BYU 2022

[Yvolley]

Apr 26, 2021 13:58:37 GMT -5 @hunterjake said:

My Starting Lineup Fall 2021
OH: Taylen Ballard-Nixon
OH: Ellyse Stowell
MB: Kennedy Eschenburg
MB: Heather Gneiting
OPP: Kenzie Koerber
S: Whitney Bower
L: Madi Allen
DS: Gretchen Reinert

This would give us a BIG block and improve our passing a ton. Wouldn't be opposed to running a 6-2 with incoming setter Zayna Meyer and Kate Grimmer, I just feel like having a 6 rotation OPP in Kenzie Koerber is of greater value. Who knows though, if Whitney Bower becomes a liability on the front row with hitters constantly going down the line, it might be more beneficial to run the 6-2 to keep some height at the net in every rotation. I also had a really hard time deciding between Livingston and Stowell. I think I am just hoping that the hype surrounding Ellyse Stowell is true and that she becomes a 4 year star! The wonderful thing about the upcoming season is that we are pretty deep in each position!

Honestly I can see a situation where Taylen starts but Erin beats her out eventually.

[mintonetteman]

IMO, the key is the flexibility it gives Heather Olmstead on both pins (you can go offense or defense). Koerber is an offensive threat on either pin (very effective OH as well as RS) she is also a very good blocker. Grimmer is great offensively, in some matches was our best offensive option. However, blocking is not her strength and that is okay. Livingston and Ballard-Nixon also have their strengths and weakness. I thought all three pins had games where they were truly unstoppable. I thought Olmstead (and Bower) did a good job finding the right hitter given the circumstances of that particular...which given our passing and defense was no easy task.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Koerber play OH and RS at times...again, all this is subjective (who is better than who in terms of offense and defense, etc. and can be supported or mitigated by Pelagius's states). I will say that Koerber is IMO, clearly the best back row player and I would be surprised if she ever comes off the floor. I think you can make the same arguments with Dodson v. Gneiting. In my opinion it is also offense (Dodson) versus defense (Gneiting)--although this is a big oversimplification and probably not fair to either player's overall skill set. I do agree that it will be very very hard for Gneiting to be ready to go physically at the beginning of next year. Regardless, having three very good and experienced middles at Coach Olmstead's fingertips along with four very experienced pins (and not being forced to rely on freshman (as we have the last to years) by default is a very very good thing)!

[bbg95]

Apr 27, 2021 11:50:41 GMT -5 mintonetteman said:

IMO, the key is the flexibility it gives Heather Olmstead on both pins (you can go offense or defense). Koerber is an offensive threat on either pin (very effective OH as well as RS) she is also a very good blocker. Grimmer is great offensively, in some matches was our best offensive option. However, blocking is not her strength and that is okay. Livingston and Ballard-Nixon also have their strengths and weakness. I thought all three pins had games where they were truly unstoppable. I thought Olmstead (and Bower) did a good job finding the right hitter given the circumstances of that particular...which given our passing and defense was no easy task.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Koerber play OH and RS at times...again, all this is subjective (who is better than who in terms of offense and defense, etc. and can be supported or mitigated by Pelagius's states). I will say that Koerber is IMO, clearly the best back row player and I would be surprised if she ever comes off the floor. I think you can make the same arguments with Dodson v. Gneiting. In my opinion it is also offense (Dodson) versus defense (Gneiting)--although this is a big oversimplification and probably not fair to either player's overall skill set. I do agree that it will be very very hard for Gneiting to be ready to go physically at the beginning of next year. Regardless, having three very good and experienced middles at Coach Olmstead's fingertips along with four very experienced pins (and not being forced to rely on freshman (as we have the last to years) by default is a very very good thing)!

Yeah, I agree with pretty much all of this. I think that Grimmer, Livingston and Ballard-Nixon will all play (and Dodson and maybe Gneiting if she's ready), and it will depend on the matchups and who has the hot hand. I trust Olmstead to figure out the right lineup for each match. 

Edit: One thing I do want to say is that I don't think Dodson is a better offensive player than Gneiting if the latter is at full strength (a big if). Remember, in 2018, Gneiting was the National Freshman of the Year by putting up 2.12 kills and 1.50 blocks per set on .380 hitting. Gneiting's numbers weren't as good in 2019, but I chalk that up mostly due to the difference in setting between a first-team All-American and a 17-year-old true freshman.

