trojansc
Legend
All-VolleyTalk 1st Team (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017), All-VolleyTalk 2nd Team (2016), 2021, 2019 Fantasy League Champion, 2020 Fantasy League Runner Up, 2022 2nd Runner Up
Posts: 27,902
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Post by trojansc on Jul 12, 2020 2:35:59 GMT -5
If I had to pick the best match from the past International season / Olympic Qualifying Events, it's probably this one! I guess these were close though: South Korea-Russia (IOQT) Dominican Republic-Brasil (IOQT) USA-Bulgaria (IOQT) If Poland won, they would have played Germany for the Olympic Bid. (this is what I Wanted ) If South Korea won, Thailand would assuredly be at the Olympics. If Dominican Republic had won, then Argentina would NOT be at the Olympics, replaced by Puerto Rico, Canada, or Mexico. If Bulgaria had won, DR/USA would have battled for the Olympic Bid. They're all on FIVB Volleyball World TV, still free for now I think? You just have to use a VPN.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2020 12:05:56 GMT -5
Hi guys! I feel like I ask a lot of questions on here, so sorry about that. Being as there might not be an NCAA season, I'd like to follow pro volleyball, given that also the olympics are coming up. Would anybody mind explaining the system to me? The leagues? What countries have the best leagues? How to watch? If you want to watch the Olympics, getting to know international volleyball competitions is also a good idea. National Teams select their players from the pro leagues mentioned here, ideally they are the cream of the crop, the best of the best for their country. In some cases college or amateur status players can also be selected. That is more often for the lower ranked national teams which may not have a sufficiently large pool of pro players to choose from. As for the top ranked teams who are most likely to medal, they are China (1984, 2004, 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist, 2015 and 2019 World Cup winners), USA (2014 World Championship winner), Serbia (2018 World Championship winner), Italy (2007 and 2011 World Cup Winner), Brazil (2008 and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist) and maybe Russia (2006 and 2010 Word Championship winner). All these teams are ranked within the top 10. Other teams that are strong but might be a long shot to medal are Japan, Korea and Turkey. Japan was the world powerhouse back in the 60's and 70's and earned their share of Olympic Golds and World Championships. However, they have since fallen into a sort of rut, they find it hard to beat the top teams consistently due in part to their height disadvantage. But they are well-known for their speed and reception ability, so one should never count them out. Korea has the amazing KYK, one of the best outside hitters in the world. They are known to pull off an occasional upset against the top teams. Turkey is a fast rising team under the talented Italian coach Giovanni Guidetti. Its within the realm of possibility that they can pull off an upset. For international competition, the big three "majors" are the Olympics, World Championship and World Cup. The World Championship is usually held in the middle of the Olympic "quad/cycle", about two years before the Olympics. While the Olympics is more "prestigious", the World Championship is the oldest major of the three and arguably the hardest to win because of the number of teams involved and the volume of matches. World Cup is held one year before the Olympics, and the top three (or two) medalists at the Cup gets to qualify for the Olympics (except for Tokyo, because FIVB messed up the schedule and had to have Olympic Qualification Tournaments for all teams). There is also the World Grand Champions Cup held the year after the Olympics, but that is usually regarded as a lesser competition because the winner does not earn points to boost their FIVB ranking. Beyond the big 3 majors, there is also the annual Volleyball Nations League (VNL). It used to be called the World Grand Prix. This is an international competition held between NTs. There are usually more NTs involved compared to the Olympics and can be seen as more inclusive in that sense, although it does rank below the big 3 in terms of prestige (but with changes in points earned, more teams may start paying attention to it). There are also the continental championships. CEV for example has the Women's European Volleyball Championship held every 2 years as well as the lesser Women's European Volleyball League, used as a qualifer to the VNL. CEV is also arguably the most competitive continental federation as there are many good teams fighting for very limited slots at the Olympics, like Poland, Germany, Netherlands and Turkey, these 4 teams are just below Serbia and Russia and have the ability to beat these two top teams. In our part of the world there is NORCECA, which hosted the Women's NORCECA Volleyball Championship every two years, with the US having the second most championships in this tournament after Cuba. NORCECA also hosts the Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup which serves as the qualifer for the Pan American Games. In South America there is the Women's South American Volleyball Championship organized by the CSV, which has been dominated by Brazil, except for a few wins from Peru, once a rival to Brazil in South America. Last but not least, we have the AVC in Asia, which hosted the Asian Games and Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, dominated by China and Japan before then. The best 4 Asian teams are China, Japan, Korea and Thailand in that order. Seems like the Chinese and Koreans have tall players? Is Japan "behind" on this, in some sense? And if so, I wonder why.
