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Post by kokyu on Aug 6, 2021 12:18:45 GMT -5
My gawd, we were supposed to win in 2012, and you know who stopped us? Yeah, it was BRAzil. I hate to inject some skepticism, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Yes, I think USA should be favored, but BRAzil will play like a team that has nothing to lose since their coach will prime them as the underdog. Berg choked, I wish Poulter would but doubt she will.
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Post by BIGđź”´ENERGY on Aug 6, 2021 12:22:32 GMT -5
Every player for Brazil this year is a downgrade from their counterparts in 2012 besides Fe Garay (she’s a better version of herself) and maybe Roberta (only for her better block over Dani’s).
Based on what we’ve seen in the recent VNL and last night’s performance for USA… Foluke (2021) ≤ Foluke (2012) Haleigh > Christa Chiaka > DSA JT ≤ Destinee Annie/JT > THP Jordyn/Micha > Lindsay/Courtney Jordan = Jordan MBH < Logan Kelsey/Kim > Megan JWO > Nicole/Tamari
Hancock and Poulter deniers need not reply, as I’d still take this duo over Berg and Thompson any day for their presence at the net (read: ability to jump and healthy knees).
I’d also keep Easy off the roster for Kelsey and Kim, since they can actually play in the back row. It’s an offensive trade-off for a steadier defense, and I’m okay with that for the aforementioned listed offensive upgrades at the other positions and the better competition we’ve seen this quad.
Tomorrow’s gold medal will definitely be for the deeper roster, kumbaya vibes, and a timely peak.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2021 12:26:39 GMT -5
Yes Usa is obviously the favorite but dont get too far ahead of yourselves. USA played wonderfully against Serbia last night but just look at Serbia they played their system to a PERFECT T against Italy and looked great. They then came out uninspired and flat out terrible against the USA the very next game. Be optimistic but don’t assume it’s in the bag quite yet.
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Post by gibbyb1 on Aug 6, 2021 12:28:38 GMT -5
My gawd, we were supposed to win in 2012, and you know who stopped us? Yeah, it was BRAzil. I hate to inject some skepticism, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Yes, I think USA should be favored, but BRAzil will play like a team that has nothing to lose since their coach will prime them as the underdog. Yup, I believe we’re better than Brazil, and I believe we will win, but this is an undefeated team, coupled with the pressure of the biggest moment in these players careers. I wouldn’t go counting gold medals yet.
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Post by BIGđź”´ENERGY on Aug 6, 2021 12:30:34 GMT -5
Yes Usa is obviously the favorite but dont get too far ahead of yourselves. USA played wonderfully against Serbia last night but just look at Serbia they played their system to a PERFECT T against Italy and looked great. They then came out uninspired and flat out terrible against the USA the very next game. Be optimistic but don’t assume it’s in the bag quite yet. Give credit where it’s due. USA’s serve, block, and defense forced Serbia to make errors and kept them out of system and rhythm. The RWB channeled Bosko to hit deep cross court and make plays that were uncomfortable for her.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2021 12:31:08 GMT -5
Yes Usa is obviously the favorite but dont get too far ahead of yourselves. USA played wonderfully against Serbia last night but just look at Serbia they played their system to a PERFECT T against Italy and looked great. They then came out uninspired and flat out terrible against the USA the very next game. Be optimistic but don’t assume it’s in the bag quite yet. Give credit where it’s due. USA’s serve, block, and defense forced Serbia to make errors and kept them out of system and rhythm. The RWB channeled Bosko to hit deep cross court and make plays that were uncomfortable for her. what? I did give usa credit. They played great.
