Big 12 coaches should be ashamed!

[Cubicle No More ...]

Logonna Tomani ... aah ... Great name!! LOL


(Sorry no real opinion here ... Just haven't had the pleasure of seeing any Big12 teams play this season. Would really like to see Topic play though. Pavan too. And all their supporting cast.)

[OverAndUnder]

logonna said:

I just looked up the stats from the A&M match in College Station. Mira had 25 kills, second only to Laura Jones' 27. She did not play the last 4 points of the final game.

To be more precise: 25 kills, 15 errors, 63 attempts for a .159 average. It only underscores the team nickname "UTopic" to note that if she can be held to under .200, the Longhorns will go down.

The best way for opponents to hold her down is with strong serving. In the games I've watched, UT's overall #1 weakness is serve receive. Once they shank two in a row they have a very difficult time recovering their rhythm, and although Moriarty has lots of potential, she is only a freshman after all. No doubt she'll be tons better at handling bad passes under pressure next year.

As an example, here's the play-by-play for what happened in the fourth game at TAMU which caused Elliott to pull his POY:

TAMU-UT
19-16 [HOLLOWAY, Sarah] Kill by HOWDEN, Bethany (from MORIARTY, Michelle).
19-17 [HOLLOWAY, Sarah] Service ace (Jones, Laura).
19-18 [HOLLOWAY, Sarah] Service ace (Jones, Laura).
20-18 [HOLLOWAY, Sarah] Attack error by TOPIC, Mira (block by Munsch, Melissa; Hahn, Christi).
21-18 [Hahn, Christi] Attack error by TOPIC, Mira (block by Munsch, Melissa).
22-18 [Hahn, Christi] Attack error by TOPIC, Mira.
22-19 [Hahn, Christi] Attack error by Munsch, Melissa.
23-19 [HOWDEN, Bethany] Kill by Munsch, Melissa (from Kelley, Kari).
24-19 [Frantz, Lindsay] Attack error by TOPIC, Mira.
25-19 [Frantz, Lindsay] Attack error by MAGEE, Brandy (block by Munsch, Melissa; Jones, Laura).
26-19 [Frantz, Lindsay] Attack error by TOPIC, Mira.
27-19 [Frantz, Lindsay] Kill by Munsch, Melissa (from Kelley, Kari).
28-19 [Frantz, Lindsay] Attack error by TOPIC, Mira (block by Munsch, Melissa; Kelley, Kari).
29-19 [Frantz, Lindsay] Kill by Jones, Laura.
29-20 [Frantz, Lindsay] Kill by ACEVEDO, Dariam (from MORIARTY, Michelle).
29-21 [MORIARTY, Michelle] Attack error by Jones, Laura.
30-21 [MORIARTY, Michelle] Kill by Munsch, Melissa (from Kelley, Kari).

And this is the motivation for my comments. Topic is really really good in system, but out of system she loses a bit more than some players (like Gordon) who seem able to make anything work. Is her out-of-system game still better than the in-system game for teams below the top 20? Yes. Is Topic good enough to be BigXII POY? Absolutely, undeniably. But what I'm talking about is the context of the NCAA 3rd round and beyond, where the rest of her team will have even more difficulty getting a well-placed ball to her in the crunch. In the postseason, being really good isn't enough to take 1st place. Topic is a godsend for UT, but other teams with less concentrated firepower and more overall balance will be at the finals in Long Beach.

[txvball]

The problem with Topic being out of system is that her setter doesn't make good sets out of system. Moriarty, from what it looks like, still tries to run the low quick ball on a pass that is 10ft off of the net. This is where Topic has struggled. I think in part that this is a coaching decision, but when the team knows she is going to get the ball and then you are getting a set that is trying to isolate the blockers but they are already out there anyway, there is not much any hitter could do. I didn't see the A&M game but I have seen enough of their games to assume this was the case, b/c this is how the out of system sets are always. I think given a better set, she would do fine, but it seems Jerritt has burned in to Moriarty's head that a quick ball is what they need, and this is the only set she will give. So you are right, in the 3rd round and beyond they will be in trouble if this doesn't change, b/c even just putting free balls in against these teams when the set isn't there will kill you.

[I Luv Danny R]

Does any one think Topic is a POY Canidate,

[SaltNPepper]

CaliBro22 said:

Does any one think Topic is a POY Canidate,

Canidate? Yes Reasonable change of winning? No

[swoosh]

If texas vs nebraska was the only texas match you've seen then you wouldn't think Topic could be a candidate for POY but looking at her overall record this year i think she's worthy of it.
And i thought her setter did a great job setting against big red but the huskers blocking game was on fire.

I totally believe that if the huskers play like they did against Texas the rest of the tourney they will sweep all their opponents and maybe go to 4 at the championship match.

[Gorf]

Unless of course we find a way to put South Carolina's players in Iona's uniforms.

[OverAndUnder]

Txvball, you're 100% right about the out-of-system lobs from Moriarty. I don't know if this is the coaching system or not, but I already find Elliott less-than-agreeable in certain ways, so I'll admit to a tendency to look to the bench for the blame regardless of the reality.

[Gorf]

Moriarty is a freshman.

Sheesh, give her a break on expectations of perfection in her first year as a starting D1 collegiate setter.

Frankly, Texas is fortunate to have performed as well as they have with a freshman setter.

[SaltNPepper]

The said:

Unless of course we find a way to put South Carolina's players in Iona's uniforms.

That would sure do it.

One never really knows. Maybe that's the reason we actually play all these matches.

[Gorf]

Yup.

That's why I hope none of the Gophers go into the matches at Yale "expecting" easy victories and start already thinking about playing in the regionals.

That's a good way to potentially end up seeing the regionals from the stands rather than the court.