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Post by vb1999 on Mar 10, 2020 9:34:47 GMT -5
UCLA took down USC is a close one today, winning with pairs 4 (Newberry/Powers), 1 (Simo/Van Winkle), 5 (May/Muret) The 3s pair of Justine/Monkhouse was handled rather easily by the Nourse twins, whom I would expect to be playing 2s, except for the fact that USC's 2s pair is also doing very well, handling Denaburg/Sparks in a closer match, but still in straight sets. Quade/Sanchez played the #6s exhibition, winning. Random observations: - Monkhouse is being served almost all the time. - Sparks was not as sharp today as she is usually - May struggles at times on SR, but makes up for that by putting up an effective block and having a tough serve - still haven't seen Monk-Heidrich this year, which at this point tells me she is probably not healthy. - wondering if Muret has beaten out Whitmarsh, or whether Muret was simply given another look today and the last Little isn't decided yet. - wondering whether Quade or May has beaten out Yeomans, or whether they will continue to rotate for another month before deciding who our 5th Big is. Yeomans/Muret did win at LSU last they met, which could be an NCAA Tourney matchup. - didn't realize Simo has a little bit of Sponcil in her ... she went up to fake hit on 2, transitioned into a set, but got caught deep dishing it too much and was called on it. Speaking of which, if Simo keeps setting butter, Van Winkle's sideout game should progress nicely this year. May can be frustrating to watch. She can make a bunch of errors in a row. This is why she is served a lot because she can have difficulty siding out. I'm glad she got it together to win that second set and the match for UCLA. Monkhouse and Justine have struggled. They were 2 and then moved to 3 where they are still struggling a little. I wonder when Stein starts to move around some of the pairs. I'm not sure if I'm sold on Sparks/Denaburg at 2 yet. The Nourse sister duo played tough though and they are legit. Made it to 2 main draws in AVP through qualifier, not a free pass in. Also, last year when all the tough teams were playing FIVB for points they performed well (maybe 5 or 6 main draws against tough competition and high finishes).
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Post by vb1999 on Mar 10, 2020 9:43:23 GMT -5
May can be frustrating to watch. She can make a bunch of errors in a row. This is why she is served a lot because she can have difficulty siding out. I'm glad she got it together to win that second set and the match for UCLA. Monkhouse and Justine have struggled. They were 2 and then moved to 3 where they are still struggling a little. I wonder when Stein starts to move around some of the pairs. I'm not sure if I'm sold on Sparks/Denaburg at 2 yet. The Nourse sister duo played tough though and they are legit. Made it to 2 main draws in AVP through qualifier, not a free pass in. Also, last year when all the tough teams were playing FIVB for points they performed well (maybe 5 or 6 main draws against tough competition and high finishes). Denaburg is a very strong player and performs at the net while Sparks has such an amazing winning mentality.
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Post by dunninla3 on Mar 11, 2020 18:39:20 GMT -5
UCLA faced USC today, using the same lineup as they used last week.
I was only able to follow on livestats. Since Livestats had Powers at both 4s and 5s, i am assuming it was May at 5s.
Teams 3 and 4 finished first. Justine/Monkhouse lost in 3 sets and Newbury/Powers lost in straight sets.
Then all three remaining UCLA teams won their matches to take the Team win: 3-2. Quade/Sanchez also won the 6s exhibition in 3 sets.
It appears once again the fate of the match fell to May/Muret in the 5s. They dropped the first set but won the next two.
Based upon Van Winkle/Simo beating Hallgren/Harward 21-10 in set 2, it's safe to say USC's 1s team is in complete disarray and likely losing hope at this point in the season.
Still no clue of the whereabouts or condition of Monk-Heidrich.
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Post by vb1999 on Mar 11, 2020 22:34:40 GMT -5
UCLA faced USC today, using the same lineup as they used last week. I was only able to follow on livestats. Since Livestats had Powers at both 4s and 5s, i am assuming it was May at 5s. Teams 3 and 4 finished first. Justine/Monkhouse lost in 3 sets and Newbury/Powers lost in straight sets. Then all three remaining UCLA teams won their matches to take the Team win: 3-2. Quade/Sanchez also won the 6s exhibition in 3 sets. It appears once again the fate of the match fell to May/Muret in the 5s. They dropped the first set but won the next two. Based upon Van Winkle/Simo beating Hallgren/Harward 21-10 in set 2, it's safe to say USC's 1s team is in complete disarray and likely losing hope at this point in the season. Still no clue of the whereabouts or condition of Monk-Heidrich. May was at 5s. 6s was an interesting match - two teams that would be playing on roughly any other program. USC 5s struggled siding out at the end when UCLA switched to not serve Dorn. USC 1s fell apart after they lost the first. Wondering how many points USC is away from being undefeated since every loss has been 3-2. Friend had a live stream from a UCLA parent and the USC 1's had Harward struggling. Simo/Winkle strong as usual. Nourse twins again strong, why are they at the 3's. Why do they not have Slater and Hallgren together? Newberry very rough and many mistakes again.
