BYU 2022

[karma]

If we were to get Hiapo, next year could be really solid in our backcourt. Hiapo at L, McComber and Miller as DS.

[vvv]

Oh yah!! That would actually be a great back row!

[exit237a]

Nov 30, 2022 15:01:16 GMT -5 Zazu said:

Nov 30, 2022 13:33:33 GMT -5 exit237a said:

Hey BYU fans!  I'm drafting a thread for the second round match in the Pittsburgh sub-regional and I'd like to include possible starting lineups for all four teams that might make it to the second round.  I'd much appreciate your help in predicting the BYU starting lineup- basically everyone that regularly plays in a given set, all the way through DS and SS.  Thanks in advance!

Thanks for doing this exit237a .

You're welcome!

[exit237a]

Here's a link to the second round match thread for the Pittsburgh Sub-Regional:

Rd 2 | Pittsburgh Sub-Regional | Sat, 12/3 - 6 PM CT | ESPN+

Best of luck to BYU in round one and thanks again for the lineup help!

[kk1971]

Not sure if anyone will come back to the board following the loss to Pitt, but I wanted to share a few thoughts that I have about this year and this team:

1. First of all, thanks and congrats to our departing seniors! Regardless of the result they put a lot of time, energy and commitment into the gym. I truly hope their years at BYU were amazing. In particular, I will miss Heather Gneiting. If she toughed it out with an injury this year, which I believe she did, it makes her legacy all the greater IMO.

2. If you had asked me last year who would be the hardest player to replace from the 2021 team, I would have told you Kenzie Koerber in a heartbeat. As this year has progressed, with the improvement of Erin Livingston's attack out of the back row (a bright spot for me in the loss to Pitt) and Kate Prior's (temporary?) move to RS, I no longer believe that was the case. With hindsight, I believe the loss we couldn't recover from was Kennedy Eschenberg. To be clear, when I did my recruiting recap last year, I stated that I believed Kate Prior would start in place of Llarenas by year end and that Prior was too good not to play. As it turned out, I was clearly wrong about Llarenas and the role she would play this year. That said, I was also right. Llarenas is more polished and possibly dangerous on the attack than Eschenberg was (who I admit always felt a little to me like just a tall basketball player playing volleyball--she did win Ms. Basketball in the state of Utah ). But Llarenas is also unquestionably a big step down in defensive presence from Eschenberg and I believe that is partially why in big matches we can't shut down the hot hands of good teams. To be an elite team, you have to be elite defensively, and that starts with the block. Against Pitt, Llarenas was consistently late and ineffective on the block. Given an off season of hard work and hopefully improvement, I hope this improves a little. But the reality is, IMO, that unless Llarenas grows another couple of inches and/or learns to jump a little higher during the offseason, Llarenas won't be an imposing presence defensively at the net next year either. Note: A very imposing presence is on her way in, but that is the topic for a later recruiting breakdown post, and means we still have to find someone else intimidating to rotate in with her.

3. This board always talks about passing, mostly with good reason. Stowell was targeted and bullied by Pitt, which surprised me a little. And we had plenty of the usual passing problems and balls dropping that we shouldn't, along with some miscues that were almost comical when Bower's attempts to get to the ball second from poor passes meant no one, literally was in position to get a swing. Is there any reason to suggest next year could be different? I happen to think there could be, but that too is a topic for another post.

4. I will go into the offseason wondering a few things: How good are the redshirts--Hannah Billeter and Natalie Moravec, and (possibly a redshirt) Bri Albright? What kind of shape will Allie Hakes come back from her mission in? Has Bri Albright improved enough to be a factor at MB going forward? Is Hannah Billeter able to help Miller and McComber on the back row next year? And maybe most of all, will Stowell, Eden Bower, and/or Callahan improve in the offseason in the way that Erin Livingston has so that they can claim the 02 spot away from an incoming star?

5. The transfer portal creates super teams. Good teams become great teams with the addition of a player or two that put them over the top--our last two losses were examples of that. Two years ago the portal greatly benefited us. Last year we were a net loser (my opinion) from the portal. Who is out there right now that can be a difference maker for BYU? Can we be a net winner from the transfer portal in 2023?

