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Post by mikesmith on Jun 22, 2021 0:48:33 GMT -5
Based on the final roster… I can’t help but think that Speraw is going to start someone unconventional in Japan. Here’s how I see it playing out.
The obvious choices:
OP - Anderson
S - Christenson
Lib - E. Shoji
M1 - Holt
H1 - Sander
The probable Choice:
M2 - Stahl
David Smith looks slow. Either he’s overcoming an undisclosed injury, or he’s exiting his prime.
The Unconventional choice:
H2 - DeFalco
I have to say it… and I know it’s crazy. But I believe it, he reminds me of Karch. Karch was a better passer, defender, and could jump higher, but DeFalco is a better server, attacker, and blocker.
They both have something in common that Speraw respects and was trained to covet when he was at UCLA. They’re bad losers, they hold their teammates accountable, and they don’t care what others think about them.
Here’s the roster for an easier response.
1 Matt Anderson (OPP, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State Univ.)
3 Taylor Sander (OH, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif., Brigham Young Univ.)
5 Kyle Ensing (OPP, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State Univ.)=
6 Mitch Stahl (MB, 6-8, Chambersburg, Pa., Univ. of California Los Angeles)
7 Kawika Shoji (S, 6-3, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ.)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ.)
11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Southern California)
12 Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State Univ.)
17 Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago)
18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., Univ. of California Los Angeles)
20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., Univ. of California Irvine)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ.)
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Post by akbar on Jun 22, 2021 4:47:34 GMT -5
Mike, to your ceremony Id like to add a +1 if that's ok.
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Post by volleyfred on Jun 22, 2021 12:48:31 GMT -5
I think if Russell is heathy, this isn’t even a topic, and players like Ensing don’t make the team.
In the matches I saw, I watched DeFalco make a few bad errors: 1 Roll shot into the net, with no block and 2. Double hitting the third contact. They might be even too much for John.
I see Garrett Muagututia as the other OH until he stops killing the ball. Then a sub will get made. Probably Anderson to H1 and Ensing to OP. At that point, it’ll be used to stabilize things, until they put Anderson back at OP.
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Post by Disc808 on Jun 22, 2021 13:26:16 GMT -5
DeFalco is someone who can make the flashy/creative plays and can score well when he's on. You could make the argument that USA doesn't necessarily need that from their second OH and that a player like Jaeschke could fit better into the system. I would say Jaeschke and GM are more "risk-averse", considering DeFalco's attitude and also if he starts shanking. It will be interesting to see how things play out but DeFalco has been getting a lot of time and I'm curious to see how his passing (on average) compares to Jaeschke or GM. Starting DeFalco would probably be a good move for Paris though.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2021 15:23:57 GMT -5
I have seen a few people, not just on this thread but others, questioning DeFalco's attitude. I know in college he was a bit of a hot head, but I haven't seen that from him recently, and it seems like he is a pretty solid professional from an attitude standpoint. I also have not seen him play much since college, so I have nothing to go off of, but is that something in question for TJ?
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Post by bruinsgold on Jun 22, 2021 16:48:06 GMT -5
My quick hot take: If you have to hide your 2nd OH in serve receive just to keep him on the court, that's a problem.
Pinching him over so he has less court to pass? Fine. Occasionally pulling your OPP in to strengthen the passing unit against a Zaytsev? Solid plan. Fully taking him out of the passing line? Nah.
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Post by wilbur on Jun 22, 2021 18:04:13 GMT -5
I am with the OP, both for middles and I am for TJ. This is the lineup you go with if you want to win the matches. The other options are what you run if you don't want to lose too badly. We need to be giant killers by the end of pool play. Jaeschke, Muagututia, Ensing and Smith (from what I saw of their play in the VNL) are guys that can smooth over the rough patches adn help manage load but I think we need all the best point scorers on the floor and service line and have it all clicking to win a medal.
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Post by mikesmith on Jun 23, 2021 0:13:45 GMT -5
I have seen a few people, not just on this thread but others, questioning DeFalco's attitude. I know in college he was a bit of a hot head, but I haven't seen that from him recently, and it seems like he is a pretty solid professional from an attitude standpoint. I also have not seen him play much since college, so I have nothing to go off of, but is that something in question for TJ? The interesting part is that in 1984, 1988, and 1992, almost all the players yelled at each other, the entire match. They all had angry looks on their faces. Now, TJ is considered a bad teammate. He would’ve been one of the more mild ones during those years. I’m not saying it’s bad now, it’s just interesting. |
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Post by volleyfred on Jun 23, 2021 12:48:56 GMT -5
I watched the latest VNL highlights on US vs Japan. You might be onto something with TJ DeFalco, Mike. He was solid.
As for my lineup, I’ve got: Sander, Muagututia, Holt, Smith, Anderson, Christenson, Shoji (libero).
I don’t see John turning the reigns over to Stahl just yet and TJ will be subbed in. It’ll be his to lose.
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Post by akbar on Jun 23, 2021 12:54:07 GMT -5
People have totally dismissed Jaeschke. Not sure why.
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Post by bigcheese on Jun 23, 2021 14:03:11 GMT -5
We didn't get to see much of Jaeschke the past few weeks. He played a bit, but the other OH's were used more. Maybe we were just saving him, who knows?
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Post by ToddyJ on Jun 23, 2021 14:35:16 GMT -5
People have totally dismissed Jaeschke. Not sure why. I think he will start opposite T. Sander honestly. He's a solid passer/defender and his offense isn't that far behind TJ's. |
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Post by volleycoachiq on Jun 23, 2021 15:21:35 GMT -5
People have totally dismissed Jaeschke. Not sure why. I think he will start opposite T. Sander honestly. He's a solid passer/defender and his offense isn't that far behind TJ's. I would have said that too before watching TJ just destroy in the last few matches. And his passing wasn't bad. Not great, but solid enough. I personally really love Jaeschke though and was convinced he should start over TJ until the last few days. Still a very solid option though. |
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Post by myhouse911 on Jun 23, 2021 17:03:37 GMT -5
Muagututia is not starting, he is 4th on the OH depth chart. He will be used if need be as an OH, otherwise a SS/DS is his role in Tokyo. The battle for OH2 is between DeFalco and Jaeschke, and both bring their pros and cons.
I do wonder if it would make more sense to put Sander OH2 since Anderson is essentially a passing OPP. This way TJ (if he gets the nod), could be hidden in reception easier as an OH1.
ETA: I don't think TJ needs to be hidden.
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Post by Disc808 on Jun 23, 2021 17:14:04 GMT -5
You could make the argument that players like Zaytsev or Leon can serve anyone off the court so does it matter if it's Jaeschke or DeFalco? Hehe, anyways I think it's suboptimal to have to hide TJ if it comes to that. I think Anderson should be freed up to take the big swings when they need him to
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