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Post by mintonetteman on Jun 27, 2022 17:34:48 GMT -5
Speaking of passing, Erin Livingston put up a story on the team's Instagram account indicating that she has been working on her passing the most while training with the US Women's Collegiate National Team. That reminded me that BYU in all likelihood will have a new pin passing six rotations, now that the ones they had the last couple of seasons have graduated. It seems like Livingston may be the most likely option for that. Also, another exciting thing for BYU is that Livingston actually has three more seasons of eligibility, since she redshirted in 2019, and the spring 2020 season didn't count for eligibility. Can you imagine if Dodson hadn't moved from outside back to middle (because of an injury to Eschenberg)  ? Livingston is my pick for CPOY. Her high contact on this particular team is a cherished quality. |
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Post by marnvbc2 on Jun 28, 2022 11:47:26 GMT -5
Waiting for marn's seal of approval on that... And that list of players BYU should recruit... Any day now... I will get plenty of eyeball time at nationals in IN this week on these L's. My team will be competing against the open 17's. 36 teams of which 2 are from that Club V family. V #1 is seeded 4th. The other V is seeded #32. I have scouted and watched video of most of the teams we will face. It will be a fun tournament and a lot of answers will be had at the conclusion. Good luck to all! I will make one statement that I hope that Miller is an answer to the BYU passing struggles. It makes me nervous that the V coaches think she is the #2 L on their team and that they alternate every other set with her. So strange, but elite competition will bring us all answers. From video I think that that the best L in the V system isn't on that top team, but I reserve my final judgement until nationals are over. |
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Post by bbg95 on Jun 28, 2022 13:33:37 GMT -5
I stumbled across this video a little while ago, in which Heather Olmstead talks about how she coaches floor defense. I thought it was interesting. This video was part of a longer one in which Olmstead and other coaches talked about some of the strong points of last year's top 10 points. The longer video can be found here. The other sections focus more on those teams, but Olmstead also gives some of her philosophy on those topics. |
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Post by bbg95 on Jun 28, 2022 14:17:56 GMT -5
Also, congratulations to 2023 commit Addison Benson on her team winning the 17U Premier division (the second best division from what I've been told) at AAU nationals. Fellow 2023 commits Claire Little, Brielle Kemavor, Mia Lee, Silina Dumuni and Brielle Miller will all be at USA junior nationals this week. https://www.instagram.com/p/CfP6calpJov Edit: Apparently, Benson's team was supposed to be in Open at AAU nationals, but there was some kind of scheduling mishap (they originally signed up for Premier but mistakenly thought they had moved to Open, and it was too late to change it). They won the Premier division without dropping a set. |
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Post by mintonetteman on Jun 29, 2022 9:57:31 GMT -5
I stumbled across this video a little while ago, in which Heather Olmstead talks about how she coaches floor defense. I thought it was interesting. This video was part of a longer one in which Olmstead and other coaches talked about some of the strong points of last year's top 10 points. The longer video can be found here. The other sections focus more on those teams, but Olmstead also gives some of her philosophy on those topics. Yea, watched this many times...this always made me smile. Her language makes me remember those that were involved and know the historical nature and development on this philosphy--Heather was just a little "tike" at that time. |
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Post by alpo on Jul 2, 2022 13:41:33 GMT -5
Also, congratulations to 2023 commit Addison Benson on her team winning the 17U Premier division (the second best division from what I've been told) at AAU nationals. Fellow 2023 commits Claire Little, Brielle Kemavor, Mia Lee, Silina Dumuni and Brielle Miller will all be at USA junior nationals this week. https://www.instagram.com/p/CfP6calpJov Edit: Apparently, Benson's team was supposed to be in Open at AAU nationals, but there was some kind of scheduling mishap (they originally signed up for Premier but mistakenly thought they had moved to Open, and it was too late to change it). They won the Premier division without dropping a set. |
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Post by alpo on Jul 2, 2022 13:44:31 GMT -5
The view from my bleacher seat is that BYU Women's VB seems well positioned to compete with the BIG 12 teams in 2023. It has certainly been interesting given the major
conferences craziness happening recently...and it makes me wonder if Heather will be in a solid recruiting position to get more top flight players?
