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Post by archiepelago on Aug 7, 2021 13:24:17 GMT -5
Or even Lucas. They get the dream team in the top four teams. If its between the Brazil, France, ROC and Argentina, I think Lucas should be there. They definitely gave weight to players on the winning teams, but they’re all deserving players If we consider the entire tournament then its Lucas and Chinenyeze. Loser just became impactful recently.
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Post by Disc808 on Aug 7, 2021 13:31:51 GMT -5
They definitely gave weight to players on the winning teams, but they’re all deserving players If we consider the entire tournament then its Lucas and Chinenyeze. Loser just became impactful recently. I would be curious to see the block touch percentages or percentages of good block touches. I’d assume Iakovlev and Lucas lead those
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Post by Spike Town on Aug 7, 2021 13:51:32 GMT -5
Dream Team to conclude a fantastic tournament: Most Valuable Player - Earvin Ngapeth (FRA) Best Outside Hitters - Earvin Ngapeth (FRA) and Egor Kliuka (ROC) Best Middle Blockers - Ivan Iakovlev (ROC) and Barthelemy Chinenyeze (FRA) Best Libero - Jenia Grebennikov (FRA) Best Setter - Luciano De Cecco (ARG) Best Opposite - Maxim Mikhaylov (ROC) Unpopular opinion: Loser over Iakovlev. I know Iakovlev has been great, but when their teams needed them most, Loser made an impact. In their final medal matches:Attacks - LOSER (7-0-12, .583), IAKOVLEV (7-1-11, .545) Blocks - LOSER (7), IAKOVLEV (3) 0 aces for either. 2 errors for Loser; 4 for Iakovlev But I will concede Iakovlev had one hell of a tournament for the ROC. They were very fortunate to get him healthy in time. Both deserving middles of some serious accolades. I like this take. I liked what Loser brought from the service line.
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Post by alhorford90 on Aug 8, 2021 23:35:33 GMT -5
So much %*$# was talked about Ngapeth and Daddy walks away with his gold medal.
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Post by vbcoltrane on Aug 9, 2021 0:44:40 GMT -5
So much %*$# was talked about Ngapeth and Daddy walks away with his gold medal. As MVP no less.
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Post by Disc808 on Aug 9, 2021 11:11:58 GMT -5
I wanted to post some of my quickish post-Olympic thoughts while I wait for the FiveOne's podcast on the Olympics. Would love to hear some of your thoughts too!
France: I think we all know how magical their run was, backs against the wall in the preliminary round. And then of course their fantastic play throughout the playoff stage, including impressive performances by their pins, Brizard coming in clutch, and an unbreakable serve receive unit. This is the perfect time for a gold medal, as some of their players will be in their early/mid thirties by the time Paris comes around but they will have a great coach. Incredibly happy for France to finally strike gold and Tillie deserves credit too.
Russia: Russia had some very impressive results in this tournament and have nothing to be disappointed in. It’s incredible how their block and serving wears down their opponent. Keep in mind, Russia has a relatively young team and a lot of their players will come back ready for gold in Paris. I really like the emergence of Pankov this year, and I expect Russia to be strong throughout the Paris quad. The only non-elite player on their team would be at Libero, although I do think Golubev deserves a bit more credit than I give him. Even with the possible departure of Mikhaylov, Russia will have options.
Argentina: Arguably the Cinderella story of the tournament. De Cecco really elevated the pin players and kept the middles (King Loser) involved. But more than that, their reception was fantastic and they were able to serve/defend well enough to give De Cecco the room to work his magic. I expect to see some young blood on the pins (Martínez Franchi, Palonsky, etc.), and I’m not sure if they can replicate this magic, but I will for certain never count them out. De Cecco isn’t exactly young either.
Brazil: It’s weird to not see them medal. They couldn’t quite execute when they needed to, and their level of play (including during the preliminary round) did not reflect what we saw at the end of VNL. I am interested to see the turnover for this team as a lot of their players are on the older side.
Poland: They lost to the eventual Olympic gold medalist, but still a very disappointing result for Poland. I can’t help but think they didn’t utilize their depth enough (ahem, Semeniuk). Poland is very stacked with candidates to fill out their Paris roster, so we will see if they can keep up their high level of play. I will say, I really really like Kochanowski (elite athleticism and lateral speed) and I think Drzyzga may get the boot.
