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Post by bbg95 on Oct 28, 2022 15:19:46 GMT -5
Taylor shouldn't be on the roster. She might set the outsides fairly well but with the current BYU roster Taylor can't do what Bower can in any respect. Taylor wasn't able to set a 5-1 for Wyoming, she wouldn't be successful doing it for BYU. Wtf you didn’t watch the match clearly. Her sets to everyone looked way cleaner than bowers. She played good defense. Served well. Bower is more flashy but she doubles a lot more. (And gets away with it a lot) Doubles shouldn't be called anyway. It's an antiquated rule. I haven't watched last night's match yet, but in general, healthy Bower >>>>> Taylor. |
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Post by Brutus Buckeye on Oct 29, 2022 20:33:11 GMT -5
All of Utah's regular season in-state matches are officially in the books as of today. Since BYU is the clear cut state champion, I'll post the results/pecking order here in their thread. Really the pecking order isn't in any dispute, as the teams can be ranked in a way where there weren't any upsets. 1. 3-0 BYU: ran the table against most of the primary contenders. -wins: @ Utah 3-1, Utah State 3-0, Utah Valley 3-0 -losses: none -no contest: Weber, Southern Utah, Dixie 2. 2-1 Utah: only team to take a set off of BYU, ran the table otherwise. -wins: Utah State 3-0, Utah Valley 3-0 -losses: BYU 3-1 -no contest: Weber, Southern Utah, Dixie 3. 2-2 Utah State: They lost in straight sets to both BYU and Utah, but they won five setters vs both Weber and Utah Valley. -wins: Utah Valley 3-2, @ Weber 3-2 -losses: @ BYU 3-0, @ Utah 3-0 -no contest: Southern Utah, Dixie 4. 2-1 Weber: The Wildcats are one match out of first place in the Big Sky. -wins: Southern Utah 3-1, @ Utah Valley 3-2 -losses: @ Utah State 3-2 -no contest: BYU, Utah, Dixie 5. 3-4 Utah Valley: Utah Valley is the only one to play all of the other Utah teams at least once. The Wolverines are tied atop the WAC standings. -wins: @ Dixie 3-0, Dixie 3-0, @ Southern Utah 3-1 -losses: @ Utah 3-0, @ Utah State 3-2, @ Weber 3-2, @ BYU 3-0 6. 2-2 Southern Utah: They swept Dixie H-A, but it was tough sledding otherwise. -wins: Dixie 3-1, @ Dixie 3-2 -losses: @ Weber 3-1, Utah Valley 3-1 -no contest: BYU, Utah, Utah State 7. 0-4 Dixie: swept H-A by both of the teams just above them. -wins: none -losses: Utah Valley 3-0, @ Southern Utah 3-1, @ Utah Valley 3-0, Southern Utah 3-2 -no contest: BYU, Utah, Utah State, Weber  |
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Post by kk1971 on Oct 30, 2022 16:42:26 GMT -5
brutus Buckeye, love this. Well done.
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Post by marnvbc2 on Nov 1, 2022 0:27:28 GMT -5
Taylor shouldn't be on the roster. She might set the outsides fairly well but with the current BYU roster Taylor can't do what Bower can in any respect. Taylor wasn't able to set a 5-1 for Wyoming, she wouldn't be successful doing it for BYU. Wtf you didn’t watch the match clearly. Her sets to everyone looked way cleaner than bowers. She played good defense. Served well. Bower is more flashy but she doubles a lot more. (And gets away with it a lot) Yes I did watch the match. Taylor did play well and to hear the obnoxious announcer complain about Bower being out the entire Gu match was really annoying. Talyor did set the OH with a higher drop rate which Erin hits much better than Bower's lower projectile sets. I give props to her. However, you can't measure Taylor's performance against Portland and GU and extrapolate it going forward. Let's wait and see what happens with USD and little pesky USF this week. The 2 big stories of this WCC season are USD and USF. Don't look now but San Fran may have the most knowledgeable coach in the conference. Back to Bower being hurt .... I didn't notice the issue while watching in person. She appeared to shake it off but evidently her knee really swelled up right after the match. Taylor isn't close to elite but people are surprised that BYU could win a match without Bower in the line up. She is more accurate than Bower in placement. Fortunately BYU played the 2 worst teams in the conference as her intro. Speaking of good setters in the WCC ... that Portland setter is top 2 or 3. Too bad she doesn't have much support. The Bradley girl not recruited as an Opp by BYU?? Talent evaluation? |
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Post by marnvbc2 on Nov 1, 2022 0:48:44 GMT -5