I believe we are again bringing in a very good recruiting class with some players that have potential to be stars at BYU, but a large part of the success of next years team will also be decided from news out of the transfer portal and by what kinds of improvements we see out of the redshirts and returning players. There are really good pieces to build around--an outstanding OH in Livingston who just continues to get better. A great setter. Prior is a talent who will make a difference next year, regardless of where she is (truly hoping she stays at RS). And I believe there is a solid and improving core of other players who will make a difference. Can we add enough to the mix to be elite next year? And all of this happening while BYU transitions to the Big 12, another separate topic worth discussing.

Looking forward to finding out!

[mintonetteman]

I am really worried about next year for the women. I just want to say one thing about KK's analysis. The problem with blocking against Pitt (and USD) was not the middles, it was the OHs and how they set the block. The OHs were bad, really really bad -- not sure if it was poor eye work or what. So, the reason KK you were seeing holes in the block was not because of the middles. So, with no block and our back row being, well our back row, we had no real chance. So glad to be done with BYU women's volleyball -- excited to turn my attention to Shawn's team to avoid having to think about next year.

[azvb]

Shouldn’t we start a new thread rather than just change the year in the title?

[marnvbc2]

Dec 5, 2022 10:29:34 GMT -5 kk1971 said:

Not sure if anyone will come back to the board following the loss to Pitt, but I wanted to share a few thoughts that I have about this year and this team:

1. First of all, thanks and congrats to our departing seniors! Regardless of the result they put a lot of time, energy and commitment into the gym. I truly hope their years at BYU were amazing. In particular, I will miss Heather Gneiting. If she toughed it out with an injury this year, which I believe she did, it makes her legacy all the greater IMO.

2. If you had asked me last year who would be the hardest player to replace from the 2021 team, I would have told you Kenzie Koerber in a heartbeat. As this year has progressed, with the improvement of Erin Livingston's attack out of the back row (a bright spot for me in the loss to Pitt) and Kate Prior's (temporary?) move to RS, I no longer believe that was the case. With hindsight, I believe the loss we couldn't recover from was Kennedy Eschenberg. To be clear, when I did my recruiting recap last year, I stated that I believed Kate Prior would start in place of Llarenas by year end and that Prior was too good not to play. As it turned out, I was clearly wrong about Llarenas and the role she would play this year. That said, I was also right. Llarenas is more polished and possibly dangerous on the attack than Eschenberg was (who I admit always felt a little to me like just a tall basketball player playing volleyball--she did win Ms. Basketball in the state of Utah ). But Llarenas is also unquestionably a big step down in defensive presence from Eschenberg and I believe that is partially why in big matches we can't shut down the hot hands of good teams. To be an elite team, you have to be elite defensively, and that starts with the block. Against Pitt, Llarenas was consistently late and ineffective on the block. Given an off season of hard work and hopefully improvement, I hope this improves a little. But the reality is, IMO, that unless Llarenas grows another couple of inches and/or learns to jump a little higher during the offseason, Llarenas won't be an imposing presence defensively at the net next year either. Note: A very imposing presence is on her way in, but that is the topic for a later recruiting breakdown post, and means we still have to find someone else intimidating to rotate in with her.

3. This board always talks about passing, mostly with good reason. Stowell was targeted and bullied by Pitt, which surprised me a little. And we had plenty of the usual passing problems and balls dropping that we shouldn't, along with some miscues that were almost comical when Bower's attempts to get to the ball second from poor passes meant no one, literally was in position to get a swing. Is there any reason to suggest next year could be different? I happen to think there could be, but that too is a topic for another post.

4. I will go into the offseason wondering a few things: How good are the redshirts--Hannah Billeter and Natalie Moravec, and (possibly a redshirt) Bri Albright? What kind of shape will Allie Hakes come back from her mission in? Has Bri Albright improved enough to be a factor at MB going forward? Is Hannah Billeter able to help Miller and McComber on the back row next year? And maybe most of all, will Stowell, Eden Bower, and/or Callahan improve in the offseason in the way that Erin Livingston has so that they can claim the 02 spot away from an incoming star?

5. The transfer portal creates super teams. Good teams become great teams with the addition of a player or two that put them over the top--our last two losses were examples of that. Two years ago the portal greatly benefited us. Last year we were a net loser (my opinion) from the portal. Who is out there right now that can be a difference maker for BYU? Can we be a net winner from the transfer portal in 2023?