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Post by slxpress on Jul 3, 2022 3:56:25 GMT -5
The view from my bleacher seat is that BYU Women's VB seems well positioned to compete with the BIG 12 teams in 2023. It has certainly been interesting given the major conferences craziness happening recently...and it makes me wonder if Heather will be in a solid recruiting position to get more top flight players? BYU will be one of the dominant programs from day one in the Big 12. Texas will still be there, and Baylor will be improved after their young players have their baptism by fire this season. Iowa State is a steady program. KU made the Final Four not THAT long ago, and made it to the Sweet Sixteen last year. Houston has put decent teams together. But the only ones who have been at BYU's caliber consistently are Texas and Baylor, and Baylor has only been recent, while Texas is leaving sometime soon. I can't imagine BYU's recruiting won't improve. It will at least have better access to more talent, with more exposure in the state of Texas. The key thing is recruiting kids to a Mormon university, but that's the same thing BYU faces in every sport, so nothing new. Baylor recruits kids to a Baptist school, obviously, but while there's a decent Mormon presence in this part of the country, it's not quite the same number as Baptists and other Protestant denominations. |
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BYU 2022
Jul 3, 2022 12:49:56 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by rrvbfan on Jul 3, 2022 12:49:56 GMT -5
The view from my bleacher seat is that BYU Women's VB seems well positioned to compete with the BIG 12 teams in 2023. It has certainly been interesting given the major conferences craziness happening recently...and it makes me wonder if Heather will be in a solid recruiting position to get more top flight players? i don’t think it changes byus recruiting at all. Their major draw is their religious affiliation and that isn’t going to change. IMO. |
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Post by bbg95 on Jul 3, 2022 13:17:47 GMT -5
The view from my bleacher seat is that BYU Women's VB seems well positioned to compete with the BIG 12 teams in 2023. It has certainly been interesting given the major conferences craziness happening recently...and it makes me wonder if Heather will be in a solid recruiting position to get more top flight players? i don’t think it changes byus recruiting at all. Their major draw is their religious affiliation and that isn’t going to change. IMO. It definitely matters at the margins. And getting into Texas should help. BYU hasn't had many players from Texas in their history. |
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Post by bbg95 on Jul 3, 2022 13:29:24 GMT -5
The view from my bleacher seat is that BYU Women's VB seems well positioned to compete with the BIG 12 teams in 2023. It has certainly been interesting given the major conferences craziness happening recently...and it makes me wonder if Heather will be in a solid recruiting position to get more top flight players? BYU will be one of the dominant programs from day one in the Big 12. Texas will still be there, and Baylor will be improved after their young players have their baptism by fire this season. Iowa State is a steady program. KU made the Final Four not THAT long ago, and made it to the Sweet Sixteen last year. Houston has put decent teams together. But the only ones who have been at BYU's caliber consistently are Texas and Baylor, and Baylor has only been recent, while Texas is leaving sometime soon. I can't imagine BYU's recruiting won't improve. It will at least have better access to more talent, with more exposure in the state of Texas. The key thing is recruiting kids to a Mormon university, but that's the same thing BYU faces in every sport, so nothing new. Baylor recruits kids to a Baptist school, obviously, but while there's a decent Mormon presence in this part of the country, it's not quite the same number as Baptists and other Protestant denominations. You're right that recruiting at BYU is unique, but as you say, that's nothing new. And there are benefits when a top player happens to be LDS. Heather Gneiting is a perfect example. She probably could have gone wherever she wanted. Even if they're not LDS, BYU could still be a good culture fit for some recruits*. They landed the No. 1 women's cross country recruit in the country in Jenna Hutchins from Tennessee, and she's not LDS. In terms of volleyball, BYU has historically benefited from the high number of LDS people in the West and Hawaii, which was so dominant in volleyball in previous decades. I think BYU will still be able to recruit in the West, and I think getting into Texas could be a real game changer for them. They have an incoming recruit this fall from Dallas, but she is only the fourth BYU volleyball player to come from Texas. Given the amount of talent in Texas (and also a relatively high LDS population), I imagine that will change. *Edit: I forgot an obvious women's volleyball example in Roni Jones-Perry. There is no chance BYU makes the Final Four in 2018 without her. |