vvv and marnvbc2 --pretty sure I see Lee differently--and possibly Little--than you do. BYU traditionally, at least IMO, prizes height and size over quickness for their MB. An Allie Hakes, therefore, is prioritized over a Leilani Dodson. Debate that all you want (and you would have some sympathy from me) but I am pretty sure Lee is coming in as an OH or Opp, and not a MB. And if she comes in as an OH, respectfully she won't touch Livingston, probably Stowell, and even Little, IMO. She doesn't even hit over .300 on the Utah High School scene. She just isn't tall or experienced enough to hit out of system balls consistently well enough to be dangerous--at least not yet. I agree that she can jump out of the gym and pound the ball straight down, but that presupposes a good pass and a good set, and at least a somewhat in rhythm swing. However, she could be an interesting switch off with Callahan next year on the Right Side, and if that is what you mean by start, well then maybe we agree. To be clear, I think Lee is the kind of athlete that BYU often doesn't get but ends up playing against that gives us fits with their quickness and athletic ability. I am way excited to have her as a Cougar, and will have a lot more to say when I do my summer recruiting synopsis. That said, I believe she will be a work in progress and with time can get to where you describe, but definitely don't expect her to start next year. And if she does, it will only be on the right side rotating with Callahan. My .02. And not sure where this bashing of Little is coming from, but you can't convince me she isn't the best outside prospect BYU has had in a long time. She jumps well, has high point of contact, has tremendous savvy and experience, and on a some what mediocre Vista Murrieta team single handedly has carried them to the semi's of the Division 2 playoffs (and won the California state playoff as a frosh while being named Prepvolleyball's Freshman of the year nationally). Is she as good on the back row as she is on the front row? No, she's not, yet. But she does just fine and will hold her own, may be more dangerous out of the back row than Livingston right out of the gates next year on the attack, and should be a 6 rotation player for BYU no later than when Livingston graduates. If she beats out the other 02s and rotates with Livingston from day 1, I won't be surprised. Watch and see. Who is bashing Little? Did I miss someone bashing her? I agree with almost all of your other observations. Clarification, but I didn't say Lee would be best suited at MB or OH. I actually think her weakest front row spot would be OH. MB is her comfort zone but she is best suited for Opp. I was told point blank that Lee is injury prone by a coach at nationals. Don't know if that is accurate. But I do know that she can play high level D-1 Opp. She is a Pitt player proto-type and now that BYU recruited her Pitt decided to go with height and lack of athletic ability from a MB out of Utah. Go figure? I have been complaining about lack of blocking and hitting from BYU's Opp position all year. I would have experimented with Whitney L at Opp or with Heather G only because I would like to see Prior at MB. But, with that said, Prior should be an Opp the rest of the year. She is the answer for the rest of this season. She will make lots of mistakes while she learns but let her learn. Just a glimpse of her feeling comfortable out there is all I needed to see. She has the highest upside at Opp on the team. Callahan is better than Grimmer and Prior is better than Callahan. This is perplexing talent evaluation and this is exactly why I like to see in match performance allowed as a factor in deciding who is legit. Injuries are the only reason Heather stubbled onto this, which is concerning, but better late than never. Keep it going and tolerate the lack of court awareness while Kate learns the position. Let's hope W Bower gets better. We simply need her to be NCAA tourney ready because she can turn it on with little to no preparation. Prior could be a game changer. I also like the backrow being redrawn to the way it was at the beginning of the season. Leave it alone and quit messing with the chemistry. It is not great but it is the best they have right now. |
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Post by marnvbc2 on Nov 1, 2022 1:02:35 GMT -5
