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Post by akbar on Nov 15, 2021 10:07:05 GMT -5
Recap time! Perugia 3-0 MilanoPerugia was very successful at the service line and also with their block. Leon was Leon and Rychlicki had a great match (12-1-20). Anderson did not play the whole match. Milano's passing was rough to say the least: 34% positive and only 7% perfect.... I was disappointed by Ishikawa's play although he was getting some tough looks. OOS setting for Milano needs to improve. None of the pins for Milano were particularly effective though. Lube 3-1 Modena
Lube's serve + block did them a lot of favors against Modena. 2 of the sets went past 25, and I felt that it was a pretty intense match. Yant and Garcia Fernandez split some time and performed well which is nice to see for the youngsters. Anzani (10 kills on 11 swings + 5 blocks!!) and Simon also had stellar performances. Ngapeth struggled for Modena, as did Lucarelli for Lube. Trentino 3-1 Monza
Pinali had a solid match, as did Lisinac. Monza had more service errors, but also kept the serve-pass battle relatively close. Monza's pins weren't as effective. Monza needs to clean up some of those errors. Vibo Valentia 3-0 RavennaNishida had a great match with 10 kills (.421 hitting %) and 5 aces. I still think he needs to cut down the service errors. Saitta did a nice job of distributing and Basic led the offense with 12 kills and no errors. Passing needs to be cleaned up a tad. Ravenna had more service errors and was not as effective attacking wise. Piacenza 3-1 CisternaCisterna lost the serve-pass battle (especially in the fourth set), although their blocking was solid. Stern and Russell got some PT. Russell's numbers don't look great - 38/13 passing, 8-4-21 attacking. Piacenza's depth is certainly an asset, but at times it feels like they just need to stick with one lineup lol. Lanza had a solid match 64/46 passing and 10 kills. I've watch Piacenza many times now and would argue that Brizard is top 2 in the world setting the middle and back .....it is soooo good.......BUT just average or worse on the bic and outside attack. All 4 of their outside struggle to connect with him every match. It's painful |
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Post by netsetter on Nov 15, 2021 11:38:35 GMT -5
Brizard made Caneschi look like a star yesterday. It was a breakout match for him when they decided to start with Russell/Rossard and leave Holt on the bench.
There was one set in particular, I think in the third set, where it was out of system in transition, he was facing area four from area 6. Anyone would think he was going to give a high ball to the OH. At the last minute when he made contact he threw it over his right shoulder and got Stern essentially 1 on 1 from an out of system high ball. It was impressive.
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Post by Disc808 on Nov 15, 2021 15:18:15 GMT -5
Looking at the stats up until this point, here are some of my takeaways:
1. I've been impressed by Rok Mozic's termination. Attacking stats: 102-24-188 which is 0.414 hitting %. Yes, he's not on the greatest team and his passing needs work, but I'll be interested to see if he keeps this up.
2. Both of my Japanese faves have had up and down starts. I expected Ishikawa's passing and termination to be a lot better. Nishida is still acclimating to Italian VB, and it shows, but I think he is making some nice progress. His serve is an asset, but the errors need to go down and blocking needs to be better.
3. Monza's pins are doing relatively well considering they play out of system a decent amount and I'm not a huge fan of Orduna.
4. Lube and Trentino have the best middle duos in the league.
5. Balaso's reception has been slightly underwhelming.
6. Anderson and Jaeschke have been solid, but sample size is still small. I want Jaeschke to get a better shot at some court time with team USA but we'll see if my opinion changes as more matches are played lol. Russell obviously hasn't seen too much meaningful time. Holt has been solid, but serving still looks inconsistent.
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Post by netsetter on Nov 15, 2021 19:47:22 GMT -5
Lube's middle blockers led the team in scoring yesterday in the win. I have been saying since DeCecco and Simon were both at Piacenza that the Argentinian can establish the middle better than just about anyone else in volleyball. He can feed Simon no matter where the pass is.
Dzavoronok has been at Monza for what seems to be forever now and has been steadily getting more productive. It is easy to get overshadowed by Lagumdzia and Grozer, but he is a stud.
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Post by netsetter on Nov 17, 2021 10:13:42 GMT -5
Modena plays the return leg of their CEV Cup matchup with VaLePa of Finland today.
Tomorrow Piacenza will play Trentino. That could be an interesting match, especially wen we find out about whether or not Michieletto will be playing.
Lube will play Taranto tomorrow as well. I like Taranto, but I do not think they will be able to do much. Maybe, maybe they can steal a set if Sabbi can exploit their injuries and/or inexperience at the pins.
