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Post by smartcookie on Dec 7, 2021 20:19:35 GMT -5
The serve/pass game needs to step it up if BYU stands a chance against Purdue and Pitt. I believe BYU can take Purdue but ONLY if everything clicks. Purdue is an inconsistent team who's sometimes really great and sometimes really not (has some big wins and some surprising losses). We saw them tested against unranked Dayton (3-2 W) in the second round. Using Pitt & Utah games as benchmarks, my takeaways are:
- BYU can consistently outhit other teams % wise...but assists from Bower are lower than assists from both Pitt and Utah's setters and digs are lower than both Pitt and Utah (these stats are despite Utah losing). This is a strong indication of either good serving/blocking from BYU or bad passing. Turns out, it's a combination.
- BYU out-blocked Pitt and Utah in both matches.
- BYU out-served Utah but not Pitt. 14 service errors came with only 4 aces against Pitt and 12 service errors came with 8 aces against Utah.
- What you don't see on the stats sheet are bad serve receptions that were kept alive by BYU but led to easy/free balls to the other team...just based on the eyeball test BYU has too many of these plays. Even in WCC play we saw BYU struggle against LMU, Pepperdine and San Diego when those teams were serving tough (Rice, Ahrens and Lukes all causing big problems at times). Bower in system is powerful (Gneiting, Eschenberg and the setter dump become options). Bower running all over the court out of system is bad for BYU and that's been happening too much against tough serving teams.
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Post by bbg95 on Dec 7, 2021 20:25:51 GMT -5
The serve/pass game needs to step it up if BYU stands a chance against Purdue and Pitt. I believe BYU can take Purdue but ONLY if everything clicks. Purdue is an inconsistent team who's sometimes really great and sometimes really not (has some big wins and some surprising losses). We saw them tested against unranked Dayton (3-2 W) in the second round. Using Pitt & Utah games as benchmarks, my takeaways are: - BYU can consistently outhit other teams % wise...but assists from Bower are lower than assists from both Pitt and Utah's setters and digs are lower than both Pitt and Utah (these stats are despite Utah losing). This is a strong indication of either good serving/blocking from BYU or bad passing. Turns out, it's a combination. - BYU out-blocked Pitt and Utah in both matches. - BYU out-served Utah but not Pitt. 14 service errors came with only 4 aces against Pitt and 12 service errors came with 8 aces against Utah. - What you don't see on the stats sheet are bad serve receptions that were kept alive by BYU but led to easy/free balls to the other team...just based on the eyeball test BYU has too many of these plays. Even in WCC play we saw BYU struggle against LMU, Pepperdine and San Diego when those teams were serving tough (Rice, Ahrens and Lukes all causing big problems at times). Bower in system is powerful (Gneiting, Eschenberg and the setter dump become options). Bower running all over the court out of system is bad for BYU and that's been happening too much against tough serving teams. Part of the reason why Bower's assist totals are lower is because she gets so many digs. Allen has high assist numbers for a libero. Bower also does a good job with out-of-system passes that are merely mediocre rather than terrible. Of course, any team is better in system than out of system. Edit: Also, are you only looking at the second Utah match and not both of them? Bower had more than double the assists that Jankiewicz had (33 to 15) in the first meeting. BYU also had more digs in that match, though it was a narrow margin (I also don't think that raw digs are the best stat to look at when evaluating floor defenses, but that's a topic for another time). At any rate, I think it's kind of dangerous to try to draw conclusions from a total of two matches, especially when one was back in September and especially when there was another match played against one of the opponents that wasn't considered. |
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Post by smartcookie on Dec 7, 2021 23:49:58 GMT -5
The serve/pass game needs to step it up if BYU stands a chance against Purdue and Pitt. I believe BYU can take Purdue but ONLY if everything clicks. Purdue is an inconsistent team who's sometimes really great and sometimes really not (has some big wins and some surprising losses). We saw them tested against unranked Dayton (3-2 W) in the second round. Using Pitt & Utah games as benchmarks, my takeaways are: - BYU can consistently outhit other teams % wise...but assists from Bower are lower than assists from both Pitt and Utah's setters and digs are lower than both Pitt and Utah (these stats are despite Utah losing). This is a strong indication of either good serving/blocking from BYU or bad passing. Turns out, it's a combination. - BYU out-blocked Pitt and Utah in both matches. - BYU out-served Utah but not Pitt. 14 service errors came with only 4 aces against Pitt and 12 service errors came with 8 aces against Utah. - What you don't see on the stats sheet are bad serve receptions that were kept alive by BYU but led to easy/free balls to the other team...just based