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Post by ilikecorn on Feb 28, 2020 16:48:16 GMT -5
  [2020 Team Photo] Schedule | Roster | Stats   Last Season - (25-6)(17-1, 1st) - Current 2020 Roster -
(as of September 15th)
| L / 5-3
#2 Annie Benbow |
| JUNIOR / Frisco, TX
Full Bio | 
| S / 5-11
#6 Laura Madill |
| JUNIOR / Oakville, ON
Full Bio | 
| OPP / 6-2
#7 Hannah Patrick |
| SENIOR / Los Alamitos, CA
Full Bio | 
| OH / 6-2
#8 Roxie Wiblin |
| SENIOR / Berkeley, CA
Full Bio | 
| OPP/MB / 6-2
#10 Cami May |
| SENIOR / Katy, TX
Full Bio | 
| OPP/S / 6-5
#11 Grace Frohling |
| SOPHOMORE / Los Angeles, CA
Full Bio | 
| L / 5-3
#16 Camryn Tastad |
| JUNIOR / Solana Beach, CA
Full Bio | 
| OH / 6-2
#17 Thana Fayad |
| GRADUATE STUDENT / Victoria, BC
Full Bio | 
| OH / 6-2
#18 Katie Lukes |
| JUNIOR / San Clemente, CA
Full Bio | 
| MB / 6-1
#19 Lauren Turner |
| REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE / Edina, MN
Full Bio | 
| OH / 6-2
Kylie Pries |
| FRESHMAN / San Juan Capistrano, CA
Full Bio |
| S / 6-0
Alex Hoglund |
| FRESHMAN / Berkeley, CA
Full Bio |
| MB / 6-2
Elly Schraeder |
| FRESHMAN / Athol, ID
Full Bio |
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| HEAD COACH | | | ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH | | | ASSISTANT COACH | 
| Jimmy Lundgren
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Post by ilikecorn on Feb 28, 2020 16:51:16 GMT -5
Let's go Toreros!!
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Post by ilikecorn on Feb 28, 2020 16:51:35 GMT -5
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Post by bballnut90 on Feb 28, 2020 17:18:51 GMT -5
They'll be really good once again. Their defense and first contact should be strong with all passers besides Douglass returning. Benbow is a solid libero and their OH crew of Wiblin, Fayad and Lukes are all back. I didn't realize Fayad had another year of eligibility. Frohling and Lukes will be a great pin combo. Frohling should be one of the top hitters in the WCC next year. Wiblin/Fayad can struggle to find the floor but are strong all around players. Turner will get more action in the middle. Second middle is the big question mark with Jacobsen gone. Jacobsen was a stellar offensive attacker but not a very strong blocker. Filling her shoes wont be easy though.
Speaking of graduates, losing Newsome hurts. She turned into a really strong setter her last year and was absolutely lethal hitting on 2. She wasn't the fastest player, but once she got her hands on the ball her location and tempo were very good. Haven't been wowed by Madill but I also wasn't wowed by Newsome until 2019 so can't count Madill out.
Guessing they'll compete for the title along with BYU. Petrie always does a fantastic job with the players she has.
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Post by ilikecorn on Feb 28, 2020 17:51:46 GMT -5
ilikecorn please add San Diego 2020 to the master thread. I already did. |
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Post by ilikecorn on Feb 28, 2020 20:47:11 GMT -5
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Post by raian13 on Feb 29, 2020 1:20:01 GMT -5
I hope USD comes to Hawaii again next season.
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Post by ilikecorn on Feb 29, 2020 17:18:21 GMT -5
I hope USD comes to Hawaii again next season. That would be saweet!! |
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Post by swatson91 on Mar 1, 2020 11:15:59 GMT -5
USD should definitely be the favorite with a large part of the team returning. If Madill can step up this is a scary team. Lukes and Frohling will be the extremely tough to defend and should be one of the top pin combos in the country.
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Post by chatchu-off moksri on Mar 1, 2020 16:42:43 GMT -5
A couple thoughts:
-Passing needs to be better. There were several moments last season where the entire team just stunk up the court with horrible passing. With more consistent passing and the great weapons they have, improved passing is going to put them into a good position to be a top 16 seed at the end of the season.
-Fayad returning for a final season is fantastic. I do think she was very hot and cold during the season though. Especially during that last match vs. Hawaii, she was shut down both on the court and emotionally so I do think she needs to steady out a bit. When she is on, she is ON. I hope she is able to take the experiences she had as a full time OH last season and be a steady go-to player.