Italy: They were upset by the Olympic bronze medalist, but they certainly left disappointed. The lack of Zaytsev really hurt them throughout the tournament, but the rise of Michieletto was awesome to see. Juantorena gave it his all too. With the play at VNL, I would think a lot of the younger players will rise to the challenge and help bring a fresh look to the Italian team. I’m not certain what their level will be during the shortened quad, but I’m excited to see how they integrate the new generation of players. My only concern would be at Opposite, as I don’t really see elite level quality in Nelli or Pinali (but Pinali should get the investment over Nelli).
Japan: An admirable run for this young team including that thriller over Iran, even if it ended in a comfortable sweep by Brazil. The question for me is will they be able to build on this result and be more competitive with the upper tier of teams. I think they made bold roster decisions by taking 3 inexperienced pins, but I believe it will pay off for the Paris quad. Takahashi was great, leading Japan in reception. But more offense will be needed from him or the others. Nishida is confirmed to transfer to Italy, so I will be watching that intently. I don’t expect a lot of turnover (maybe Oya takes over Fujii), unless new rising stars emerge. MB is a position that needs to be strengthened, but they do have some options (Shunichiro Sato, Kentaro Takahashi, etc.).
Canada: Ngl, their results fell within expectation. Their comfortable win over Iran was a highlight, but the losses to Japan and Italy hurt. Loeppky should be exciting to watch and can’t help but think he should’ve made this roster. I’m not as familiar with the future of Canadian men’s volleyball (paging peeps to help me out here!), but right now I don’t expect to see them rise that much further.
Iran: Unfortunately, Alekno’s magic didn’t quite work out despite a hot start defeating Poland. From there, they could not maintain the level of play against Canada and lost narrowly to Japan. Pre-Olympics was kinda a mess too, but they had the pieces. The team has a lot of young players on the rise and should capitalize on that 2019 U21 generation as well (Yali, Esfandiar, Sharifi, Saadat, etc.). I really liked what I saw from Salehi and Karimi, the latter having to fill the void that Marouf will leave. I don’t expect to see Mousavi in Paris either, and hopefully Ebadipour gets to 100% cuz he didn’t look the best offensively. Japan and Iran will likely duke it out for that Olympic spot, but China or Korea could be interesting contenders too.
USA: An extremely disappointing finish, although in a stacked pool. Obviously, the serving was terrible but the team couldn’t quite withstand the pressure in the later stages of sets. DeFalco was pretty good, but will need to improve his mental game (and before y’all cancel me, I’m fine with intensity but I’m moreso worried if he can be stable emotionally/mentally in pressure situations and I’m thinking about that Russia match in particular/him walking away from the huddle). I’m also interested to see the turnover, cuz I personally want at least some younger athletes cycling in but the question is who.
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Post by bruinsgold on Aug 9, 2021 18:06:18 GMT -5
Disc808 -- you and basil have been true MVPs this summer. I've throughly enjoyed your commentary, dedication, and all the threads by basil! Thanks for livening up a lot of these matches since we're so few on the men's side 😁
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Post by basil on Aug 9, 2021 18:34:52 GMT -5
Disc808 -- you and basil have been true MVPs this summer. I've throughly enjoyed your commentary, dedication, and all the threads by basil! Thanks for livening up a lot of these matches since we're so few on the men's side 😁 thanks bruinsgold I've had a ton of fun talking about these matches with you
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Post by Disc808 on Aug 9, 2021 19:21:32 GMT -5
Disc808 -- you and basil have been true MVPs this summer. I've throughly enjoyed your commentary, dedication, and all the threads by basil! Thanks for livening up a lot of these matches since we're so few on the men's side 😁 Aww thanks! This tournament has been so exciting and entertaining, and I’m glad we all got to experience it. I’ve loved participating in the discussion with you and all the other posters, and with fewer people chiming in it really does make me appreciate everyone’s contributions and participation . I just really love this sport and can’t wait to see how it grows and keeps getting better!
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