on the eyeball test BYU has too many of these plays. Even in WCC play we saw BYU struggle against LMU, Pepperdine and San Diego when those teams were serving tough (Rice, Ahrens and Lukes all causing big problems at times). Bower in system is powerful (Gneiting, Eschenberg and the setter dump become options). Bower running all over the court out of system is bad for BYU and that's been happening too much against tough serving teams. Part of the reason why Bower's assist totals are lower is because she gets so many digs. Allen has high assist numbers for a libero. Bower also does a good job with out-of-system passes that are merely mediocre rather than terrible. Of course, any team is better in system than out of system. Edit: Also, are you only looking at the second Utah match and not both of them? Bower had more than double the assists that Jankiewicz had (33 to 15) in the first meeting. BYU also had more digs in that match, though it was a narrow margin (I also don't think that raw digs are the best stat to look at when evaluating floor defenses, but that's a topic for another time). At any rate, I think it's kind of dangerous to try to draw conclusions from a total of two matches, especially when one was back in September and especially when there was another match played against one of the opponents that wasn't considered. The previous post were just some of my personal takeaways from the games that have happened  you don't have to agree, they're just opinions/thoughts. Some stats: In the Utah match Bower had 5 digs and Utah's setter Jankiewicz had 4 (5 more assists for Jankiewicz). Allen had 0 assists and Utah's libero Ramirez had 5. Pitt setters also had 4 more digs and 9 more assists in that game, with their libero getting one more assist than Allen. Not trying to be mean or put down this team at all...I am a BYU fan, love watching them play and think they can beat Purdue. Just pointing out the importance of good passing because BYU's offence has not been the weak link here. You're totally right, every team is better in system...I just think Bower is especially good and can really set a fantastic game if the passes are there. Yes, I only looked at the last 2 matches BYU has played against quality out-of-conference opponents. I found the most recent Utah match to be a better measure of where BYU is at this point in the season than their match in pre-season, and the only other opponent who fit the criteria was Pitt in the pre-season. Hope that clears things up! Again, just my personal takeaways/opinions based on the stats. |
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Post by bbg95 on Dec 8, 2021 0:32:46 GMT -5
Part of the reason why Bower's assist totals are lower is because she gets so many digs. Allen has high assist numbers for a libero. Bower also does a good job with out-of-system passes that are merely mediocre rather than terrible. Of course, any team is better in system than out of system. Edit: Also, are you only looking at the second Utah match and not both of them? Bower had more than double the assists that Jankiewicz had (33 to 15) in the first meeting. BYU also had more digs in that match, though it was a narrow margin (I also don't think that raw digs are the best stat to look at when evaluating floor defenses, but that's a topic for another time). At any rate, I think it's kind of dangerous to try to draw conclusions from a total of two matches, especially when one was back in September and especially when there was another match played against one of the opponents that wasn't considered. The previous post were just some of my personal takeaways from the games that have happened you don't have to agree, they're just opinions/thoughts. Some stats: In the Utah match Bower had 5 digs and Utah's setter Jankiewicz had 4 (5 more assists for Jankiewicz). Allen had 0 assists and Utah's libero Ramirez had 5. Pitt setters also had 4 more digs and 9 more assists in that game, with their libero getting one more assist than Allen. Not trying to be mean or put down this team at all...I am a BYU fan, love watching them play and think they can beat Purdue. Just pointing out the importance of good passing because BYU's offence has not been the weak link here. You're totally right, every team is better in system...I just think Bower is especially good and can really set a fantastic game if the passes are there. Yes, I only looked at the last 2 matches BYU has played against quality out-of-conference opponents. I found the most recent Utah match to be a better measure of where BYU is at this point in the season than their match in pre-season, and the only other opponent who fit the criteria was Pitt in the pre-season. Hope that clears things up! Again, just my personal takeaways/opinions based on the stats. Fair enough. Thanks for elaborating. I prefer to look at season-long trends regarding players (e.g. Bower is averaging 2.82 d/s, and Allen is averaging 1.21 a/s) rather than one or two matches because the sample size is much larger, as anyone can have one or two huge performances or off matches. |
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Post by smartcookie on Dec 8, 2021 11:03:25 GMT -5