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rstclaire1
Sophomore
VLA commentator/podcast host, Purdue alum, Chicago based
Posts: 230 
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Post by rstclaire1 on Nov 17, 2021 10:53:13 GMT -5
I've commentated the last three Taranto matches, and I actually like their team and believe they'll escape relegation this year. Picking up Arash Dosanjh from Australia was a nice move. However, even though their middles have played well the last couple matches, they will not be able to stop De Cecco's offense, even if Juantorena doesn't play
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rstclaire1
Sophomore
VLA commentator/podcast host, Purdue alum, Chicago based
Posts: 230
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Post by rstclaire1 on Nov 18, 2021 14:32:13 GMT -5
Piacenza-Trentino and Lube-Taranto live right now
Michieletto back in starting lineup for Trentino, Piacenza going with Holt-Caneschi MB and Antonov-Rossard OH with Recine out with injury
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Post by Disc808 on Nov 18, 2021 15:23:12 GMT -5
Piacenza-Trentino tied one set apiece. Russell used as a sub and got a couple of kills
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Post by akbar on Nov 18, 2021 17:00:33 GMT -5
For Piacenza Cester is hurt, Racine unavailable for weeks due to wrist injury, Antonov was bad and Brizard didn't play his best match.
Not sure what the coach is waiting for.
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Post by Disc808 on Nov 18, 2021 20:32:28 GMT -5
For Piacenza Cester is hurt, Racine unavailable for weeks due to wrist injury, Antonov was bad and Brizard didn't play his best match. Not sure what the coach is waiting for. Tale of the tape: If Lagumdzija struggles, Piacenza struggles. 12 kills, 10 errors... hard to win matches when your main gun isn't producing well. I do think Brizard was having trouble connecting with the pins and Trentino had a huge blocking advantage (13-3). On Trentino's side, they had some nice offensive balance. |
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Post by netsetter on Nov 19, 2021 9:42:30 GMT -5
I am not sure why they didn't try Stern again. He was a good spark plug for them against Cisterna.
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Post by Disc808 on Nov 21, 2021 10:23:23 GMT -5
Nishida had to be assisted off the court for an injury. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious
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Post by Disc808 on Nov 21, 2021 17:27:21 GMT -5
Another round, another recap!
Lube 3-0 Vibo Valentia
The offense for Vibo just wasn't there.... as mentioned, Nishida had to be assisted off the court for an injury although he was error prone before the injury. Simon was 8 for 8, and Garcia Fernandez had a solid match. Lube also had much stronger blocking than Vibo... Vibo needs to work on their block or at least play better D behind it.
Modena 3-0 Trentino
Big win for Modena. Nimir in particular was very good, with nice contributions from Ngapeth and Leal as well. Modena significantly won the serve-pass battle. Cavuto and Zenger did not hold up well in receive. Trentino's offense was actually pretty decent led by Michieletto. I thought after the first set, it would be more competitive but nice job by Modena to sweep.
Milano 3-1 Verona
Patry was the MVP, and Ishikawa and Jaeschke were solid offensively. I would like Ishikawa to be more effective in receive, but it does seem like he is given permission to take seams/be aggressive in SR. Overall, their block was huge and they steadied the ship after narrowly losing the first set. Mozic had another great performance, although again passing needs to be stronger. The lack of offense from the second OH spot for Verona hurt them.
Perugia 3-0 Ravenna
Not a great offensive performance by Anderson, but Perugia was able to sweep with their sub players. Nice to see Ter Horst get some action and doing well. Also, Leon had 7 aces.
Padova 3-2 Piacenza
Not the cleanest match but wow. Padova was led by Weber who had 18 kills, but also 8 errors. Loeppky's passing was 18/7.... suffice to say Takahashi might see some solid minutes at DS (or possibly as the full time OH) when/if he officially joins the team. Piacenza's receive was also a mess particularly in the 5th, Russell was at 23/15 which isn't great. Russell also struggled offensively. Holt was decent.
Monza 3-2 Cisterna
Another close match. Rinaldi was targeted and really struggled receiving, although his offense was quite solid. Swarzc struggled, although Cisterna's offense looked solid. Grozer and Dzavoronok led Monza with 17 kills apiece. The difference here was definitely serve-pass, and Monza had a lot of success.
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Post by bruinsgold on Nov 21, 2021 21:23:11 GMT -5
Nishida had to be assisted off the court for an injury. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious Who did it?! Who hurt him? I want names, jersey numbers, birthdays, last known residence!  |
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Post by netsetter on Nov 22, 2021 11:56:33 GMT -5
Aaron Russell has started three matches for Piacenza, and has been subbed out in all three. What was odd about this one is they pulled him in the sets they won. Padova pulled off the reverse sweep. I wonder if they keep trying to use the all-foreign outsides/all-Italian middles arrangement, or just stick with using Rossard and Holt. Rossard was the only pin-hitter from either team that statistically had a decent match.
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