jackpot on kids like Havili, Payne and Rigdon like they did all at the same time. Havili is going to be so tough to replace come 2018, she is the heart, soul and leader of that team and that program. And like Katie Brand of K-State, can do everything, so you are replacing more than a setter, you are replacing a great back-row player, attacker, blocker and server, too. KU's roster is built for 2017, and that is exciting. You do not want everyone building towards the future, you want some teams just going for it, especially in a league dominated by one team.
I think Iowa State is really secure in their lineup (pretty much a lock to be 6-2 again this year), but there is so little depth on the pins (only three OHs and two RSs on roster). If the Cyclones keep healthy, maybe this is the year they get back into the top-16, but one injury or slump by a player could lead to lineup chaos.
|
|
|
|
Post by southie on Aug 13, 2017 14:42:37 GMT -5
As for Oklahoma, what a disaster. What Kansas has accomplished the last couple of seasons is kind of what I thought OU had the potential to do. They were recruiting some very good players out of Texas, and they have been the only Big 12 team to beat Texas in Austin (twice, I think) over the last several years.
Very surprised OU didn't part ways with Coach Restrepo. Seems like his best days are behind him. Players transferring out left and right over the last few years; and, not being able to recruit at a high level.
Guessing this will be his last season; but the damage has been done. He's really driven that program into the ground and it won't be easy for the next head coach to be successful short-term.
|
|
bluepenquin
Hall of Fame
4-Time VolleyTalk Poster of the Year (2019, 2018, 2017, 2016), All-VolleyTalk 1st Team (2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016)
Posts: 12,447 
|
Post by bluepenquin on Aug 13, 2017 19:04:17 GMT -5
Does anyone know for sure if Gabby Simpson is playing this year or redshirting?
Kansas has 3 fairly highly rated commits for 2019 (Rachel Hickman, Gracie Van Driel, & Morgan Christon) - yet they don't have a single Junior on the current roster. That makes me think they are looking/needing up to 3 senior transfers for 2018 (of which Simpson potentially could be one of them).
|
|
