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Post by pbmu on Dec 7, 2021 18:06:50 GMT -5
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Post by redbeard2008 on Dec 8, 2021 20:15:03 GMT -5
It's a tough draw, no doubt about it. I don't see a single team UW can't beat, however, if playing up to their capabilities. They may be the best serving (to errors) team in the tournament, and have the best setter in their half of the bracket, as well as three go-to options on offense. Yes, for whichever team that loses this early, it will be a disappointment.
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Post by pbmu on Dec 8, 2021 23:33:34 GMT -5
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Post by redbeard2008 on Dec 8, 2021 23:37:27 GMT -5
Last ten matches:
Drechsel 131k 35e 278ta 131-35=96/278 = .345 Hoffman 114k 28e 256ta 114-28=86/256 = .336 Grote 71k 15e 136ta 71-15=56/136 = .412
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Post by pbmu on Dec 9, 2021 14:38:37 GMT -5
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Post by pbmu on Dec 9, 2021 17:22:18 GMT -5
Almost two hours down until game time! excited and nervous for the dawgs, I just wanna see good volleyball at least
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Post by huskyvolley on Dec 9, 2021 22:22:54 GMT -5
Good season UW. I'm proud of you all!
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Post by doublecontact on Dec 9, 2021 22:25:18 GMT -5
We will miss Sam so much! Did so much; hitting, passing, blocking, serving.. you name it
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Post by ay2013 on Dec 9, 2021 22:49:10 GMT -5
Good season Huskies! sad we couldn't close it out, but taking out a regional seed is a tall order for any team. Lets get better for next year!
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Post by doublecontact on Dec 9, 2021 22:51:18 GMT -5
Also so glad to go through the season with y’all. It’s my first season posting on the board after years of lurking
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Post by pbmu on Dec 9, 2021 23:02:25 GMT -5
What a hard loss. Thank you UW, that was an amazing season to witness.
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Post by tomclen on Dec 10, 2021 4:39:20 GMT -5
This is where every UW fan on VT is wishing alwayslearning had gone to Austin instead of Hawaii, so he could come on here and do his "Back from the Match" calm, reasonable analysis that always tends to stop some of us (well, at least me) from jumping out the window. (Don't get excited, I'm in a rambler.) So, instead, we have to settle for the post-match comments of KCook: I think Cook nails it. Texas is a great team. And while the match thread is littered with Texas fans who think Elliott can't coach, he made some adjustments down 15-10 in the third that absolutely turned the match around. Texas always (IMO) seemed like a bigger, more aggressive physical team than UW. But I would like to hear from a coach or someone more astute than me what, exactly, they think happened at that critical 3rd set 15-10 juncture. Because it's easy to feel that once the momentum started to shift, UW just completely panicked and started playing defensively (and I don't mean good defense, I mean a different approach and attitude). Playing at Gregory made it worse of course. But it's still hard to figure out why the shift. Not only were they ahead 15-10, but even after Texas hit the gas, UW still pulled back ahead 19-17. But then the wheels fell off. The fourth set was a disaster. You can't get on this stage and have and have a 25-9 set, yikes. But, even then, UW had a clean slate and could have picked up their play in the 5th. But Washington had three, very bad service errors early in the 5th...and by bad, I mean, serves into the lower 2/3rds of the net. Powell started the 5th hitting into the net. Down 4-2, Bays served into the net. And down 7-5, Emma Calle was brought in to serve, and she hit one into the net. And still, they were still in the match when they were down 11-8. But UW only scored one more point and that was on a Texas attack error. They never really recovered from losing the 3rd. And they certainly never played with precision and confidence the rest of the evening. Not the first time, Washington teams have collapsed on the big stage against tough competition. The Penn State loss at Key Arena in the 2013 Final Four (ugly almost from start to finish). Getting swept in the '16 Elite Eight at Lincoln to Nebraska - scoring only 10 points in the second set. And the haunting 2008 regional at Hec Ed. Washington was up two sets to none, and was up 9-3 in the fifth. Ancient history, it was JMac, but still. Heck, you could even go back to the final four in 2006. The defending national champ Huskies got blown out by Stanford in a 3-set sweep 12-30, 25-30, 15-30. But seeing what looked like a sweep of Texas in Austin go up in smoke (down in flames?) may be the toughest. They were so close!
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Post by nellynel on Dec 10, 2021 7:14:22 GMT -5
Washington’s a really good team, had they won I would have picked them to win the region and their Final 4 matchup. For Washington fans not there it’s hard to describe Gregory’s impact on that game. The players made all the plays but the crowd energy willed Texas out of the 3rd and into the 4th and 5th. The crowd was loud in 1-2 and UW just out executed Texas. The energy provided by Gregory is a big reason for that flip at 15-10. The Texas players feed off that energy, which is why you see Elliot easing his hands for the crowd to get louder even when Texas is serving which is counter intuitive to any other team I watch.
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Post by dawgnerd on Dec 10, 2021 9:12:19 GMT -5
Cook - "I'll think about that third set for a while, but that's sports." One possible turning point that leaves me wondering - Cook really thought about pulling a card when the ball looked to scrape off of the Texas back row defender's platform on the way out. It might not have been detectable and I think they had a 5 point lead, so a very justifiable decision, but that turned out to be a critical point. Gregory Gym - once they got rolling, the crowd really provided positive momentum for Texas. I really do not see how they are allowed to put two rows of seats right against the court. The Texas fans had their feet on the playing surface on the vistitor side and lots of room on the Texas side. Husky servers had to start right against the fans - that has got to feel weird. (clearly, they dealt with it just fine in the first half of the match)
Nevertheless, it was a binary match All Huskies quickly shifted to all Horns. I love that the Huskies really got to show what they could do in the first half of the match. Texas definitely adjusted and the last half was different, with a lot of credit to Texas for picking up their passing and defense, allowing their offense to explode.
Thanks for a great season, Huskies. I'm already looking forward to next.
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Post by doublecontact on Dec 10, 2021 13:04:03 GMT -5
said so in another thread but that set 4 blowout was foreshadowed in the match against WSU at home with the 13-1 hole in the second set. Hope Cook & co really reviews those 2 sets from those 2 different matches. Was really excited at the end of set 2; really believed the Huskies were going to pull it off. Can't wait to see what adjustments are made for next season. We really got to be able to dig balls.
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