The previous post were just some of my personal takeaways from the games that have happened you don't have to agree, they're just opinions/thoughts. Some stats: In the Utah match Bower had 5 digs and Utah's setter Jankiewicz had 4 (5 more assists for Jankiewicz). Allen had 0 assists and Utah's libero Ramirez had 5. Pitt setters also had 4 more digs and 9 more assists in that game, with their libero getting one more assist than Allen. Not trying to be mean or put down this team at all...I am a BYU fan, love watching them play and think they can beat Purdue. Just pointing out the importance of good passing because BYU's offence has not been the weak link here. You're totally right, every team is better in system...I just think Bower is especially good and can really set a fantastic game if the passes are there. Yes, I only looked at the last 2 matches BYU has played against quality out-of-conference opponents. I found the most recent Utah match to be a better measure of where BYU is at this point in the season than their match in pre-season, and the only other opponent who fit the criteria was Pitt in the pre-season. Hope that clears things up! Again, just my personal takeaways/opinions based on the stats. Fair enough. Thanks for elaborating. I prefer to look at season-long trends regarding players (e.g. Bower is averaging 2.82 d/s, and Allen is averaging 1.21 a/s) rather than one or two matches because the sample size is much larger, as anyone can have one or two huge performances or off matches. I wish BYU had a larger sample size against higher ranked opponents! If they had played anyone else in the top 15 I would have definitely considered that game too...just looking at their next 2 (fingers crossed for a W tomorrow) opponents, Purdue is 6 and Pitt is 3, for me it didn't make sense to include WCC games as a comp (as I might have for 1st and 2nd round games). If they can pull off their in-conference numbers against Purdue and Pitt I will be impressed with BYU! Hopefully they can put together a nice performance |
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Post by bbg95 on Dec 8, 2021 15:45:40 GMT -5
Heather Olmstead made an appearance on BYU Sports Nation this morning.
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Post by kk1971 on Dec 10, 2021 18:15:34 GMT -5
I had a few final thoughts on this year, and then someone please start a BYU 2022 thread:
1. I have been critical of TBN and in general felt our outsides were our weak link this year. To give her and them their due, TBN almost single handedly brought BYU back in the match in that second set against Purdue, both with timely kills and with her aces and serving pressure. And Livington continued being Livingston. Both did really well into one of the best blocks they faced this year. TBN saved one of her best performances of the year for the biggest stage, which I want to say hadn't been her MO. Kudos to her! And if Livingston can continue to improve, we will be fine next year at the outsides. Young, but fine.
2. This board does a great job of ragging on our passing, but let me just give you all an "Amen!" I did not see the Madi Allen implosion coming. I am still a bit in shock by how we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Koerber was lights out in that fifth set. The outsides did their job. Bower wasn't her best but hard to be when you are scrambling to catch up to horrible passes. The middles were average for us but it should have been enough. If only, if only. Looking forward to 2022, we need a libero transfer (not necessarily to supplant Allen but at least to give us another look when she struggles, as most do from time to time) or at the very least some additional improved back line help, perhaps from an incoming freshman or someone from the portal. In the absence of that, I think BYU has no upside beyond the sweet sixteen--again.
3. Olmstead is usually very upbeat and positive. To hear her describe this year's ending as disappointing says it all. The ceiling for this team was the final 4, IMO. I believe they would have given Pitt all they could handle, and very possibly beat them. To have all the momentum and 5 match points and be firing on almost all cylinders and then lose from a total collapse on the back line robs BYU of what should have been from one of the better teams to ever play at BYU. Oh well. Guess that is why sports are fun most of the time--you never know what will happen and hopefully it works out more for you than against you. This year was one of the times it didn't work out. I do want to say that if this type of collapse happens a 3rd time, Olmstead should really look into the pyschology she uses in time outs. Whatever she did for Texas a few years ago and Purdue this year sure didn't work. Although, in fairness, we did do the same thing to UCLA last year.
All in all, a good year overall, another 30 win season for Olmstead, and some good memories. Its too bad the legacy of this year will likely be an epic collapse that led to a good year instead of a great year. The silver lining will be if this is painful enough to get Olmstead's undivided attention to make passing our top priority over the next 8 months, both in bringing in new talent and/or in developing what we have (a different coach or approach?). Here's to hoping. The talent will be there in the future years with the incoming recruits. I guess the question for us is, will the passing be there too?
