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Post by hornfanaustin on Dec 13, 2017 17:43:39 GMT -5
I have high hopes that Jerritt redshirted Zelon for a reason this year. She seems like a very hard worker as well. And after watching a little bit of Gabriel and Petersen, it seems like they could come in and contribute immediately as well. We honestly really only need one or two to step up out of Rounsaville, Hahn, Petersen, Gabriel, and Zelon. Well we've seen two years out of Rounsaville and Hahn, so anything has to be better. The one scrimmage I saw Zelon in the Spring, I was pretty impressed. |
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Texas 2018
Dec 13, 2017 19:00:29 GMT -5
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Post by longhorn9214 on Dec 13, 2017 19:00:29 GMT -5
I'd be curious to see how Sun would do on the right as a passing Opposite, and putting Yazzie on the left in a 3 rotation Bailey Webster type roll. While not a terrible idea, I would assume that Yazzie is the better blocker so will likely play opposite. Shook was finally starting to set Ebony better towards the end of the season so hopefully Yazzie will be able to develop a nice connection as well. Early in the season she could rarely get a good set to get in any rhythm. Actually, Sun is a better blocker than Yazzie. That s one of the reasons why she was the number 1 recruit. |
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Texas 2018
Dec 13, 2017 22:00:37 GMT -5
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Post by Hookemhasbeen on Dec 13, 2017 22:00:37 GMT -5
2018 will be an interesting year. we for sure have talent coming back, but it’s one of the first in many years where I look across the country and think texas is hands down not as good as several teams. I think Stanford is going to continue to be a powerhouse, Wisconsin has loads of players returning including “why am I forgetting her name” OH coming back from injury. And we have questions at lots of positions.
I could easily see both Brionne and O’Neal beating out Morgan Johnson for the MH position. Morgan is just ok to me, not a standout blocker and a decent hitter. If o’neal comes in early I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see her start in the fall.
The OH and RS positions will be fine with Sun, Micaya, and Yazzie. Hoping sun focuses on her passing this offseason as she is just unstoppable at times from the back row. I do think we either move one of the middles to OH, whether that be Orie or someone else, or get a transfer because it’s our one thin position.
Ds, lord help us. I loved Cat McCoy, one of the fiercest competitors and despite what everyone says on here, anyone that becomes a schools all time leader in digs is a great player. Hahn and rousenville need to work on EVERYTHING this off season. Setting and serve receive especially. Really hoping Zelon or the incoming Peterson will step up and make a difference.
With setting, I’m so confused on how I feel about shook. I get that as a freshman it’s hard come right in and transition smoothly (although Hilley and Lilley were phenomenal) and I do think she is an incredible defensive setter, but if you set your whole life it should not be this hard to just set a hittable ball to your pins. It’s not that she didn’t put it exactly where Sun or Ebony like to be set, it’s that sometimes the sets were so far off they could do nothing with it but tip. And this was all the way up to the last game of the season. If you can’t even give your hitter an opportunity without trap setting them so often then there’s a lot to work on.
Final note- it was a great season but it just seemed like all along we didn’t have that X factor we had in previous years. No real court leader, not a ton of fire under players, and some players just seemed like they were ready for the season to be over for awhile. I always think when we bring in a new setter that this will be the year we run a fast offense but at this point I’m disappointed to finally realize it MUST be the coaches who refuse to run a quicker tempo. I think all of our hitters, maybe minus ebony, wouldn’t benefited immensely from that this season.
Congrats on a great year and another deep run. Already anxious to see what next year holds.