-I really liked Benbow's attitude as a libero. With Tastad also returning, I feel like the backrow should be pretty solid.
-I have a feeling Madill will step up. Seeing how setters have progressed at USD for the past several seasons (Gengenbacher and Newsome most recently) I am sure that the coaching staff is working with her to make sure she is stepping up to the challenge. She is another lefty setter so I'd love to see her be as aggressive as Newsome was this past year.
-Turner's improvement over the season was pretty great. She went from being almost a non-factor offensively in the beginning of the season to becoming a pretty good option towards the end. Looking forward to seeing her develop as a middle!
Now the questions:
-Will either Lukes or Frohling be able to play 6 rotations next season? If not Wiblin could probably play that "backroad hitting DS" role again, but I am sure that as a senior, she is gunning to play a full 6 rotation OH position. Also, with Reft coming in as a assistant coach, will he be able to help one of them develop their backrow game? Lukes especially with that arm out of the backrow
-Is there another setter recruit in the works? Madill is the only setter on the roster. Frohling is also listed as a setter, but I highly doubt that she is going to be asked to set because of her great hitting skills.
-Are any of the freshman middles ready to step in? Or will Cami May be taking that other middle spot? She was inserted in as a middle several times this season, so I'm guessing the coaching staff wants to see her there for this upcoming season as well.
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Post by raian13 on Mar 1, 2020 16:50:15 GMT -5
This is a tall squad! What’s the average height, 6’2? 6’3?
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Post by bbg95 on Mar 1, 2020 19:54:53 GMT -5
Yeah, San Diego should be the WCC favorite in 2020. BYU is really the only other credible contender, but I expect this year to be more about development for 2021 and 2022 when I think BYU will be really good (they have a lot of young players on their team, and Gneiting will be back). The only way I think BYU could win the title this year is if San Diego has some problems replacing their setter and/or the BYU underclassmen develop faster than expected.
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Post by ilikecorn on Mar 1, 2020 20:00:54 GMT -5
Yeah, San Diego should be the WCC favorite in 2020. BYU is really the only other credible contender, but I expect this year to be more about development for 2021 and 2022 when I think BYU will be really good (they have a lot of young players on their team, and Gneiting will be back). The only way I think BYU could win the title this year is if San Diego has some problems replacing their setter and/or the BYU underclassmen develop faster than expected. How will Pepperdine be this year? They lost who...Frohling and Wylie? Also Lishman apparently. |
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Post by bbg95 on Mar 1, 2020 20:11:42 GMT -5
Yeah, San Diego should be the WCC favorite in 2020. BYU is really the only other credible contender, but I expect this year to be more about development for 2021 and 2022 when I think BYU will be really good (they have a lot of young players on their team, and Gneiting will be back). The only way I think BYU could win the title this year is if San Diego has some problems replacing their setter and/or the BYU underclassmen develop faster than expected. How will Pepperdine be this year? They lost who...Frohling and Wylie? Also Lishman apparently. Had to check, but I see you added Lishman. Yeah, Pepperdine should be solid too, though I'm not an expert on them. They did beat San Diego once and took them to five in the other match, so maybe they'll be a contender too. The losses to graduation are pretty significant, though, and they missed the tournament last year (granted, not by that much, but still). But yeah, given that I expect BYU to be a bit down, Pepperdine may be a contender. |
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Post by Kingsley on Mar 1, 2020 20:36:33 GMT -5
This is clearly the WCC favorite. Of course, replacing Newsome and Jacobsen is no small task. I think that they have enough returning pieces, though, to stand pretty firmly over the rest of the conference. The pins are back, and so is the backcourt. The value there is pretty obvious.
Regarding the big picture in the conference, I think there's a real chance that BYU doesn't finish in the top 2 in the WCC, which hasn't happened since 2011. I'm really not sure what they're going to put together this year. That's not to say that program is declining, it's just how things worked out this year. San Diego, a team that pulled off the season sweep of a good BYU team last year, has a pretty serious roster advantage in 2020.
Pepperdine has some question marks, but is always solid. I don't think they're a huge threat to the Toreros, though.
There's a team lurking in the weeds that could make some noise in the WCC. It's Santa Clara.
All of my rambling has made me acutely aware that we don't yet have a WCC thread for this year.
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