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Post by Reach on Aug 6, 2021 12:31:31 GMT -5
Every player for Brazil this year is a downgrade from their counterparts in 2012 besides Fe Garay (she’s a better version of herself) and maybe Roberta (only for her better block over Dani’s). Based on what we’ve seen in the recent VNL and last night’s performance for USA… Foluke (2021) ≤ Foluke (2012) Haleigh > Christa Chiaka > DSA JT ≤ Destinee Annie/JT > THP Jordyn/Micha > Lindsay/Courtney Jordan = Jordan MBH < Logan Kelsey/Kim > Megan JWO > Nicole/Tamari Hancock and Poulter deniers need not reply, as I’d still take this duo over Berg and Thompson any day for their presence at the net (read: ability to jump and healthy knees). I’d also keep Easy off the roster for Kelsey and Kim, since they can actually play in the back row. It’s an offensive trade-off for a steadier defense, and I’m okay with that for the aforementioned listed offensive upgrades at the other positions and the better competition we’ve seen this quad. Tomorrow’s gold medal will definitely be for the deeper roster, kumbaya vibes, and a timely peak. Easy saved us in a few matches during 2012 with her performances. Kim and Kelsey haven’t made an impact like she did. Hard to say they’re ans upgrade.
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Post by trianglevolleyball on Aug 6, 2021 12:31:47 GMT -5
The match versus Brazil also has huge consequences for whether USA can catch China for gold medals. The American absolutely need to win both basketball golds, women’s water polo, and women’s volleyball in order to have a shot. At that point it would come down to picking up a few more in athletics or wrestling.
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Post by gibbyb1 on Aug 6, 2021 12:33:10 GMT -5
My gawd, we were supposed to win in 2012, and you know who stopped us? Yeah, it was BRAzil. I hate to inject some skepticism, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Yes, I think USA should be favored, but BRAzil will play like a team that has nothing to lose since their coach will prime them as the underdog. Completely different. We had the world superstars in 2012. We don't have those this time around. It really truly is a team effort and Larson (the only one who could qualify as a world superstar) has corralled them into fully committing themselves into that ideology. We stopped ourselves last time around, they will not this time. I love Larson’s leadership, but respectfully whether people like him or not, Karch deserves a huge amount of credit for building and nurturing a team first ideology. Getting your players to “buy in” is arguably the toughest challenge in coaching. To your point, the look in Larson’s eyes last night was incredible. She is fully locked in.
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Post by Reach on Aug 6, 2021 12:33:12 GMT -5
Also I’m surprised it’s taken teams this long to make adjustments to Bosko. Its not like she’s some unknown or that she’s playing faster than anyone. Everyone knows where the ball is going and teams have time to set up defense if they’re in the right spot. Serbia losing has more to do with the rest of the team lacking rather than Bosko having a mediocre night.
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Post by gibbyb1 on Aug 6, 2021 12:34:22 GMT -5
Every player for Brazil this year is a downgrade from their counterparts in 2012 besides Fe Garay (she’s a better version of herself) and maybe Roberta (only for her better block over Dani’s). Based on what we’ve seen in the recent VNL and last night’s performance for USA… Foluke (2021) ≤ Foluke (2012) Haleigh > Christa Chiaka > DSA JT ≤ Destinee Annie/JT > THP Jordyn/Micha > Lindsay/Courtney Jordan = Jordan MBH < Logan Kelsey/Kim > Megan JWO > Nicole/Tamari Hancock and Poulter deniers need not reply, as I’d still take this duo over Berg and Thompson any day for their presence at the net (read: ability to jump and healthy knees). I’d also keep Easy off the roster for Kelsey and Kim, since they can actually play in the back row. It’s an offensive trade-off for a steadier defense, and I’m okay with that for the aforementioned listed offensive upgrades at the other positions and the better competition we’ve seen this quad. Tomorrow’s gold medal will definitely be for the deeper roster, kumbaya vibes, and a timely peak. Easy saved us in a few matches during 2012 with her performances. Kim and Kelsey haven’t made an impact like she did. Hard to say they’re an upgrade. Agreed, it’s hard to be an upgrade when you’re not on the floor.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2021 12:35:57 GMT -5
Also I’m surprised it’s taken teams this long to make adjustments to Bosko. Its not like she’s some unknown or that she’s playing faster than anyone. Everyone knows where the ball is going and teams have time to set up defense if they’re in the right spot. Serbia losing has more to do with the rest of the team lacking rather than Bosko having a mediocre night. one match doesn’t mean that “teams” (plural) have made perfect adjustments to stop Boskovic. If she is significantly slowed down from here on out then I could agree but just because the USA contained her for one night doesn’t mean she’s just solved