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Post by southie on Dec 13, 2017 22:14:49 GMT -5
I have high hopes that Jerritt redshirted Zelon for a reason this year. She seems like a very hard worker as well. And after watching a little bit of Gabriel and Petersen, it seems like they could come in and contribute immediately as well. We honestly really only need one or two to step up out of Rounsaville, Hahn, Petersen, Gabriel, and Zelon. Well we've seen two years out of Rounsaville and Hahn, so anything has to be better. The one scrimmage I saw Zelon in the Spring, I was pretty impressed. Olivia Zelon enrolled in January. Spring game was not aired on LHN; so, glad you saw her play as I did not attend the match. Watched her during the August scrimmage; I thought she could have helped this season. Have no idea if that means she is better/worse than Hahn and Rounsaville. But, the decision was made to redshirt her. As with Butler, I found that so surprising as players who enroll in college that early do so with the intent of playing as true freshmen. I understand Butler's redshirt (Coach Elliott said her blocking was not where it needed to be) based on the veteran middles on the roster. If you think about it, Zelon is behind Rounsaville and Hahn by just one semester; but, that semester was Fall 2016. Neither Hahn nor Rounsaville enrolled early, but both contributed as true freshmen (even with Nicole Dalton and Cat McCoy entrenched in the back row). So, all I can conclude is that Zelon didn't show enough in 8 months at Texas to beat out Hahn and Rounsaville for playing time in 2017. Realistically, I can't believe at this moment that she will beat them out in 2018. So, hoping Gabriel and Petersen come in and seize their opportunities. My prediction is that Petersen will be our Libero in 2018. |
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Post by hornfanaustin on Dec 14, 2017 8:00:21 GMT -5
Well we've seen two years out of Rounsaville and Hahn, so anything has to be better. The one scrimmage I saw Zelon in the Spring, I was pretty impressed. Olivia Zelon enrolled in January. Spring game was not aired on LHN; so, glad you saw her play as I did not attend the match. Watched her during the August scrimmage; I thought she could have helped this season. Have no idea if that means she is better/worse than Hahn and Rounsaville. But, the decision was made to redshirt her. As with Butler, I found that so surprising as players who enroll in college that early do so with the intent of playing as true freshmen. I understand Butler's redshirt (Coach Elliott said her blocking was not where it needed to be) based on the veteran middles on the roster. That's the confusing part! You redshirt a walkon? If she needs time to work on her defensive skills, okay...let her play in garbage time (not that there were that many chances for that). She would be the equivalent of Natalie Gilbert and Gilbert got in a few sets here and there. What I saw of Zelon was that she seemed to be where the ball was going, great anticipation. Maybe due to her sand experience? [shrug] But hey, neither here nor there because it's over until the next Spring game. |
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Post by Longhorn20 on Dec 14, 2017 8:05:48 GMT -5
So what is the scholarship situation? Do we have another one after who we have coming in next year, and if so, who do we go after as a transfer? Pin for depth? Libero? Setter?
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Post by hornfanaustin on Dec 14, 2017 8:35:51 GMT -5
So what is the scholarship situation? Do we have another one after who we have coming in next year, and if so, who do we go after as a transfer? Pin for depth? Libero? Setter? Interesting question. Assuming that these assumptions are true: 1) Limit of 12 scholarships: www.scholarshipstats.com/volleyball.htm2) Each player is using 1 full scholarship, not partial (I used to know someone well connected to the program, but he retired so I don't know anything) Looking at 2018's roster, with a (number) indicating a likely scholarship and * indicating new players: (1) White - RS. Jr. (2?) Fisbeck - Jr. Hahn - Jr. (3) Shook - So. (4) Butler - RS. Fr. (5) Sun - So. (6) Johnson - Sr. Rounsaville - Jr. Zelon - RS. Fr. (7) Westerlund - RS(?) So. Gilbert - Sr. (8) Bedart-Ghani - Sr. (9) Agbagi - Jr. * (10) O'Neal - Fr. * (11?) Peterson - Fr. * Gabriel - Fr. That's just doing lookups and cross-referencing UT sites. Anyone? Feel free to correct me or add their 2-cents in? Could Zelon be the missing 12th scholarship? Or is the 11th and 12th being split among 4 DS players? |
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Post by vbprisoner on Dec 14, 2017 12:31:22 GMT -5
2018 will be an interesting year. we for sure have talent coming back, but it’s one of the first in many years where I look across the country and think texas is hands down not as good as several teams. I think Stanford is going to continue to be a powerhouse, Wisconsin has loads of players returning including “why am I forgetting her name” OH coming back from injury. And we have questions at lots of positions. I could easily see both Brionne and O’Neal beating out Morgan Johnson for the MH position. Morgan is just ok to me, not a standout blocker and a decent hitter. If o’neal comes in early I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see her start in the fall. The OH and RS positions will be fine with Sun, Micaya, and Yazzie. Hoping sun focuses on her passing this offseason as she is just unstoppable at times from the back row. I do think we either move one of the middles to OH, whether that be Orie or someone else, or get a transfer because it’s our one thin position. Ds, lord help us. I loved Cat McCoy, one of the fiercest competitors and despite what everyone says on here, anyone that becomes a schools all time leader in digs is a great player. Hahn and rousenville need to work on EVERYTHING this off season. Setting and serve receive especially. Really hoping Zelon or the incoming Peterson will step up and make a difference. With setting, I’m so confused on how I feel about shook. I get that as a freshman it’s hard come right in and transition smoothly (although Hilley and Lilley were phenomenal) and I do think she is an