I believe we are again bringing in a very good recruiting class with some players that have potential to be stars at BYU, but a large part of the success of next years team will also be decided from news out of the transfer portal and by what kinds of improvements we see out of the redshirts and returning players. There are really good pieces to build around--an outstanding OH in Livingston who just continues to get better. A great setter. Prior is a talent who will make a difference next year, regardless of where she is (truly hoping she stays at RS). And I believe there is a solid and improving core of other players who will make a difference. Can we add enough to the mix to be elite next year? And all of this happening while BYU transitions to the Big 12, another separate topic worth discussing.

Looking forward to finding out!

KK, your questions are excellent.  I don't have answers to all of them.  If we step back and look the the trajectory of this women's program it is concerning.  I would love to see them attack the reasons that prevent them from winning sweet 16, elite 8 matches and getting to the final 4 every other year.  The curve is down.  I am not sure that the MB's are the reason for lack of a great block.  Whitney L doesn't read super fast like Heather G but she isn't too far off.  The OH's are very suspect.  Erin can block but she isn't keyed in half the time.  Stowell, Callahan and E Bower simply struggle to be average.  They don't read the ball very well because they are watching the player.  Stowell can't move well horizontally in passing.  E Bower is even slower.  Callahan is better in movement but has almost zero court vision in hitting.  I am hoping Little is the answer.  She will have to focus on her passing skills!  Bower is hobbled with her knee.  She is jumping lower in her block with was already less than average when she was healthy.  The recruits aren't ranked higher than some of the prior classes but they are better than any class Olmstead has recruited yet.  I think the pressure is on the staff to up the performance of this program.  The new league will be tough.  I look forward to see Little, Lee and Damuni in competition on the court.  Damuni is probably better, over all, than Bower but Damuni will be hard pressed to see much court time unless W Bower gets hurt.  The Big12 will be much harder competition for BYU than the WCC.  The scouting will be better, the athletes will be far better, and the grind will be greater.  This BYU program will have to recruit better athletes and possibly change positions with some players.  But, I think that the tougher scheduling in non conference will pay dividends over the next 2 years.  Having 6-8 losses might not be that bad as long as the team improves over the course of the season and peaking at the NCAA's.

[kk1971]

Well, I didn't expect to be the optimist on the board. mintonetteman and marnvbc2 , I am quite optimistic about the team and the future of BYU women's volleyball. I honestly was pleasantly surprised at how competitive the team was against good SD and Pitt teams at the end. I took for granted that this was a rebuild year, and I think it was. That said, I thought we were playing our best volleyball at the end of the year. We just were what we were, and this past year, it wasn't enough.

IMO, BYU needs a legit MB out of the portal. It is possible we will have what we need internally, but if I could have a Christmas BYU volleyball wish, it would be for a legit MB. I love our outsides (Livingston and Little--while still holding out hope that someone else emerges to push them), really hope BYU keeps Prior at RS (hence the need for a MB), believe we are set at setter for years to come, and--forgive my optimism here--believe passing and the back row should be improved next year. We just need a MB. Santa?

[vballfreak808]

BYU adds transfers Kalia Thunstrom (Utah State - Setter) and Kamaile Hiapo (Arizona - Libero) today

[brybast]

Dec 10, 2022 23:16:08 GMT -5 vballfreak808 said:

BYU adds transfers Kalia Thunstrom (Utah State - Setter) and Kamaile Hiapo (Arizona - Libero) today

I don't know anything about Thunstrom but Hiapo is a very good get IMHO and an upgrade from what BYU has

[pelagius]

Dec 10, 2022 23:16:08 GMT -5 vballfreak808 said:

BYU adds transfers Kalia Thunstrom (Utah State - Setter) and Kamaile Hiapo (Arizona - Libero) today

 

The Hiapo transfer is a really good one; I think she'll help BYU a lot.

[azcatsfan]

Dec 10, 2022 23:20:33 GMT -5 pelagius said:

Dec 10, 2022 23:16:08 GMT -5 vballfreak808 said:

BYU adds transfers Kalia Thunstrom (Utah State - Setter) and Kamaile Hiapo (Arizona - Libero) today

 

The Hiapo transfer is a really good one; I think she'll help BYU a lot.

Y’all better be good to her! We are certainly going to miss her in Tucson.

[uofaGRAD]

Dec 10, 2022 23:32:33 GMT -5 azcatsfan said:

Dec 10, 2022 23:20:33 GMT -5 pelagius said:

 

The Hiapo transfer is a really good one; I think she'll help BYU a lot.

Y’all better be good to her! We are certainly going to miss her in Tucson.

no bc I will fight a b!tch for her!

[vballfreak808]

Forgot to mention, Albright is in the portal