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Post by fetchin on Mar 11, 2020 22:57:57 GMT -5
Harward played the fours with Long Beach, ones may be too much for her.
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Post by newbeach on Mar 11, 2020 23:59:43 GMT -5
Harward played the fours with Long Beach, ones may be too much for her. I was a little surprised she was playing at the #1 flight. She is a fabulous athlete for sure, but I wonder if the Nourse twins playing together is part of the reason they needed her at the #1 flight?
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Post by dunninla3 on Mar 12, 2020 2:46:06 GMT -5
May was at 5s. 6s was an interesting match - two teams that would be playing on roughly any other program. USC 5s struggled siding out at the end when UCLA switched to not serve Dorn. USC 1s fell apart after they lost the first. Wondering how many points USC is away from being undefeated since every loss has been 3-2. Newberry very rough and many mistakes again. I wonder if toward the end of the season, by which time Quade will be better transitioned to the sand, that Steino might try May at 4s, and Quade at 5s. Also, if Newbury is struggling as you wrote, why not put Yeomans up to 4s?
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Post by dunninla3 on Mar 12, 2020 2:48:23 GMT -5
Harward played the fours with Long Beach, ones may be too much for her. I was a little surprised she was playing at the #1 flight. She is a fabulous athlete for sure, but I wonder if the Nourse twins playing together is part of the reason they needed her at the #1 flight? Doesn't matter from where the 3 wins come to win a match. Maybe Dane is sacrificing his 1s to have the teams that work best in 2-5?
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Post by vb1999 on Mar 12, 2020 9:51:48 GMT -5
Newberry very rough and many mistakes again. I wonder if toward the end of the season, by which time Quade will be better transitioned to the sand, that Steino might try May at 4s, and Quade at 5s. Also, if Newbury is struggling as you wrote, why not put Yeomans up to 4s? Quade looks promising. Agree, Yeomans would be better than Newberry at 4's.
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Post by dunninla3 on Mar 12, 2020 16:07:03 GMT -5
I wonder if toward the end of the season, by which time Quade will be better transitioned to the sand, that Steino might try May at 4s, and Quade at 5s. Also, if Newbury is struggling as you wrote, why not put Yeomans up to 4s? Quade looks promising. Agree, Yeomans would be better than Newberry at 4's. I'm sure she would put in yeoman's work.
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Post by dunninla3 on Mar 12, 2020 16:38:41 GMT -5
NOTHING MATTERS NOW
Another spring sport, Softball, just cancelled the Women's College World Series, which would have taken place from mid May through early June.
Today the PAC12 also announced the cancelation of "all sports competitions". I expect the NCAA to make the same announcement by tonight at the latest. All sports are over.
I feel badly for Savvy Simo, Mac May, Megan Muret, Lily Justine, Maddy Yeomans, all of whom had a decent shot of an NCAA 3peat in Beach volleyball. May and Muret will still have that opportunity next year, but with Graudina coming back to USC, and Maple/Kraft coming in as well at 2s or 3s, that will really be a long shot.
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Post by vballfan34 on Apr 9, 2020 15:52:00 GMT -5
During an interview with Michella Chester, Simo says she hopes to come back for a 5th year.
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Post by jackson5vb on Apr 11, 2020 1:02:56 GMT -5
Nourses are underappreciated. Not a 3's squad.
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Post by spikeandserve on Apr 23, 2020 21:02:19 GMT -5
Had a chance to talk to Steino about the 2x defending National Champion UCLA Beach program just a couple of days ago.
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Post by hbmb10k on Apr 24, 2020 6:01:38 GMT -5
That was an enjoyable interview. Thank you for that. What a positive role model he is, as well as an expert of the game. Best beach coach in the game IMO. I agree it has served him well that he's gone after these mid-sized, high volleyball IQ, accomplished ballers rather than opt for more athletic, less experienced, attackers. Jessica Smith for instance is right in line with this. She's going to do big things. Only issue I see is that out of all the top level programs, UCLA is the most Southern California centric recruiter. That was OK five years ago, when California dominated the national junior tournaments, but it's changing fast. I'd like to see him go after his type of player, but just expand his recruiting to the players in other States more so.
I read in another interview he was quoted as saying he wanted players that just knew UCLA the only choice for them. I'm not sure that's really fair to 16yr old girls from out of State who would rightly be thrilled and honored to be playing for USC, Berkley, or Pepperdine. They just aren't nuanced enough in the difference between the schools/programs to form an opinion on that.
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