incredible defensive setter, but if you set your whole life it should not be this hard to just set a hittable ball to your pins. It’s not that she didn’t put it exactly where Sun or Ebony like to be set, it’s that sometimes the sets were so far off they could do nothing with it but tip. And this was all the way up to the last game of the season. If you can’t even give your hitter an opportunity without trap setting them so often then there’s a lot to work on. Final note- it was a great season but it just seemed like all along we didn’t have that X factor we had in previous years. No real court leader, not a ton of fire under players, and some players just seemed like they were ready for the season to be over for awhile. I always think when we bring in a new setter that this will be the year we run a fast offense but at this point I’m disappointed to finally realize it MUST be the coaches who refuse to run a quicker tempo. I think all of our hitters, maybe minus ebony, wouldn’t benefited immensely from that this season. Congrats on a great year and another deep run. Already anxious to see what next year holds. Morgan Johnson is much better than she gets credit for... she was always the third option so her opportunities were much less than the other front line players, and less opportunity to establish better connection with Shook. She is also a very good blocker, as she led the team in solo blocks and had the fewest BE of any of the front line players. It will be a dog fight at MB next season, but I think she will be one of the starters. With Butler, Orie, and O'Neal Texas has an overload of MB talent which could make it tricky to keep everyone happy. The good news is Butler can play RS as well, and O'Neal has been training for the last couple months on the pins so she may be able to play multiple positions. It is not ideal to not focus on one position, but neither Butler or O'Neal have played a college match yet and over the spring and summer it will work itself out on who is best suited to play MBs and who is suited to play RS. Butler will be on the court somewhere because she is that good and it just depends where the coaches feel she will have the best impact. I also believe if she were to focus on RS she could be a Hooker type player for Texas. O'Neal is also a great talent and if they decide she may have better impact on RS she could compete to start there. Having Sun, White, Johnson, YBG, Butler, O'Neal and Orie means two players are watching, but if the coaches manage this they will have great depth and the competition will make each player better. Texas has incredible potential across the front line and we all know it comes down to two things that need 100% focus this spring. 1. Passing - Both Sun and White need to improve this aspect of there game so they may become trusted 6 rotation players. (White made a nice jump from 2016 to 2017 in back row play and needs to make same type of jump to next level in 2018). L & DS serve/receive need to improve considerably from 2017. I am excited that there are 3 new players that will challenge for these positions and I expect Peterson to really be an anchor and win the L jersey. If she were to get beat out by Zelon or Gabriel for L then we will really have an improved back line because Peterson IMO is better than anyone we had this year for serve/receive. If the first touch is consistently on we have the weapons to beat anyone. 2. Setting - Shook needs to improve connections with every hitter and be able to consistently put the ball in right location for terminating. She struggled setting RS but has all spring and summer to work on these areas. If the first touch is improved and Shook is not having to run down balls she will play more confident and deliver a better ball. |
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szandana
Junior
"we have found the enemy and he is us."
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Post by szandana on Dec 15, 2017 9:14:18 GMT -5
Oh my yes! Morgan is doing a great job up there in the trenches. She obviously paid attention to some fabulous schooling. Can anyone say Molly? Hopefully Brionne has done the same listening to Chi in her red shirt year. I remember mentioning how Chi was taking Bri to school at the net last spring. I posted. Only Mr. Elliott listened. Think it was a bit of over reacting by red shirting her though.
Exactly what was the injury to Morgan's thumb area this year. She played all year with a shoehorn type of device taped to her thumb and wrist area. I know that injuries are top secret in the Elliott system but cmon the season is over.
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szandana
Junior
"we have found the enemy and he is us."
Posts: 449
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Post by szandana on Dec 15, 2017 10:11:35 GMT -5
2018 will be an interesting year. we for sure have talent coming back, but it’s one of the first in many years where I look across the country and think texas is hands down not as good as several teams. I think Stanford is going to continue to be a powerhouse, Wisconsin has loads of players returning including “why am I forgetting her name” OH coming back from injury. And we have questions at lots of positions. I could easily see both Brionne and O’Neal beating out Morgan Johnson for the MH position. Morgan is just ok to me, not a standout blocker and a decent hitter. If o’neal comes in early I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see her start in the fall. The OH and RS positions will be fine with Sun, Micaya, and Yazzie. Hoping sun focuses on her passing this offseason as she is just unstoppable at times from the back row. I do think we either move one of the middles to OH, whether that be Orie or someone else, or get a transfer because it’s our one thin position. Ds, lord help us. I loved Cat McCoy, one of the fiercest competitors and despite what everyone says on here, anyone that becomes a schools all time leader in digs is a great player. Hahn and rousenville need to work on EVERYTHING this off season. Setting and serve receive especially. Really hoping Zelon or the incoming Peterson will step up and make a difference. With setting, I’m so confused on how I feel about shook. I get that as a freshman it’s hard come right