I think he is meaning Mia Lee and Silina Damuni. Lee should be starting, in my opinion, and if anything damuni is the same height, but definitely not shorter than Bower. The younger Bower sister is taller than both of them, but I'm not versed on her play. Either way, they will have a good line for that area. I don't know Damuni's touch point, but I have seen her play and she can jump for sure and supposedely leads her high school team in blocks according to Max Preps? I do agree BYU needs all the Whitney Bowers and Jhenna Gabriels they can get because they are the ones that run after those balls that go all over the creation. Miller coming in will help tremendously I think... I have seen all three of them play and with the right coaching and direction, they will be good for BYU. Now, there is Decker? I haven't seen her play? Is she an athlete? She is taller then these other setters. Lee is going to be interesting to watch develop with that athleticism. Really sorry to see that W Bower is injured. Hopefully she can play through it and not have an extended surgery, rehab timeline. It's going to be a real battle with the younger incoming A Bower and Damuni. Right now IMO it looks like Damuni is just as good (if not better) with athleticism, foot speed and accuracy. I thought A Bower being a bit taller would be to her advantage but from what I've seen this year it isn't going to be much of a factor against Damuni because Bower doesn't seem to have the spring in her legs that her sister W Bower does. Bower is really good but I won't be surprised if Damuni wins that battle. I do agree with the commentary from another post that Claire Little is going to be a game changer and make an impact right away. Hopefully the program can get the passing figured out to complement these exciting incoming recruits. It will be interesting to see Lee develop. Damuni is a righty and A Bower is a lefty. Damuni should win the starting spot if based on ability. There were more highly rated setters out of the intermountain region than Damuni and Bower but one of them is setting Florida as a freshman and the other turned down Louisville for High Point (which is mind boggling). Both are older than Damuni and Bower so you really can't compare them and don't know if either was a BYU "fit" so it may not have mattered. Little's hitting is D-1 level for sure. |
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Post by marnvbc2 on Nov 1, 2022 1:23:56 GMT -5
Taylor shouldn't be on the roster. She might set the outsides fairly well but with the current BYU roster Taylor can't do what Bower can in any respect. Taylor wasn't able to set a 5-1 for Wyoming, she wouldn't be successful doing it for BYU. Wtf you didn’t watch the match clearly. Her sets to everyone looked way cleaner than bowers. She played good defense. Served well. Bower is more flashy but she doubles a lot more. (And gets away with it a lot) Looking a little deeper at your assertions, you have a lot of credibility. The first BYU/GU and BYU/Portland matches that featured W Bower setting show much different stats than with Taylor at the helm. Clear advantage to Taylor. Throw in the injury issue to Callahan and (Heather G for a moment) and Bower's mental impact of being out after 100 straight matches at the helm and Taylor did a fantastic job. Yes, for the time being most are in shock that another setter could be more efficient than Bower and win matches. You are more correct than I was about Taylor, at least for these two matches. |
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vvv
Sophomore
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Post by vvv on Nov 2, 2022 1:16:40 GMT -5
Wow- Ditto- Very well done and informative! Referring to break down of games above.
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Zazu
All-American
Singin' once again in the rain, snow, hail, fog, smog, mist, haze, sun, wind, etc.
Posts: 1,536 
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Post by Zazu on Nov 2, 2022 12:46:00 GMT -5
brutus Buckeye, love this. Well done. I second this. Love having Brutus Buckeye keep track of all the Utah teams. |
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Post by mintonetteman on Nov 4, 2022 15:52:50 GMT -5
I have to be honest. I was forced into watching the match yesterday with a friend. I was blown away how bad we are right now. This is not the same team that started the season. Not sure what happened.
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BYU 2022
Nov 4, 2022 16:31:32 GMT -5
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Post by karma on Nov 4, 2022 16:31:32 GMT -5
I have to be honest. I was forced into watching the match yesterday with a friend. I was blown away how bad we are right now. This is not the same team that started the season. Not sure what happened. I mean… probably because it’s literally a different team. No bower, Prior’s first game playing oppo full time (she killed it btw) ? “How bad we are” I mean we don’t look great but I don’t think we look that bad lmao. It’s not like we were passing well at the beginning of the season either (except maybe against WSU) which was the best I think we’ve played all season. |
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Zazu
All-American
Singin' once again in the rain, snow, hail, fog, smog, mist, haze, sun, wind, etc.