[bbg95]

I found this interview from before the season that incoming transfer Gretchen Reinert did with NCAA.com. Among other things, she talks about why she chose to play volleyball instead of basketball (both of her parents were basketball players). She also talks about her coaching aspirations.

Embedding the Facebook video doesn't seem to work, but the video is here.

[Zazu]

[Deleted]

Looks like Morgan Johnson is no longer on the roster, along with Hakes who will be leaving on a mission.

[bbg95]

Apr 28, 2021 13:17:01 GMT -5 @hunterjake said:

Looks like Morgan Johnson is no longer on the roster, along with Hakes who will be leaving on a mission.

Looks like Johnson is in the transfer portal. She didn't play at all this year, so I'm not surprised. I'm sure she'll be a good addition somewhere.

[pelagius]

She still has four years of eligibility, right?

I think the only time I've ever seen her play at all was the intra-squad scrimmage in August of 2019 when she came in as a serving sub (if my memory is correct). I think that's all the playing time she got that day. So not a lot of opportunities in her first two years. I wonder if she'll end up somewhere like Dixie, Utah State, or UVU (although she is from California)?

[bbg95]

Apr 29, 2021 0:35:49 GMT -5 pelagius said:

She still has four years of eligibility, right?

I think the only time I've ever seen her play at all was the intra-squad scrimmage in August of 2019 when she came in as a serving sub (if my memory is correct). I think that's all the playing time she got that day. So not a lot of opportunities in her first two years. I wonder if she'll end up somewhere like Dixie, Utah State, or UVU (although she is from California)?

Yeah, I think so. Johnson redshirted as a freshman, and this year didn't count. And yeah, I think another Utah school seems pretty likely.

[marnvbc2]

This BYU squad as currently constituted is intriguing. This spring season showed that San Diego couldn't handle replacing their setter and libero without dramatic fall off. USD may have hit their stride in the Pepperdine match and in Omaha, but they didn't look like a top 20 team throughout the season despite their ranking which was based on their 2019 performance. Pepperdine will challenge BYU for a WCC title in the fall.

But, BYU is loaded with the recruits and transfers in from Utah and Santa Clara. This might be a team that can hit the final 4. The BYU roster will see more exits over the next year as the highly ranked prior classes filter out with reality. Johnson was a legacy recruit and is now leaving. I wouldn't be surprised to see Tolman leave over the next couple of years as she won't beat out Grimmer or Kenzie. There are several interesting logjams. With Heather G coming back from Seattle, if she is in shape, Dodson will be the odd girl out at MB and she might be anyway with the new MB coming into the program. Obviously Olmstead thinks Dodson's upside is at OH. The problem is that there isn't any room, next year, for Dodson at OH. I think she might redshirt. Other possible roster disappearances could include M. Bower and /W, Llarenas. Bower just isn't able to play at a level that Olmstead thought she could and with the Santa Clara transfer the writing is on the wall for Bower. Llarenas will be a senior and can't crack the starting rotation. I think it is over for her. Dayton is also is a passing liability against good teams and she could see reduced playing time in the fall. But, the OH position is deep as is MB and Opp spots. I think people in the BYU program are in love with W Bower at setter but national coaches think Zayna is a better setter and blocker. She is legit front row where W Bower isn't against good teams. Wisc, Utah and Stanford all showed that when the NCAA tournament is on the line, opponents can pick on BYU passing and hit right over the top of Bower on the front row. A 6-2 would be a much tougher line up for BYU to run. Hifo is probably another girl who isn't going to see playing time in the fall. Good 2021 recruiting class except, Montoya, the OH out of AZ who is a not high D-1 level. Albright is better than Hakes who is leaving on a mission and she may never make an impact at BYU. The question is how fast can BYU put the new recruits into the lineup and mold the team. But, over all, this next year will probably put BYU into the final 4 area unless the wheels fall off. 2022 may see a little drop off as we see Kennedy, Nixon, and Hifo exit the program. BYU needs to find 2 great DS/Libero types in the 2022 class and a setter. As most club people know, the Eden Bower OH 2022 commit is a huge red flag. Her mom is her coach and even she has to pull Eden off the floor when servers target her. She can't play 6 rotations, doesn't have a great arm swing and can't jump well enough to block good hitters. She has a D-1 build but not D-1 athletic ability.