in and transition smoothly (although Hilley and Lilley were phenomenal) and I do think she is an incredible defensive setter, but if you set your whole life it should not be this hard to just set a hittable ball to your pins. It’s not that she didn’t put it exactly where Sun or Ebony like to be set, it’s that sometimes the sets were so far off they could do nothing with it but tip. And this was all the way up to the last game of the season. If you can’t even give your hitter an opportunity without trap setting them so often then there’s a lot to work on. Final note- it was a great season but it just seemed like all along we didn’t have that X factor we had in previous years. No real court leader, not a ton of fire under players, and some players just seemed like they were ready for the season to be over for awhile. I always think when we bring in a new setter that this will be the year we run a fast offense but at this point I’m disappointed to finally realize it MUST be the coaches who refuse to run a quicker tempo. I think all of our hitters, maybe minus ebony, wouldn’t benefited immensely from that this season. Congrats on a great year and another deep run. Already anxious to see what next year holds. "No real court leader." I beg to differ. Being a real court leader is so much more than fist pumping and jumping up and down. Chiaka did a fantastic job as one of the court generals. Then your girl Catherine did quite a good job of directing what we had on the court for defensive specialists. Cat is not the all time schools all time leader in digs. Not 2nd, 3rd or 4th either. Also as I have before mentioned, a lot of digs can have different meanings. It could mean that the team is out of system a lot. Recently I watched Ashley get 3 digs in one rally. Oh and congrats Ashley on Honorable Mention, All American. Someone said "it should not be this hard to just set a hittable ball to your pins ." When one finds that your pin has a double or triple block lined up on them it's very difficult to do. Miss Collins found that out last year in the championship game when she set PPC several times in such a situation. Mr. Elliott had a knee jerk reaction and pulled PPC for the entire match. |
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Post by longhornfan on Dec 15, 2017 14:05:06 GMT -5
Szandana....you are incorrect on Catherine...She is the Texas all time Digs leader with 1801. The previous record was held for 19 years by Demetria Sance (1995-98) at 1614. Hook'em Horns!!
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Post by Factometer on Dec 15, 2017 14:40:38 GMT -5
Meester Elliott would concur.
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Post by superfan1 on Dec 15, 2017 14:50:05 GMT -5
I believe the decision to redshirt Butler was less about how much she could contribute this year and more that they wanted to save a year of eligibility since Chiaka's 5th year wasn't foreseen when Butler committed. I really doubt that Shook could have set a faster tempo offense since she struggled with the more basic high pin balls at times. I think Shook has got to give a little bit more to her teammates, not saying that she has to be a Khat Bell or Destinee Hooker, but too often she looks unresponsive. To me, Jenna Gray is a good example of a calm setter but one who also is engaged with her teammates. Shook has 3 more years so I'm sure she'll get there.
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Post by Factometer on Dec 15, 2017 14:57:20 GMT -5
Oh my yes! Morgan is doing a great job up there in the trenches. She obviously paid attention to some fabulous schooling. Can anyone say Molly? Hopefully Brionne has done the same listening to Chi in her red shirt year. I remember mentioning how Chi was taking Bri to school at the net last spring. I posted. Only Mr. Elliott listened. Think it was a bit of over reacting by red shirting her though. Exactly what was the injury to Morgan's thumb area this year. She played all year with a shoehorn type of device taped to her thumb and wrist area. I know that injuries are top secret in the Elliott system but cmon the season is over. Well, ok, I'll go first ... molly. There, I did it. "shoehorn type device" ... Was it burnt orange? If so, you can find them at Forbidden Fruit, no big secret. BTW, have you ever read Robbins 'Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'? |
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szandana
Junior
"we have found the enemy and he is us."
Posts: 449
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Post by szandana on Dec 15, 2017 17:03:04 GMT -5
Szandana....you are incorrect on Catherine...She is the Texas all time Digs leader with 1801. The previous record was held for 19 years by Demetria Sance (1995-98) at 1614. Hook'em Horns!! I stand corrected. The 2017 fact book page 63 failed to include this years digs despite indicating it showed (2014-present). I don't like saying anything that's not good about Cat. She excelled in most every post season. Still, her digs were rarely quiet , on target first touches that enables a setter to not only have options, but to exercise them. They were most always fast spinning digs. Cat could dig a lot of tough kill attempts. Still she spent far to much time sprawled out on the floor. I had to admire Nebraska and Penn State last night. The liberos stay on their feet far more than the Texas defense. Hope Texas still does not do that Texas tough drill? Digs are not a stat to judge greatness from. Factor in errors and the dig stat becomes a bit more credible. Cat was not a great libero though. The Big 12 had better. Texas also has had better with fewer digs. Texas planed on running an up tempo offense all along. Mr. Elliott often worked on that with both setters pregame. The setters then would work on it during warm ups. More than it seems folks are willing to admit, Texas did run a faster offense than in the past. Chiaka scored on many quick sets in the middle. Morgan and Chi and Ashley honed their timing on the slide moves and had success there also. Did everyone miss the low trajectory sets that Ashley sometimes made to the left pin as well as the middle pipe? The high loopers are usually an out for a bad touch. |
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