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Post by DaTruf on Jul 5, 2022 19:55:37 GMT -5
BYU will be one of the dominant programs from day one in the Big 12. Texas will still be there, and Baylor will be improved after their young players have their baptism by fire this season. Iowa State is a steady program. KU made the Final Four not THAT long ago, and made it to the Sweet Sixteen last year. Houston has put decent teams together. But the only ones who have been at BYU's caliber consistently are Texas and Baylor, and Baylor has only been recent, while Texas is leaving sometime soon. I can't imagine BYU's recruiting won't improve. It will at least have better access to more talent, with more exposure in the state of Texas. The key thing is recruiting kids to a Mormon university, but that's the same thing BYU faces in every sport, so nothing new. Baylor recruits kids to a Baptist school, obviously, but while there's a decent Mormon presence in this part of the country, it's not quite the same number as Baptists and other Protestant denominations. You're right that recruiting at BYU is unique, but as you say, that's nothing new. And there are benefits when a top player happens to be LDS. Heather Gneiting is a perfect example. She probably could have gone wherever she wanted. Even if they're not LDS, BYU could still be a good culture fit for some recruits. They landed the No. 1 women's cross country recruit in the country in Jenna Hutchins from Tennessee, and she's not LDS. In terms of volleyball, BYU has historically benefited from the high number of LDS people in the West and Hawaii, which was so dominant in volleyball in previous decades. I think BYU will still be able to recruit in the West, and I think getting into Texas could be a real game changer for them. They have an incoming recruit this fall from Dallas, but she is only the fourth BYU volleyball player to come from Texas. Given the amount of talent in Texas (and also a relatively high LDS population), I imagine that will change. I agree getting into Texas "could be a real game changer" along with other states in the Big12 (Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, etc...). This just in ... Texas Mad Frogs 16U just won the USAV OPEN National Championships and now have a stronger incentive to consider BYU recruiting efforts. |
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Post by mintonetteman on Jul 6, 2022 14:51:43 GMT -5
I remember the two Tonga sisters...pretty sure they were from Texas. Maybe our AZ can remember. One played at Utah or Utah State then transferred back to BYU to play with her sister who married a football player. The older one was back in Texas and working with Skyline years ago when I was still involved in club volleyball. I imagine current BYU staff is tied in with her--I agree, it helps to be in Texas.
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Post by bbg95 on Jul 6, 2022 15:11:24 GMT -5
I remember the two Tonga sisters...pretty sure they were from Texas. Maybe our AZ can remember. One played at Utah or Utah State then transferred back to BYU to play with her sister who married a football player. The older one was back in Texas and working with Skyline years ago when I was still involved in club volleyball. I imagine current BYU staff is tied in with her--I agree, it helps to be in Texas. Here are the BYU players from Texas that are listed on the all-time roster: Hannah Billeter, 2022- Kalani Tonga, 1999-2000 Sunny Tonga Mahe, 1999-2002 Malery Whalin, 2014 Interesting that you mention Skyline, as that is the club that Billeter played for. |
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Post by slxpress on Jul 6, 2022 15:14:00 GMT -5
I remember the two Tonga sisters...pretty sure they were from Texas. Maybe our AZ can remember. One played at Utah or Utah State then transferred back to BYU to play with her sister who married a football player. The older one was back in Texas and working with Skyline years ago when I was still involved in club volleyball. I imagine current BYU staff is tied in with her--I agree, it helps to be in Texas. Euless in the DFW area specifically has an extensive Mormon/South Pacific/Tongan/Samoan population. Plenty of history of kids in all sports heading to BYU and other programs with strong South Pacific ties. It's not the only place, but it's undoubtedly the most notable. |
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