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Post by ilalum92 on Aug 19, 2021 0:00:58 GMT -5
Nice blocker, lots of quicks but only 1 “slide” in the whole reel. Plenty of back 1’s though. We have to get some middles who can run a slide to effectively spread the opposing teams blockers. |
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Post by oldmanvb on Aug 19, 2021 6:20:20 GMT -5
BTN+ is running the Nebraska Red/White scrimmage Saturday. Any chance our scrimmage will be streamed?
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Post by Pasquale on Aug 19, 2021 7:43:12 GMT -5
Nice blocker, lots of quicks but only 1 “slide” in the whole reel. Plenty of back 1’s though. We have to get some middles who can run a slide to effectively spread the opposing teams blockers. She is only 15 years old in this video. She has time to develop her range of shots. |
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Post by ilalum92 on Aug 19, 2021 18:42:15 GMT -5
Anyone going to the scrimmage Saturday??? Who is taking notes to report back?
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Post by exit237a on Aug 19, 2021 18:56:20 GMT -5
Anyone going to the scrimmage Saturday??? Who is taking notes to report back? I'm planning to go and will report back. Looking forward to getting back in Huff! Hope we get some of the Spike Squad in there Saturday. |
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Post by ilalum92 on Aug 21, 2021 1:20:43 GMT -5
So roster is up on Fighting Illini.com. One thing to note is all new pics except for Bruna & Ellie. They are in Blue uni’s from last year. Everyone else is in Orange uni’s.
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Post by oldmanvb on Aug 21, 2021 8:29:39 GMT -5
A couple of weeks ago, when the roster was not posted, I jokingly wondered whether they were waiting to see who showed up the first day of practice. Maybe not a joke.
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Post by gurnee50 on Aug 21, 2021 11:11:09 GMT -5
If Bruna doesn't play this year, how does that change the outlook for this year's team? Can someone else replace her production?
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Post by makman2987 on Aug 21, 2021 12:00:20 GMT -5
If Bruna doesn't play this year, how does that change the outlook for this year's team? Can someone else replace her production? Bruna had shoulder surgery. Not sure of her status |
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Post by exit237a on Aug 21, 2021 16:47:42 GMT -5
Good Orange and Blue scrimmage today! Nice to see all the new faces (and familiar ones) in Huff. All but two of the Illini on the roster competed in the scrimmage- Ellie and Bruna were both out. Tamas said Bruna was rehabbing and she was in attendance. Ellie wasn't present today, though we've seen her practicing in recent videos. They didn't have orange, blue, and libero game jerseys on and there was some rotating of middles and DS between teams but we can call it Team Diana vs. Team Bruder/Mosher. Team Diana won the match 2-1 (25-21, 17-25, 25-8).
Team Diana
S-Brown; L-Kuper; OH-Raina, Nunge; OPP-Cooney; All three pins had time playing six rotations but Barnes got some reps at DS.
Team Bruder/Mosher
S-Bruder, Mosher; L/DS-Barnes, Sakoda, Gregus; Pins- "all-time pins" were two male practice players, though Mosher got some reps on the right side.
MB-Collins, Hinton, Swanson, Whittington, Bingham: all middles got reps and they were switching teams during and between sets.
I was mostly focused on the new Illini (including our redshirt freshmen) and am encouraged by what I saw. The three new DS all showed themselves to be capable passers, floor defenders and OOS setters- Tamas has some options back there. I thought Barnes's ball control was especially good today and she had a long service run for Team Bruder/Mosher in Set 2- gave opposing passers fits with a fast float serve. Nunge looked comfortable in both the front and back row and had some nice connections with Diana, especially from the left side. Had a nice swing on a D ball out of the back row, too. Whittington and Bingham are both athletic with live arms. I don't recall them hitting any slides in the scrimmage but they mostly played on the team that always had three attackers in the front row so I don't think slides are really an option there. They had some good swings on middle quicks, though. Mosher's got nice hands and seemed to be connecting especially well with her pins. She was able to take a few swings at OPP in the scrimmage and during setting warmups she took a few of those cool lefty rips on two.
The pin trio of Nunge, Raina, and Cooney was connecting well with Diana today. Bummed to not have Bruna (and Ellie) in the lineup but definite confidence in the other three. We're nominally thin at the pins but all of Bingham, Whittington, Gregus, and Mosher have prep experience swinging on the outside and could be called on in a pinch. In the spring season finale, Tamas played his three pins for six rotations and they upset #8 Purdue but I imagine he'd like the option to sub in one or two DS and he must be psyched to have these three new DS available.
Lineup Prediction for UCSB Match (based entirely on today's scrimmage):
S: Brown (5-1 offense)
L: Kuper
OPP: Cooney
OH1: Terry (six rotations lock)
OH2: Nunge
MB1: Collins
MB2: ? Kennedy is a lock but I think the second spot is competitive; the scrimmage was a little too chaotic with the middles changing teams all over the place to get a great feel for where everyone's at. I don't think Bingham got any reps with Diana's team today and I'd like to see their in-game connection before making a call.
DS: Barnes (play back row for Cooney or Nunge)
Apologies for the long-windedness! Feel free to hit me with questions as I know I didn't cover it all.
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Post by oldmanvb on Aug 21, 2021 17:18:53 GMT -5
Thank you! Told us a lot - it sounds as though DS options now exist, a real problem last year when one of our six rotation hitters was in the back row and had to be hidden. Depth on the left side is going to be an issue. Any more thoughts on Nunge and Barnes?