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Post by ironhammer on Jul 12, 2020 19:51:14 GMT -5
If I had to pick the best match from the past International season / Olympic Qualifying Events, it's probably this one! I guess these were close though: South Korea-Russia (IOQT) Dominican Republic-Brasil (IOQT) USA-Bulgaria (IOQT) If Poland won, they would have played Germany for the Olympic Bid. (this is what I Wanted ) If South Korea won, Thailand would assuredly be at the Olympics. If Dominican Republic had won, then Argentina would NOT be at the Olympics, replaced by Puerto Rico, Canada, or Mexico. If Bulgaria had won, DR/USA would have battled for the Olympic Bid. They're all on FIVB Volleyball World TV, still free for now I think? You just have to use a VPN. Turkey vs Poland was probably the best Olympic Qualification match anywhere. Especially that 4th set, amazing.
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trojansc
Legend
All-VolleyTalk 1st Team (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017), All-VolleyTalk 2nd Team (2016), 2021, 2019 Fantasy League Champion, 2020 Fantasy League Runner Up, 2022 2nd Runner Up
Posts: 27,902
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Post by trojansc on Jul 12, 2020 19:54:58 GMT -5
If I had to pick the best match from the past International season / Olympic Qualifying Events, it's probably this one! I guess these were close though: South Korea-Russia (IOQT) Dominican Republic-Brasil (IOQT) USA-Bulgaria (IOQT) If Poland won, they would have played Germany for the Olympic Bid. (this is what I Wanted ) If South Korea won, Thailand would assuredly be at the Olympics. If Dominican Republic had won, then Argentina would NOT be at the Olympics, replaced by Puerto Rico, Canada, or Mexico. If Bulgaria had won, DR/USA would have battled for the Olympic Bid. They're all on FIVB Volleyball World TV, still free for now I think? You just have to use a VPN. Turkey vs Poland was probably the best Olympic Qualification match anywhere. Especially that 4th set, amazing. I couldn’t watch that if I was a Poland fan. Smarzek had to have 5 swings for the match and couldn’t put it away. 99% of the time Poland wins
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Post by mikegarrison on Jul 12, 2020 20:00:24 GMT -5
Wouldn't be that surprised if Japan runs the Olympics, but doesn't allow US/Russia/Brazil to participate if our/their Covid numbers aren't under control by then. Surely we'll get out act together by then.... That would be extremely difficult, because the IOC controls the Olympics. Fans, on the other hand, could more easily be banned.