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Post by bbg95 on Dec 10, 2021 18:38:18 GMT -5
I had a few final thoughts on this year, and then someone please start a BYU 2022 thread: 1. I have been critical of TBN and in general felt our outsides were our weak link this year. To give her and them their due, TBN almost single handedly brought BYU back in the match in that second set against Purdue, both with timely kills and with her aces and serving pressure. And Livington continued being Livingston. Both did really well into one of the best blocks they faced this year. TBN saved one of her best performances of the year for the biggest stage, which I want to say hadn't been her MO. Kudos to her! And if Livingston can continue to improve, we will be fine next year at the outsides. Young, but fine. 2. This board does a great job of ragging on our passing, but let me just give you all an "Amen!" I did not see the Madi Allen implosion coming. I am still a bit in shock by how we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Koerber was lights out in that fifth set. The outsides did their job. Bower wasn't her best but hard to be when you are scrambling to catch up to horrible passes. The middles were average for us but it should have been enough. If only, if only. Looking forward to 2022, we need a libero transfer (not necessarily to supplant Allen but at least to give us another look when she struggles, as most do from time to time) or at the very least some additional improved back line help, perhaps from an incoming freshman or someone from the portal. In the absence of that, I think BYU has no upside beyond the sweet sixteen--again. 3. Olmstead is usually very upbeat and positive. To hear her describe this year's ending as disappointing says it all. The ceiling for this team was the final 4, IMO. I believe they would have given Pitt all they could handle, and very possibly beat them. To have all the momentum and 5 match points and be firing on almost all cylinders and then lose from a total collapse on the back line robs BYU of what should have been from one of the better teams to ever play at BYU. Oh well. Guess that is why sports are fun most of the time--you never know what will happen and hopefully it works out more for you than against you. This year was one of the times it didn't work out. I do want to say that if this type of collapse happens a 3rd time, Olmstead should really look into the pyschology she uses in time outs. Whatever she did for Texas a few years ago and Purdue this year sure didn't work. Although, in fairness, we did do the same thing to UCLA last year. All in all, a good year overall, another 30 win season for Olmstead, and some good memories. Its too bad the legacy of this year will likely be an epic collapse that led to a good year instead of a great year. The silver lining will be if this is painful enough to get Olmstead's undivided attention to make passing our top priority over the next 8 months, both in bringing in new talent and/or in developing what we have (a different coach or approach?). Here's to hoping. The talent will be there in the future years with the incoming recruits. I guess the question for us is, will the passing be there too? Definitely a disappointing result. The season overall was probably about the minimum (Sweet 16, beat Utah, WCC title, etc.) to not be considered an outright failure. The team and draw were good enough to look at the Final Four, but it is what it is. I think BYU will be fine. It says a lot when the program has advanced to the point that making the Sweet 16 is considered disappointing, as there are only a handful of programs that fit that description. On paper, next year will likely have a lower ceiling, but it really just depends on how the incoming recruits do, if they can get any high-impact transfers and how the current players develop. Tennessee won its first national title in ages the season after Peyton Manning graduated. I'm not predicting that, but just saying. BYU still has one of the best coaches in the country and will still have a talented roster. And they're going to the Big 12 soon, which will help the RPI issue. Glass half full. |
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Post by mintonetteman on Dec 14, 2021 21:51:47 GMT -5
The problem with playing Dayton is not serve receive it is her defense. Its kind of like having a middle blocker in the back row and teams target and tip on her. Last year, BYU played a rotational defense that hid her on defense like you would a bad defensive setter. I would be amazed if we we go back to that--and going to her against Purdue would have been disasterous given the nature of a high rally match. At least McComber is not a defensive liability. Reinert wasn't great this year--but at least she played with good energy. I thought when they went to Reinert mid year that that was going to be a permeant change--I thought Zazzu even agreed with me. I was really really surprised when we went back to Allen. IMO, it was a mistake not to go with Reinert and stay with her mid year--but at this point we are only arm chair quarterbacking (and, Reinert had her bad moments as much as anyone so who knows).
Allen just doesn't play like a libero and brings very little energy to the court IMO--she is literally the exact opposite of Mary Lake in terms of intangibles. Not only do we miss Lake's skill, we miss her intangibles and leadership. To waste the talent with the hitters we had this year was a true shame.