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Post by ilalum92 on Aug 21, 2021 17:43:59 GMT -5
Good Orange and Blue scrimmage today! Nice to see all the new faces (and familiar ones) in Huff. All but two of the Illini on the roster competed in the scrimmage- Ellie and Bruna were both out. Tamas said Bruna was rehabbing and she was in attendance. Ellie wasn't present today, though we've seen her practicing in recent videos. They didn't have orange, blue, and libero game jerseys on and there was some rotating of middles and DS between teams but we can call it Team Diana vs. Team Bruder/Mosher. Team Diana won the match 2-1 (25-21, 17-25, 25-8). Team DianaS-Brown; L-Kuper; OH-Raina, Nunge; OPP-Cooney; All three pins had time playing six rotations but Barnes got some reps at DS. Team Bruder/MosherS-Bruder, Mosher; L/DS-Barnes, Sakoda, Gregus; Pins- "all-time pins" were two male practice players, though Mosher got some reps on the right side. MB-Collins, Hinton, Swanson, Whittington, Bingham: all middles got reps and they were switching teams during and between sets. I was mostly focused on the new Illini (including our redshirt freshmen) and am encouraged by what I saw. The three new DS all showed themselves to be capable passers, floor defenders and OOS setters- Tamas has some options back there. I thought Barnes's ball control was especially good today and she had a long service run for Team Bruder/Mosher in Set 2- gave opposing passers fits with a fast float serve. Nunge looked comfortable in both the front and back row and had some nice connections with Diana, especially from the left side. Had a nice swing on a D ball out of the back row, too. Whittington and Bingham are both athletic with live arms. I don't recall them hitting any slides in the scrimmage but they mostly played on the team that always had three attackers in the front row so I don't think slides are really an option there. They had some good swings on middle quicks, though. Mosher's got nice hands and seemed to be connecting especially well with her pins. She was able to take a few swings at OPP in the scrimmage and during setting warmups she took a few of those cool lefty rips on two. The pin trio of Nunge, Raina, and Cooney was connecting well with Diana today. Bummed to not have Bruna (and Ellie) in the lineup but definite confidence in the other three. We're nominally thin at the pins but all of Bingham, Whittington, Gregus, and Mosher have prep experience swinging on the outside and could be called on in a pinch. In the spring season finale, Tamas played his three pins for six rotations and they upset #8 Purdue but I imagine he'd like the option to sub in one or two DS and he must be psyched to have these three new DS available. Lineup Prediction for UCSB Match (based entirely on today's scrimmage): S: Brown (5-1 offense) L: Kuper OPP: Cooney OH1: Terry (six rotations lock) OH2: Nunge MB1: Collins MB2: ? Kennedy is a lock but I think the second spot is competitive; the scrimmage was a little too chaotic with the middles changing teams all over the place to get a great feel for where everyone's at. I don't think Bingham got any reps with Diana's team today and I'd like to see their in-game connection before making a call. DS: Barnes (play back row for Cooney or Nunge) Apologies for the long-windedness! Feel free to hit me with questions as I know I didn't cover it all. Thanks for the great write up. We are dangerously thin on the OH. If we didnt have Nunge we would be in serious trouble. Sad that Ellie was not there. |
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Post by exit237a on Aug 21, 2021 18:16:38 GMT -5
Thank you! Told us a lot - it sounds as though DS options now exist, a real problem last year when one of our six rotation hitters was in the back row and had to be hidden. Depth on the left side is going to be an issue. Any more thoughts on Nunge and Barnes? You're welcome! A lot of fun to get back in Huff. Nunge looked good on the left side. If memory serves, she mostly played on the right side last season at FSU, so it's cool to see that versatility. Good height at 6'2" and some elevation on her attacks. Had a couple mini service runs. She looked like a confident passer today in practice and during the scrimmage, so I'd think six rotations is a possibility. I'm especially interested to see which pin(s) Tamas subs out for a DS. I think Raina's a six rotations lock with her strong serve and good back row attack connections with Brown last year. Without access to the advanced passing stats, I didn't notice a huge difference in passing proficiency among Raina, Cooney, and Bruna last year. I'm sure passing will be a big factor in his decision. Barnes looked really confident out there today. Seemed to be in position and covered the court with good reads. Serve looked strong- a jump float with pace that handcuffed passers a few times. No receiving errors come to mind. I don't have any expertise in evaluating passing technique or mechanics but she seemed to be consistently putting up settable balls. I think I'd give her the nod for that first DS sub and I'd be really surprised if Tamas didn't regularly use at least one DS, especially given the addition of Barnes, Sakoda, and Gregus. I didn't go into great detail about our veterans but Kuper looked great at libero with her passing and floor defense. She strung together a few aces. She had to cover a ton of court last season and it will be cool this year to see her get some more DS help back there to share the workload. |
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Aug 21, 2021 19:02:34 GMT -5
I was at the practice/scrimmage, but left during the break in the first set (I had to go home to walk my elderly dog). Tamas and the other coaches began this morning's session with a fast-paced vigorous warm-up and practice. No time was wasted. If playing fast tempo volleyball is the current preferred style in the sport, the Illini practice session certainly embodied that theory. For specific player info I will defer to 'exit237a'. One player I would like to mention is 6'4" MB Kyla Swanson. I have always liked her demeanor, and she seemed to be more than holding her own in our bevy of middles. I-L-L!
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Post by ilalum92 on Aug 22, 2021 0:15:24 GMT -5
Hey everyone, tomorrow VT’er Kingsley posts his write up on ILLINOIS in the Big 10 Fall -2021 thread. He has done some amazing write ups of all the teams. Very interested in what he has to say.
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