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Post by winesalot on Aug 6, 2021 12:38:44 GMT -5
In regards to the criticism against Karch and some of the players for the US team, some of y'all need to realize that criticism does not equal blind hate. For a team that advertised itself as a well rounded team with contributors all around, at the beginning of the Olympics we were heavily reliant on a first-time Olympian that was only a couple of years out of college. I think that would definitely have a lot of people nervous as we headed into the medal rounds. Yes, certain people do go overboard, but tbh I do think a lot of criticisms come from a valid place. Even though Karch did lead this team to its first gold at World Championships in 2014, he has also made a lot of head-scratching decisions that people have a right to criticize (do we even have to bring up Rio again?). A lot of people thought China was going to be a medal contender because based off of what we saw, they WERE. How were we supposed to know that Zhu had a wrist injury that would affect her this much after her good performance at VNL? How were we supposed to know that the rest of the team was going to be on the struggle bus as well? We thought Serbia was going to be good, because they obviously have the pieces and they've had good results in this quad, but no one except for Boskovic really showed up the entire tournament. People weren't puling things out of their ass when they say things like "I think China is a gold medal contender" because we were making our opinions based off of the things we've seen. That's why we play the game, right? Let's normalize people being able to change their opinions after receiving new information, shall we? THAT BEING SAID, USA has pulled it together in its last couple of matches and are peaking at the right time. After what many people thought was a shaky start, they have pulled it together and they are finally playing as the well rounded team that they advertised themselves to be. Our middle connection looked FANTASTIC against Serbia. Annie was just automatic last night. And JWO, damn after a quad full of worries about the libero position, its so awesome to see her play so freaking well and anchor our back court. All of the hitters are contributing, and I think they can feel the gold medal win coming. Brazil is going to be a tough opponent, but I think this is the year they win gold. #MakeKimHillSmileAgain #JordanThompsonsSandwichMadeMeHungry #40moreplays #12StrongNoCheerleaders (If you read until the end of this post, please help me in manifesting a Korea bronze medal. Thank you, that is all. #INKYKWETRUST) **Manifesting** I have not been around the board (or closely following volleyball) long enough to understand the skepticism and pessimism directed towards the women's team. I can look back and see the results, but it doesn't feel the same as it does for me now that I've gotten to "know" the players. I also really do not mind reading any negative posts when the poster explains why they feel the way that they do based on past experience. As a newer fan, it's just a tad frustrating to be really excited for the team, come to a logical place to share in your excitement (a volleyball board), and leave feeling like you're one of the few who believe the team can succeed. Anyway, your post was well said and I will be more mindful of those things in the future.
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Post by Hawk Attack on Aug 6, 2021 12:39:29 GMT -5
Also I’m surprised it’s taken teams this long to make adjustments to Bosko. Its not like she’s some unknown or that she’s playing faster than anyone. Everyone knows where the ball is going and teams have time to set up defense if they’re in the right spot. Serbia losing has more to do with the rest of the team lacking rather than Bosko having a mediocre night. We're giving too much credit to ourselves for "stopping" the likes of Bosko & Egonu. If they were performing at merely 80% of their best they would've shredded us. They stopped themselves more than we stopped them.
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Post by maplespear on Aug 6, 2021 12:40:17 GMT -5
I'm probably one of the least knowledgeable posters here, but how can the criticisms still have any validity when the team has made the gold medal match without losing a game, despite losing their best offensive player to injury? Going into the Olympics if you asked, without Thompson is the US a top 2 team, would people have said yes? Haven't they already overachieved? Because it doesn’t live up to their “expectations” of play. Which is apparently everyone being perfect every game, while posters are sitting on their couch typing on VT. What some of these posters say about players is absolutely disgusting considering how many hours and how much effort they put into the sport. What's even more disgusting is that this pattern of thinking overlaps onto other posters and ultimately themselves. Expecting perfection always and not allowing vulnerability.
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