Can someone close to the program tell me what coach oversees passing and defense? Is it Heather or one of the assistants? Really surprised BYU isn't getting better in this respect.
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Post by bbg95 on Dec 15, 2021 2:32:03 GMT -5
The problem with playing Dayton is not serve receive it is her defense. Its kind of like having a middle blocker in the back row and teams target and tip on her. Last year, BYU played a rotational defense that hid her on defense like you would a bad defensive setter. I would be amazed if we we go back to that--and going to her against Purdue would have been disasterous given the nature of a high rally match. At least McComber is not a defensive liability. Reinert wasn't great this year--but at least she played with good energy. I thought when they went to Reinert mid year that that was going to be a permeant change--I thought Zazzu even agreed with me. I was really really surprised when we went back to Allen. IMO, it was a mistake not to go with Reinert and stay with her mid year--but at this point we are only arm chair quarterbacking (and, Reinert had her bad moments as much as anyone so who knows). Allen just doesn't play like a libero and brings very little energy to the court IMO--she is literally the exact opposite of Mary Lake in terms of intangibles. Not only do we miss Lake's skill, we miss her intangibles and leadership. To waste the talent with the hitters we had this year was a true shame. Can someone close to the program tell me what coach oversees passing and defense? Is it Heather or one of the assistants? Really surprised BYU isn't getting better in this respect. So I think Allen was the best option BYU had at libero, and I don't think Reinert was really a viable solution there. Allen isn't Mary Lake, obviously, but I think it's a little unfair to expect her to be that good, as Lake was a member of the national team for a bit. That's not a realistic expectation for most players. That's not to say that there isn't room for improvement in Allen's game because of course there is. But as I said, I don't think there was a better option on the roster. As for who is coaching the liberos, I think it has to be Olmstead herself, as she was a libero. According to the coaches' bios, Hyte is the defensive coordinator and is specifically tasked with training the middle blockers, while Neely works with the hitters (fairly vague, but I would guess this largely refers to the pins). Now, I'm not close to the program, so it's possible that another coach handles passing, but Olmstead seems like the most likely person. |
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Post by azvb on Dec 15, 2021 11:09:28 GMT -5
Give me a libero who says to herself, “Serve me” when the match is on the line. Who the coach can say, “Jane can pass any ball she calls. Get out of her way”. I saw two BR players with the “Please don’t serve me” look in their eyes the last 6 points of the Purdue match. Who said, “Yours” instead of “Mine”.
That’s all I want. 🙂
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Post by pelagius on Dec 18, 2021 23:09:41 GMT -5
Sad to see Meyer in the portal. The only time we saw her play this year was in the blue/white game, and she didn't look ready yet. But she has good size and Olmstead/staff seem to develop setters well. Obviously, Olmstead will have to find a backup setter given Hifo is in the portal as well.
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Post by pelagius on Dec 22, 2021 21:06:51 GMT -5
Looks like another 2023 commitment: Brielle Kemavor 6-3/4 MB
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Post by bbg95 on Dec 22, 2021 21:16:50 GMT -5
Looks like another 2023 commitment: Brielle Kemavor 6-3/4 MB Nice. A couple months back, I looked at who the volleyball team was following on Instagram to identify prospective recruits, and she was someone they had just started following. As for Meyer, it's unfortunate but not surprising. I don't think she wants to wait two more years to set. I can't blame her. Edit: Here is Brielle Kemavor's full announcement post. https://www.instagram.com/p/CXzYLdesdKm |
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Post by bbg95 on Dec 23, 2021 4:18:38 GMT -5
I did some research on Kemavor. She is a 6'4" middle from Virginia, and she led her high school to the Class 6A state championship while being named the region player of the year. She hit .450 and averaged 3.12 k/s and 1.14 b/s. She also plays for Metro Volleyball Club of DC, which seems to be a well-regarded club. They had 51 alumni on D1 rosters this season at 38 schools, including Wisconsin, Ohio State, UCLA, Penn State and Oregon. Kemavor had offers from UCLA, Maryland, Virginia and Duke, in addition to BYU (she possibly had some others, but those were the ones mentioned in the article). There are a couple of highlight videos on her recruiting profile. She seems to be very athletic and has good size. Overall, this seems like a very nice commitment for BYU. |
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you don't have to agree, they're just opinions/thoughts. 