|
|
Post by calivball on Jan 11, 2003 23:20:06 GMT -5
here's my outlook on the midwest: lewis will win it all due to their professional players. How can you expect 18 year old freshman to compete against players that have played professionally in Brazil and Mexico? Other than Lewis, Ball State looks pretty good. They return a lot of guys from last year's Final Four team. They should be a force. Ohio State is always there but I do not think they have the experience to take it all the way. IPFW would be good, but Ptak will have problems with his back, knees, shoulder, you name it, he has a problem with it. Santiago should be good, but without Ptak, they don't have enough to challenge. Loyola still has plenty of bite in its attack and Davis is back for his senior season. The best setter in the league last year is back and will want to prove something his last season of collegiate volleyball. The only other competing team in the midwest is Quincy. They should be decent with Barretto returning. They are the only school without a returning setter, and either Meek or Pederson will have a tough season with teams keying on Barretto and no other options. I have heard good stuff about Meek, but he's short and might have problems keeping up with Ptak and Meyer. Other than that, no other teams from the midwest to talk about, Findlay, Clarke and Mercyhurst are jokes. Lewis has the talent to take the NCAA's and should skate in this rebuilding MIVA year.
|
|
|
|
Post by tototoo on Jan 11, 2003 23:58:00 GMT -5
I think Lewis has to be the early favorite. But, they are known for mental letdowns/meltdowns as the season winds down. Ohio State will be solid, but young. Hard to replace Olree...will need a new go-to guy to develop, but don't see anyone on the roster who can do that yet. Perhaps Greaves in a year or two. PEckham still has to prove he can be a dominant setter. Ball State will be solid, but has to replace Faushauer (?), who they will miss dearly. They are Very experienced now, though. Their setter was a weakspot for them last year...didn't do the outsides any favors with the poor sets out there. He should be better though. Loyola will be interesting. Experienced team, but a new coach. If the coach is smart, he will step back and let them do their thing. Davis was the best setter last year...the kid is mentallly tough, too. Schnorr should be a force. Who will play OPP? Has Schroeder gotten stronger? Who knows? IPFW will be more balanced than people realize. Santiago will make a case for best setter in the conference. He likes to distribute the ball. They have a rightside attack. They just picked up Angel Ruiz, OH from PR JNT. Solid in the middle, if a bit undersized. Still, very athletic. Javier Garcia from Juniata also adds some depth. Although Ptak is the man, they have enough balance to not completely rely on him. Also, he will play within himself, in order to save the wear and tear on his body. The new Ruiz will be able to spell him a bit, too. Quincy will be hurting because of the new setter. But, they will win some matches, as they continue to improve a little every year. Those international kids, in addition to the St. Louis kids, are nice players. If they pass, they can be tough. Should be a strong year overall, reminiscent of 1999, but not quite as strong. Look for 5 teams to be in the rankings and the automatic bid up for grabs.
|
|
|
|
Post by Leisure on Jan 12, 2003 17:33:41 GMT -5
Well here it is:
I aggree that Lewis probably has the best team in the midwest the have and awesome roster, their middles are above average, their setter is outstanding and Fabiano is one of the best right sides in the nation. Ball State is going to be good, their outsides are not great but they do the job. Denmark is pretty good and Kyle has been doing a pretty good job for them, plus keith has a decent idea of setting. Loyola lost Stoub and O'brien, but with Shane, Dan and Schnoor, they will be pretty good too. Ohio State is always good, coach Hanson has a pretty good freshmen class and with their setter and Adam does a good job in the middle, plus trantow is a 5th year and they relly on him a lot.
IPFW is going to fight for the championship, Ptak, Denis and both angels are going to be tough to stop. The question will be if they can pass...
Quincy might have some surprises as in their setting position and in their middle and right side. They have a good mix of young and old players and should give some people some trouble on a good day. With the two brazilians playing and some of the new players coming up they will be able to hang.
Other then that clark, mercyhurst and findlay will fight for the other 2 stops...
Hope it helped..
