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Post by bbg95 on Jan 26, 2021 21:55:58 GMT -5
I thought this quote from Eschenberg in the season preview article was interesting:
"Usually the freshmen come in right before the season,” Eschenberg said. “Then we do ‘double days’ and then comes the season. It’s really the winter where we get to practice and get better. So that’s been really neat to be able to get more comfortable with the freshmen and the rest of the team. We are a different team than we were last season."
This is something I hadn't really considered, but I think this might be part of the reason that BYU looked so good in their first set. All that practice time probably paid off to some degree, especially when they have a coach as good as Heather Olmstead. Now, they're still really young, and I think that inexperience showed in the second set, but I think they may develop more quickly this season than I originally thought. It will be interesting to watch.
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Post by bbg95 on Jan 27, 2021 13:08:15 GMT -5
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Post by bbg95 on Jan 27, 2021 16:57:50 GMT -5
BYU won a tightly contested match with Portland 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-22) to move to 2-0 on the season.
BYU's middles were efficient, as Eschenberg hit .474 on a line of 11-2-19, and Llarenas had 4 kills and hit .375. The pin hitters were less efficient. Grimmer hit a respectable .263 on 8-3-19, but the outside hitters struggled after their strong performances in the first match. Ballard-Nixon had nine kills, and Dodson had six, but they hit .125 and .167, respectively. They each had five digs, and Ballard-Nixon also had a match-high four aces. Bower had 34 assists and eight digs, and Allen had 10 digs and two aces. Sophomore defensive specialist Grace Wee came off the bench to record 11 digs and 1 kill.
Overall, while I would prefer that BYU be a bit more efficient (they hit .245 for the match), I think a tight win like this will be good for their overall development in the long run. Olmstead now has two weeks to work on some things in practice before their home opener against Gonzaga on Feb 9.
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Post by Brutus Buckeye on Jan 27, 2021 18:08:07 GMT -5
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Post by bbg95 on Jan 27, 2021 23:41:32 GMT -5
With BYU's scheduled matches against Santa Clara postponed, UVU has announced that they will host the Cougars on Thursday, Feb 4 at 6 PM MT.
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Post by bbg95 on Jan 28, 2021 15:50:46 GMT -5
Senior middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg appeared on BYU Sports Nation to talk about the series with Portland and the upcoming season.
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Post by pelagius on Feb 1, 2021 19:13:29 GMT -5
Good for Allen, bit a little surprised with the DPOW. I thought she had a nice debut; most impressed with her range and movement. And I think she has plenty of upside. So take this in the context of someone who is very bullish about her potential at BYU. That said, she did struggle at times in serve-receive. I wonder what her average passing grade was? <- Maybe in my memory I am weighing those three bad passes in a row too heavily.
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BYU 2022
Feb 2, 2021 13:35:33 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by vbjustice on Feb 2, 2021 13:35:33 GMT -5
My oh my BYU looks so different than in years past.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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BYU 2022
Feb 2, 2021 13:36:53 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2021 13:36:53 GMT -5
My oh my BYU looks so different than in years past. as in bad? Different style of play? |
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BYU 2022
Feb 2, 2021 13:56:35 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by vbjustice on Feb 2, 2021 13:56:35 GMT -5
My oh my BYU looks so different than in years past. as in bad? Different style of play? maybe they are a younger team now. They used to be one of those unstoppable teams. Didn’t take Portland a lot of effort. |
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Post by bbg95 on Feb 2, 2021 14:02:00 GMT -5
as in bad? Different style of play? maybe they are a younger team now. They used to be one of those unstoppable teams. Didn’t take Portland a lot of effort. They are much younger, as BYU only has four upperclassmen on the entire team. They seem less physically imposing than before, especially in the blocking department. but I think that they'll get some of that identity back as the younger players get more experience. |
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Post by bbg95 on Feb 2, 2021 14:41:40 GMT -5
Good for Allen, bit a little surprised with the DPOW. I thought she had a nice debut; most impressed with her range and movement. And I think she has plenty of upside. So take this in the context of someone who is very bullish about her potential at BYU. That said, she did struggle at times in serve-receive. I wonder what her average passing grade was? <- Maybe in my memory I am weighing those three bad passes in a row too heavily. I'm not sure how much the coaches were considering passing when deciding the award. The release talked about Allen's high number of digs per set and the low hitting percentage that Portland had as a team. Perhaps if they have time, @bigwestfan2 could let us know what Allen's passing grade was. |
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Post by bbg95 on Feb 4, 2021 11:20:04 GMT -5
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Post by Brutus Buckeye on Feb 4, 2021 22:41:27 GMT -5
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Post by beba on Feb 5, 2021 18:00:42 GMT -5
Madi Allen is #4 in ESPN's top 10 plays today.
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