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Post by ironhammer on Jul 12, 2020 20:05:13 GMT -5
If you want to watch the Olympics, getting to know international volleyball competitions is also a good idea. National Teams select their players from the pro leagues mentioned here, ideally they are the cream of the crop, the best of the best for their country. In some cases college or amateur status players can also be selected. That is more often for the lower ranked national teams which may not have a sufficiently large pool of pro players to choose from. As for the top ranked teams who are most likely to medal, they are China (1984, 2004, 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist, 2015 and 2019 World Cup winners), USA (2014 World Championship winner), Serbia (2018 World Championship winner), Italy (2007 and 2011 World Cup Winner), Brazil (2008 and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist) and maybe Russia (2006 and 2010 Word Championship winner). All these teams are ranked within the top 10. Other teams that are strong but might be a long shot to medal are Japan, Korea and Turkey. Japan was the world powerhouse back in the 60's and 70's and earned their share of Olympic Golds and World Championships. However, they have since fallen into a sort of rut, they find it hard to beat the top teams consistently due in part to their height disadvantage. But they are well-known for their speed and reception ability, so one should never count them out. Korea has the amazing KYK, one of the best outside hitters in the world. They are known to pull off an occasional upset against the top teams. Turkey is a fast rising team under the talented Italian coach Giovanni Guidetti. Its within the realm of possibility that they can pull off an upset. For international competition, the big three "majors" are the Olympics, World Championship and World Cup. The World Championship is usually held in the middle of the Olympic "quad/cycle", about two years before the Olympics. While the Olympics is more "prestigious", the World Championship is the oldest major of the three and arguably the hardest to win because of the number of teams involved and the volume of matches. World Cup is held one year before the Olympics, and the top three (or two) medalists at the Cup gets to qualify for the Olympics (except for Tokyo, because FIVB messed up the schedule and had to have Olympic Qualification Tournaments for all teams). There is also the World Grand Champions Cup held the year after the Olympics, but that is usually regarded as a lesser competition because the winner does not earn points to boost their FIVB ranking. Beyond the big 3 majors, there is also the annual Volleyball Nations League (VNL). It used to be called the World Grand Prix. This is an international competition held between NTs. There are usually more NTs involved compared to the Olympics and can be seen as more inclusive in that sense, although it does rank below the big 3 in terms of prestige (but with changes in points earned, more teams may start paying attention to it). There are also the continental championships. CEV for example has the Women's European Volleyball Championship held every 2 years as well as the lesser Women's European Volleyball League, used as a qualifer to the VNL. CEV is also arguably the most competitive continental federation as there are many good teams fighting for very limited slots at the Olympics, like Poland, Germany, Netherlands and Turkey, these 4 teams are just below Serbia and Russia and have the ability to beat these two top teams. In our part of the world there is NORCECA, which hosted the Women's NORCECA Volleyball Championship every two years, with the US having the second most championships in this tournament after Cuba. NORCECA also hosts the Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup which serves as the qualifer for the Pan American Games. In South America there is the Women's South American Volleyball Championship organized by the CSV, which has been dominated by Brazil, except for a few wins from Peru, once a rival to Brazil in South America. Last but not least, we have the AVC in Asia, which hosted the Asian Games and Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, dominated by China and Japan before then. The best 4 Asian teams are China, Japan, Korea and Thailand in that order. Seems like the Chinese and Koreans have tall players? Is Japan "behind" on this, in some sense? And if so, I wonder why. I think only two or three players on the Japanese NT are over 6 feet such as Nana Iwasaka, Erika Araki and Haruyo Shimamura. Although height by itself isn't the whole story, what's important is jumping ability. Cuba's Mireya Luis was under 6 feet yet had an incredible jumping ability of way over 3 meters (some say around 339 cm) making her go over the opponent's block with ease when she spikes. The Japanese right now don't have someone like that. So the Japanese get blocked much too frequently. That being said, there are advantages to having shorter players, the Japanese can sometimes move quicker than taller opponents and have better ball control, allowing them to set up very quick attacks before the opposing side has time to respond.
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Post by ironhammer on Jul 12, 2020 20:08:04 GMT -5
Turkey vs Poland was probably the best Olympic Qualification match anywhere. Especially that 4th set, amazing. I couldn’t watch that if I was a Poland fan. Smarzek had to have 5 swings for the match and couldn’t put it away. 99% of the time Poland wins Reminds me of that Brazil vs Russia match at Athens 2004. Brazil had several match points in the 4th set, but...
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Post by mikegarrison on Jul 12, 2020 20:12:11 GMT -5
Seems like the Chinese and Koreans have tall players? Is Japan "behind" on this, in some sense? And if so, I wonder why. Of course there are some tall Japanese people, but don't you realize that all "Asians" are not culturally or genetically the same? Japan is an island. And unlike England, with a long history of invasions and migration, the last major migration to Japan was 3000-1500 years ago, when there was a large-scale migration from Korea. These are the primary ancestors of the majority of Japanese people, so they have been fairly isolated for a long time. Easily long enough to be somewhat distinct from Koreans or Chinese people.