[beba]

Shannon Scully is in the transfer portal, and that will hurt Pepp.

[mintonetteman]

This guy again?

We get it, you don't like the Bowers.

At least you are not ripping our coach like you did last time (at least not directly). But really, BYU has a "huge red flag" because of a recruit? Heather Olmstead has this team and this program is making great progress. What this team did far exceeded my expectations--I give a lot of credit to Heather Olmstead but also the players who appeared to get better throughout the year (just wish I could have watched more). Just curious how much volleyball you actually do watch and how much experience you have as a player. Did you watch Texas and Jhenna Gabriel? Why do you think the national runner up starts a 5'8 setter? Interesting what happened to their 6'2 sports performance setter. Texas and BYU have some surprising similarities (and deficiencies) and reasons for playing the setters they play.

More than anything this past year has taught me to trust in what Heather Olmstead is doing (especially over time, I didn't understand the Whitney Bower, starting a 17 year old setter last year, but I do now. I have all the confidence in BYU's coaching staff to get the right people in the right spot. Dodson and Livingston are also very good examples. Again, Heather Olmstead has been pretty darn good with recruits. We had a starting Libero, MB and OH1 that were all freshman. But, hey, there is a big "red flag" because of a single recruit (that will not show up for 2 years)?

So when you say a "huge red flag" because of a 2022 recruit...I am thinking this is simply a smear/hate post because you have an ax to grind.

[beba]

No, really, I have no problem with BYU coaches...

[bbg95]

Apr 30, 2021 16:36:38 GMT -5 mintonetteman said:

This guy again?

We get it, you don't like the Bowers.

At least you are not ripping our coach like you did last time (at least not directly). But really, BYU has a "huge red flag" because of a recruit? Heather Olmstead has this team and this program is making great progress. What this team did far exceeded my expectations--I give a lot of credit to Heather Olmstead but also the players who appeared to get better throughout the year (just wish I could have watched more). Just curious how much volleyball you actually do watch and how much experience you have as a player. Did you watch Texas and Jhenna Gabriel? Why do you think the national runner up starts a 5'8 setter? Interesting what happened to their 6'2 sports performance setter. Texas and BYU have some surprising similarities (and deficiencies) and reasons for playing the setters they play.

More than anything this past year has taught me to trust in what Heather Olmstead is doing (especially over time, I didn't understand the Whitney Bower, starting a 17 year old setter last year, but I do now. I have all the confidence in BYU's coaching staff to get the right people in the right spot. Dodson and Livingston are also very good examples. Again, Heather Olmstead has been pretty darn good with recruits. We had a starting Libero, MB and OH1 that were all freshman. But, hey, there is a big "red flag" because of a single recruit (that will not show up for 2 years)?

So when you say a "huge red flag" because of a 2022 recruit...I am thinking this is simply a smear/hate post because you have an ax to grind.

I will never understand the obsession with Bower's height for some people. Sure, it would be nice if she was taller. But she's so good at setting, digging, attacking, and serving that I'll gladly take that tradeoff. Since you mentioned Gabriel, Bower's stats line up pretty well:

Bower : .76 k/s,  .400, 10.73 a/s, 3.51 d/s,  22 aces 21 service errors, .44 b/s, .302 team hitting percentage (5th in NCAA)
Gabriel: .15 k/s, -.026, 11.30 a/s, 2.18 d/s, 12 aces, 41 service errors, .31 b/s, .334 team hitting percentage (3rd in NCAA)

[atticus]

I assume when you say “the new MB coming into the program” you mean Albright? I really don’t think Albright is better than Dodson in the middle. I don’t see any way she beats Dodson out next year. And I don’t think they’ll move Dodson back to OH. They have a couple seniors at outside they weren’t expecting to have (koerber and Ballard-Nixon) so I expect they’ll leave Dodson in the middle and let her and Gneiting battle to see who gets that second middle spot.