#11 Minnesota @ #25 Illinois | Sat 11/6 - 6PM Central | BTN+

[WMegs55]

TO Illinois

8-3 Minnesota

[WMegs55]

Myers kill 👏🏻

[mcmike]

Gee Samedy's serve must have hit downdraft after is crossed the net.

The MN floor defense continues to impress. If they keep getting their block touches ....
It would be nice to see one IL backslide get stuffed tonight.

Kennedy Collins is quite something.

[WMegs55]

Looked like a touch live but we’ll see on the replay

[JHAM]

These big early set leads by the Gophers that evaporate mid set are getting really old. And we've got the bad Jenna tonight, can't seem to put a ball away. This is where having Landfair as another option would help alot.

[WMegs55]

[WMegs55]

Nov 6, 2021 18:52:11 GMT -5 WMegs55 said:

Looked like a touch live but we’ll see on the replay

84 years later, it was a touch

[ndodge]

Hugh's eyes are sharp tonight

[mcmike]

Nov 6, 2021 18:53:27 GMT -5 JHAM said:

These big early set leads by the Gophers that evaporate mid set are getting really old. And we've got the bad Jenna tonight, can't seem to put a ball away. This is where having Landfair as another option would help alot.

  With no credible middle they are camped across from Wenaas.  Have to speed up the offense, or set the gap, or set it wider for wipe offs

[trianglevolleyball]

These refs should probably be fired, this is getting pretty ridiculous.

[WMegs55]

Minnesota up 2-0

[vbcoltrane]

I've been a VB fan for a long time, but am not a player or a coach. Can someone explain why "middle presence" is particularly tough to achieve. My immediate reaction is if you have decent middles - decent athleticism with decent swings - and a decent setter, a team should be able to set the middle and get some kills. But apparently that's way over simplified. It's a point that's driven home - about how MN has no middle attack. And I've seen it in reference to other teams. What makes a good middle game so elusive?

[gopherhim]

Illinois caught up after their fans started a “safety school” cheer lol. Makes me miss state tournament matches in Minnesota where both teams have lots of student fans present. Minnesota students could have started a “scoreboard” cheer. And then after Illinois made their comeback they could cheer something antagonistic yet fun.

No idea what either teams fans would have done after those three points that Minnesota won on contested calls.

Tough string of points for Illinois, but it really does seem like the right calls were ultimately made. Sometimes the challenge system gets it right.

[gopherhim]

That quick set behind Shaffmaster to Miyabe is money

[WMegs55]

Nov 6, 2021 19:08:15 GMT -5 vbcoltrane said:

I've been a VB fan for a long time, but am not a player or a coach. Can someone explain why "middle presence" is particularly tough to achieve. My immediate reaction is if you have decent middles - decent athleticism with decent swings - and a decent setter, a team should be able to set the middle and get some kills. But apparently that's way over simplified. It's a point that's driven home - about how MN has no middle attack. And I've seen it in reference to other teams. What makes a good middle game so elusive?

Everything else being equal, it’s very much a connection that is either there or it’s not, and if it’s not it takes real time and effort to fix (if ever). For the set, the speed at which the ball comes out of the hands / tempo, and height of the set will make a huge difference. For the middle, where they jump relative to the net and setter (i.e., are they too tight to one or both if you think of it as a triangle), the timing of when they jump, arm swing, and for slides the angle of the approach, all make a difference. With middle sets there is less room for error on both ends because the middle is either jumping as the ball is in the setter’s hands or soon thereafter for sets behind the setter. As a former D1 middle (but not a Minnesota alumnae), all I can say is the extent to which this is a glaring issue is unusual for this program.