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Post by ToddyJ on Jul 12, 2020 22:30:33 GMT -5
Turkey vs Poland was probably the best Olympic Qualification match anywhere. Especially that 4th set, amazing. I couldn’t watch that if I was a Poland fan. Smarzek had to have 5 swings for the match and couldn’t put it away. 99% of the time Poland wins First point: I love Poland. They will only get better next quad. I think they take Russia's place at Paris in 2024. Plus they are co-hosts of the 2022 World Championships so they have something to prove. I mean they weren't even on anyones radar in 2017. Nor was Turkey. Both teams were not even a factor yet. Second point: For me Turkey winning was karma for the Chinese Government banning Meliha Ismailoglu from entering the country and participating during the IOQT back in the 2019 season. Also Turkey beat Poland in the quarterfinals of Eurovolley 2019. Poland just has too many players that don't dial into the play and tend to make tons of sloppy errors. Lots of miscommunication going on down there a bit too much if you ask me. Third Point: Meryem Boz came to play that day. She single handedly drug the team across the finish line. She was more hungry and got the job done. I love both teams and really wished that they both, along with Germany, could be in Tokyo. But as someone pointed out.....the whole point of the Olympics is for all of the 5 confederations to have representation. If I had it my way....CEV would have 6 teams there....which if the seeding of the pools works out in future IOQT tournaments....that could become a reality.
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Post by ironhammer on Jul 14, 2020 0:13:34 GMT -5
Hi guys! I feel like I ask a lot of questions on here, so sorry about that. Being as there might not be an NCAA season, I'd like to follow pro volleyball, given that also the olympics are coming up. Would anybody mind explaining the system to me? The leagues? What countries have the best leagues? How to watch? Italy and Turkey have the strongest teams. Italy's league top to bottom is probably the toughest. The Champions League is one of the biggest competitions where teams throughout Europe play. There are also lower level continental competitions for teams that do not qualify for the Champions League, called the CEV Cup and the Challenge Cup. Imoco in Italy is the best team in the world right now. China, Japan, and South Korea are the biggest leagues in Asia I believe (they're harder to follow with the time zones). The best clubs in South America come from Brazil. I don't follow the league closely, but I believe Minas, Praia Club, and Rio de Janeiro Vôlei Clube are the top clubs. There is a worldwide competition called the Club World Cup where the best teams from the three federations (Europe, Asia, and South America) compete for the "world title". The Turkish teams have been the most successful in this competition but Brazil's teams have also had a lot of success and recently Italy too. As for how to watch.... that might be a thread dedicated to itself (i should get on that) Anyone can feel free to correct me or add on. The pro leagues offer another advantage, it provides opportunities to talented individuals from countries that don't offer competitive national programs. Take Samantha Bricio for example. No question she was one of the best server in the NCAA during her time with the USC. She's a Mexican and the Mexico team is generally mediocre at best. It would be hard for her to shine post-graduation if she wants to continue playing volleyball on the Mexican NT. Thankfully the pro leagues offer her an avenue, she's doing great and earning a decent sum with Scandicci in Italy. Or how about Thailand's Nootsara Tomkom? The Thai team's recent history is one of repeated heartbreaks with close-calls to reaching the Olympics but never being able to actually qualify. But Nootsara's pro career at Fenerbahçe wasn't bad at all. Or Germany's Louisa Lippmann? The German national team is actually reasonably decent, but unfortunately they haven't qualified for the Olympics in quite a while. But Lippmann does have a stellar career in the German league, being named MVP twice. The same goes for Poland's Joanna Wołosz. Poland suffered that devastating loss to Turkey in the Olympic Qualification Tournament, but Wolosz performed pretty well for her NT. In her pro career she won the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship and the 2019-2020 Italian Cup with Imoco. She was in fact named the best setter at the Club World Championship. Or one can switch to the beach like Sarah Pavan. She did great at Nebraska and also went on to a great beach career, certainly a lot better than playing for the indoor Canadian team, which are minnows at best. Of course, not every talented indoor player can make a successful transition to the beach game. Logan Tom is a cautionary tale in that regard.
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