Posts: 1,536
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Post by Zazu on Nov 4, 2022 17:21:57 GMT -5
I have to be honest. I was forced into watching the match yesterday with a friend. I was blown away how bad we are right now. This is not the same team that started the season. Not sure what happened. I mean… probably because it’s literally a different team. No bower, Prior’s first game playing oppo full time (she killed it btw) ? “How bad we are” I mean we don’t look great but I don’t think we look that bad lmao. It’s not like we were passing well at the beginning of the season either (except maybe against WSU) which was the best I think we’ve played all season. I think that was probably their best match as well, though the serving from WSU wasn't super tough.
They don't look much different to me. Up and down in matches, up and down in sets, brilliant plays followed by head-scratchers, passing regularly breaks down, defense crumbles or disappears altogether, then reappears when you least expect it, poor second-ball contacts, etc. They completely fell apart at the beginning of set three against Duke if you remember. They were down 0-11 in the blink of an eye and in utter disarray. They managed to claw their way back to a 19-25 set, but it was an ill omen for what could and has happened to a lesser degree in other matches. My original opinion about this team was that they were probably good enough to make the NCAA tournament, but they wouldn't host, and I could see them not making it past the first round on the road. I still think that way.
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Post by kk1971 on Nov 4, 2022 18:25:25 GMT -5
mintonetteman I half completely agree and half don't. A few weeks ago I shared some texts about pleasant surprises. I have held off putting out there my disappointments, choosing to take a glass-half-full approach. That said, here's my top 3 disappointments for this year (the half agree part): (1) our defensive back line. Abyssmal. Honestly, at times during the match last night during the first 2 sets I was actually thinking some high school JV teams are as good as our back line. Not sure what Olmstead saw in Knudsen, but I don't and haven't seen it at all. McComber isn't a whole lot better in my book (although in fairness, her serving last night was a catalyst). Grimmer has lost whatever confidence she started the year with and, to me at least, appears to be a shell of her former self. I don't get how or why this coaching staff that regularly gets to pick through top LDS talent can't put together a better back line than we have had since Mary Lake left. If moving to the Big 12 gets women's volleyball any more money, please, please, please get a good coach specifically to recruit and coach defensive specialists and liberos.
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Post by kk1971 on Nov 4, 2022 18:38:06 GMT -5
My (2) biggest disappointment this year is the continued lack of progress on both serving and serve receive. I would have thought last year was a wake up call. And yet I am pretty sure, though, this year we are worse. It is our Achilles heel in all of our big matches to date. We hang around because we do have people who can hit, only to hit the inevitable run of being forced to play wildly out of system and are literally being served out of the match. If serving is the great equalizer in volleyball, why oh why can't we recruit or coach to improve our serve game?
(3) Our block. Gneiting to me seems to have stalled at no better than her freshman year. In her defense, it could be because she is now compelled to do so much. Llarenas is not the defensive presence that Eschenberg was, and I believe that this coaching staff has prioritized her offense over her defense. Likely the right call, but we just can't shut down a hot hand the way we used to against a better team. This is not a criticism, especially how injuries and the Grimmer-disappearing-act has gone, as I now think we need Prior to finish the year at opp, but I wouldn't mind possibly seeing Albright sometimes as a change of pace, who I believe will be better defensively if she isn't offensively.
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Post by bbg95 on Nov 4, 2022 19:35:09 GMT -5
My (2) biggest disappointment this year is the continued lack of progress on both serving and serve receive. I would have thought last year was a wake up call. And yet I am pretty sure, though, this year we are worse. It is our Achilles heel in all of our big matches to date. We hang around because we do have people who can hit, only to hit the inevitable run of being forced to play wildly out of system and are literally being served out of the match. If serving is the great equalizer in volleyball, why oh why can't we recruit or coach to improve our serve game? (3) Our block. Gneiting to me seems to have stalled at no better than her freshman year. In her defense, it could be because she is now compelled to do so much. Llarenas is not the defensive presence that Eschenberg was, and I believe that this coaching staff has prioritized her offense over her defense. Likely the right call, but we just can't shut down a hot hand the way we used to against a better team. This is not a criticism, especially how injuries and the Grimmer-disappearing-act has gone, as I now think we need Prior to finish the year at opp, but I wouldn't mind possibly seeing Albright sometimes as a change of pace, who I believe will be better defensively if she isn't offensively. I haven't been following the team as closely this year because I've been super busy, but they were an excellent serving team last year. I'm really not all that concerned about the coaching staff's ability to develop good servers. The top priority is and always has been improving the passing game. |
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