Plus i aggree that Lewis should not be able to bring in their pro players, but hey they are good and it works so what the hell.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lost final on Jan 12, 2003 17:35:34 GMT -5
Whoever posted this last message is a moron and does not speak english. It does not make any sense.
|
|
|
|
Post by ozthwizardof on Jan 12, 2003 22:30:06 GMT -5
to the previous poster,
It just may be that the person who did make that post you criticized does not speak english as a 1st language. Perhaps they are Puerto Rican or Brazilian. If so, it does make sense. Besides, its just a post, it doesn't have to be perfect. They get their point across.
|
|
|
|
Post by the future on Jan 13, 2003 16:31:00 GMT -5
IPFW took 2 out of 3 matches down in their trip to the Island. Not sure the quality of their competition but I would guess they played some solid competition. The atmosphere is always unique and a great cultural experience. Much of PR is very different than what us mainlanders are used to.
Only problem that I remembered was the cement floors.
they take on Santa Babara this weekend. We will see how the West Coast team adjusts to the travel.
Is Gutavo Meyer not playing....I didn't see him mentioned in the Hawaii trip?
|
|
|
|
Post by Gutavo Meyer on Jan 13, 2003 17:40:17 GMT -5
Gutavo Meyer must miss first 6 games of this season, due to his international matches he played in the past, hence did not travel to Hawaii.
|
|
|
|
Post by calivball on Jan 14, 2003 0:27:53 GMT -5
just like i predicted, if anyone saw it, quincy got beat up by george mason, a team ball state killed two nites ago, and guess what, barretto took almost 50 swings. they got NO ONE else. their setter played horribly too it appears. guess meek isn't what i heard.
|
|
|
|
Post by Quincyfan on Jan 14, 2003 14:26:25 GMT -5
Yup, Quincy does have big problems with offensive options.  Runha could be dominant but looks like that's next year as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery. Too much tooling. Turczynski brings heat but not smarts. Needs to learn to adjust when a block is up. New guy Moreno can be effective when double isn't in place. Others must step up. Too early to say on Meek. He has been with the team less than two weeks and came in out of playing shape. Obvious he has great hands and is an athlete. Word is he played competitively against some of best in Southern California.  He only played one game against Mason, was nervous and the passing was horrendous. Like they say, it all starts with the pass. Koth has his work cut out for him. Go Quincy! ;D |
|
|
|
Post by QUVBall on Jan 14, 2003 17:03:37 GMT -5
All you guys better hope this team does not click, cause then it will be your asses on the line. Yes the setting struggled last night as well as the outsides. But you also have to realize that Quincy started 4 freshmen and that they have Fernando hitting 10 foot balls. they have potential and they are much better then they showed last night. And I was at the game and passing was not horrendous...
this team is young and with the mix of a couple good veteran players they will come along. This was the 1st game of the season and i still expect a lot of great things from this team
Be afraid, be very afraid 0-0- they are coming to get ya..
QU VBALL FAN
|
|
|
|
Post by Guest on Jan 14, 2003 19:10:48 GMT -5
Turczynski hit .142 for the season last year and -.200 against George Mason! Is there no one else available?
|
|
guest
Junior High
Posts: 1
|
Post by guest on Jan 15, 2003 13:57:54 GMT -5
Turczynski is a very strong player, he needs to start working on his shots and being smarter. He is very powerful off the serve and hitting. It appears that he did struggle against Mason, but he will come around and become a leader on that team. That team looks like they could become a great team; they just need to keep working out somethings. It is still very early to tell how that team will come around. The team has many great players like the two Brazilians and some newcomers. They should turn some heads.
|
|
|
|
Post by QUFAN on Jan 15, 2003 14:19:24 GMT -5
Turczynski hits hard, but is stupid. He hits right at the block. When he learns to hit around the block he will be alright.
|
|
|
|
Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Jan 15, 2003 20:49:42 GMT -5
Quincy? Isn't that a TV show starring Jack Klugman?  |
|
|
|
Post by Balla on Jan 18, 2003 21:09:42 GMT -5
No comment on the previous post - he/she maybe an airhead that does not have a life other then watch TV shows...
Quincy goes up tomorrow against Park College - should be an easy match for Quincy and another opportunity for us to see what they got. Barretto is a threat but i guess his setters don't know how to set him yet. Turczinkiy (sp) might start so that will be another opportunity for him and the setter should be Peterson still.
Lets wait and see what they can do against park - and keep and eye out for freshmen right side Frank Masek... He is good.
|
|
Runha could be dominant but looks like that's next year as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery. Too much tooling. Turczynski brings heat but not smarts. Needs to learn to adjust when a block is up. New guy Moreno can be effective when double isn't in place. Others must step up.
He only played one game against Mason, was nervous and the passing was horrendous. Like they say, it all starts with the pass.
