Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2018 11:15:41 GMT -5
The ACC 2019
In 2018, the ACC saw two ranked teams return to the national stage in Pitt and Louisville. UL was there most of the season until some late losses knocked them out. Teams such as Syracuse and FSU surged this year, while other teams fell below standards. Other surprises were Duke and Clemson. Out of the conference, Pitt received a #12 national seed, while FSU, Louisville, Duke, and Syracuse were at large bids. All ACC teams were out of the tourney after the first weekend. Clemson was invited to play in the NIVC as was GA Tech, but both fell.
Looking ahead, where does the ACC go for 2019?
Pittsburgh: Loses key seniors in Akeo and Semen. Pitt must respond by filling these two roles, not only for technical play of the two players, but their leadership. With the core returning of Lund, Williams, VanBuskirk, Ndee, and Marcovic, Pitt should make more noise.
FSU: FSU loses a key leader in Burkert, a pin hitter in Ambrose, Murray a solid versatile middle, and a pretty solid libero in Wacinski. AS Poole always does, he will probably shop the transfer market heavily for experience. Also has some good hitters coming in and returns Caffrey and Knuth.
Louisville: DBK is bringing in a highly stout class this year and has a couple of athletes coming off of redshirts. However, there are rumors of transfers due to the first round of talent rolling in. Stivrins and Shields are key to the newcomers. The Cards lose ACC SOY Wilma Rivera, strong defensive libero Molly Sauer, Amanda Green, and Jasmine Bennett a very good MB. Add to that, Sloan transferring to IU. This team will have youthful growing pains but has great potential.
Syracuse: Returning Paulina Shemanova will no doubt keep Syracuse tough, but they lose some key contributors. No Witherspoon, Trotter, or Ebangwese will require this team to really revamp and get an idea of who its next leaders will be.
Duke: Perhaps the biggest news for Duke is not losing triple double machine Shelton or Solid pin Bartholomew, but losing Leah Meyer to transfer. She was a strong presence and upper class leader. Still, Duke welcomes in a strong setter to take the reigns in Nazor and returns key components in Owokiniran, Schwantz, and Cole.
Notre Dame: ND had an up and down year in the ACC. ND has some solid pieces returning in Nunez, Bent, Niego, and Yeadon. They have a lot to make up for as they lose DeJarld (ACC DPOY), Nunge, and Morningstar. Welcoming in Meuth will be a big lift for ND.
NC State: Losses in Sopitan and Pickrell will be big to overcome for NCSU in the fall. However, LHK has shown that she can develop players and recruit raw talent. With Evans and Parchment returning and McDaniel coming in, NCSU has room to grow into a competitive team.
Miami: Miami had big wins over a couple of teams and even pushed the top teams at home. Losing Byrd and Templeton means that Keno will need a strong setter and OH to aid in production. Chloe Brown returning with Leukianova will give Miami an offensive boost. Wattles come in as setter and several incoming pins will help Miami be competitive.
Clemson: One has to think Clemson is going to make more noise next year in the ACC. Franklin has done a stellar job and is establishing a fierce team culture. With Eason, Bailey, and a healthy Korte, Clemson has pieces to climb higher next year.
Georgia Tech: Tech welcomes back a lot of talent as we head into 2019. While losing Frerkring, Tech bring back Dowd and Brambilla on the outside, Comby in the middle and Clifton/Rigsbee on the RS. Add in setters Dorn and McKissock and all the initial pieces are there for a run.
Boston College: BC had a year where their record did not shown the progress the team had made. Starting the year very strong, they still were subpar in the ACC but pushed some of the top teams into 4 or 5 sets whereas BC was normally an easy sweep. Goss was a solid player for Kennedy, but he returns West, Strockis, and Strawberry to an also good recruiting class in Clavenna and Ianesleeli.
Virginia Tech: Tolbert and Mitchell are two big losses in regards to offense and leadership. Wilson brings back some solid hitters in Smith and Talamazzi, as well as libero Raffety. Powell is a pretty good get for the recruiting class as is Zier, but Tech will need to improve its offense in order to be competitive.
Wake Forest: Ferguson took over at WF a few years back and there has been flashes of growth but nothing sustained. However, he has a solid core returning with Della, Rossenfoss, and Holt to lead the way. Still, he needs better defense and someone to emerge to help carry the load, offensively.
North Carolina: UNC has to be one of the most perplexing stories of the season. UNC had plenty of individual talent, but failed to mesh it together until the season was already ending. The Tar Heels showed glimpses of being a great team as they took a 4 set loss to Minnesota but only losing by the minimum in the 3rd and 4th sets and being the first team to reach 20 in both sets. They pushed Louisville to 5 sets at home. Defeated Miami and Duke. However, too many errors cost them in games they were historically favored. UNC loses Koetter, Laufenburg, and Jacobs to graduation as well as freshman stand out Bell to transfer. However, UNC brings back its core in Atherton, Fradenburg, Cox, and Esterly. Add in Lauren Harrison coming off a redshirt. The recruiting class is very solid in Howard, Autin, and Peck. If new assistants Mike and Susan can implement a system at UNC with Sagula, and get players to begin adapting, UNC should rebound this year, greatly.
Virginia: Spencer returns Novakovic and Jarman, but still will need stronger setter production and Offense to turn Virginia around. One thing UVA was much better on this year was back row defense led by Miller. That should be an area to grow on next year.
Please add any other recruits or info for me to include/edit as you see.
In 2018, the ACC saw two ranked teams return to the national stage in Pitt and Louisville. UL was there most of the season until some late losses knocked them out. Teams such as Syracuse and FSU surged this year, while other teams fell below standards. Other surprises were Duke and Clemson. Out of the conference, Pitt received a #12 national seed, while FSU, Louisville, Duke, and Syracuse were at large bids. All ACC teams were out of the tourney after the first weekend. Clemson was invited to play in the NIVC as was GA Tech, but both fell.
Looking ahead, where does the ACC go for 2019?
Pittsburgh: Loses key seniors in Akeo and Semen. Pitt must respond by filling these two roles, not only for technical play of the two players, but their leadership. With the core returning of Lund, Williams, VanBuskirk, Ndee, and Marcovic, Pitt should make more noise.
FSU: FSU loses a key leader in Burkert, a pin hitter in Ambrose, Murray a solid versatile middle, and a pretty solid libero in Wacinski. AS Poole always does, he will probably shop the transfer market heavily for experience. Also has some good hitters coming in and returns Caffrey and Knuth.
Louisville: DBK is bringing in a highly stout class this year and has a couple of athletes coming off of redshirts. However, there are rumors of transfers due to the first round of talent rolling in. Stivrins and Shields are key to the newcomers. The Cards lose ACC SOY Wilma Rivera, strong defensive libero Molly Sauer, Amanda Green, and Jasmine Bennett a very good MB. Add to that, Sloan transferring to IU. This team will have youthful growing pains but has great potential.
Syracuse: Returning Paulina Shemanova will no doubt keep Syracuse tough, but they lose some key contributors. No Witherspoon, Trotter, or Ebangwese will require this team to really revamp and get an idea of who its next leaders will be.
Duke: Perhaps the biggest news for Duke is not losing triple double machine Shelton or Solid pin Bartholomew, but losing Leah Meyer to transfer. She was a strong presence and upper class leader. Still, Duke welcomes in a strong setter to take the reigns in Nazor and returns key components in Owokiniran, Schwantz, and Cole.
Notre Dame: ND had an up and down year in the ACC. ND has some solid pieces returning in Nunez, Bent, Niego, and Yeadon. They have a lot to make up for as they lose DeJarld (ACC DPOY), Nunge, and Morningstar. Welcoming in Meuth will be a big lift for ND.
NC State: Losses in Sopitan and Pickrell will be big to overcome for NCSU in the fall. However, LHK has shown that she can develop players and recruit raw talent. With Evans and Parchment returning and McDaniel coming in, NCSU has room to grow into a competitive team.
Miami: Miami had big wins over a couple of teams and even pushed the top teams at home. Losing Byrd and Templeton means that Keno will need a strong setter and OH to aid in production. Chloe Brown returning with Leukianova will give Miami an offensive boost. Wattles come in as setter and several incoming pins will help Miami be competitive.
Clemson: One has to think Clemson is going to make more noise next year in the ACC. Franklin has done a stellar job and is establishing a fierce team culture. With Eason, Bailey, and a healthy Korte, Clemson has pieces to climb higher next year.
Georgia Tech: Tech welcomes back a lot of talent as we head into 2019. While losing Frerkring, Tech bring back Dowd and Brambilla on the outside, Comby in the middle and Clifton/Rigsbee on the RS. Add in setters Dorn and McKissock and all the initial pieces are there for a run.
Boston College: BC had a year where their record did not shown the progress the team had made. Starting the year very strong, they still were subpar in the ACC but pushed some of the top teams into 4 or 5 sets whereas BC was normally an easy sweep. Goss was a solid player for Kennedy, but he returns West, Strockis, and Strawberry to an also good recruiting class in Clavenna and Ianesleeli.
Virginia Tech: Tolbert and Mitchell are two big losses in regards to offense and leadership. Wilson brings back some solid hitters in Smith and Talamazzi, as well as libero Raffety. Powell is a pretty good get for the recruiting class as is Zier, but Tech will need to improve its offense in order to be competitive.
Wake Forest: Ferguson took over at WF a few years back and there has been flashes of growth but nothing sustained. However, he has a solid core returning with Della, Rossenfoss, and Holt to lead the way. Still, he needs better defense and someone to emerge to help carry the load, offensively.
North Carolina: UNC has to be one of the most perplexing stories of the season. UNC had plenty of individual talent, but failed to mesh it together until the season was already ending. The Tar Heels showed glimpses of being a great team as they took a 4 set loss to Minnesota but only losing by the minimum in the 3rd and 4th sets and being the first team to reach 20 in both sets. They pushed Louisville to 5 sets at home. Defeated Miami and Duke. However, too many errors cost them in games they were historically favored. UNC loses Koetter, Laufenburg, and Jacobs to graduation as well as freshman stand out Bell to transfer. However, UNC brings back its core in Atherton, Fradenburg, Cox, and Esterly. Add in Lauren Harrison coming off a redshirt. The recruiting class is very solid in Howard, Autin, and Peck. If new assistants Mike and Susan can implement a system at UNC with Sagula, and get players to begin adapting, UNC should rebound this year, greatly.
Virginia: Spencer returns Novakovic and Jarman, but still will need stronger setter production and Offense to turn Virginia around. One thing UVA was much better on this year was back row defense led by Miller. That should be an area to grow on next year.
Please add any other recruits or info for me to include/edit as you see.