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Post by babybacksets on Nov 23, 2022 21:39:24 GMT -5
I mean at the end of the day you don’t actually know the future. And we don’t know for sure that Hakas or Adeyemi will be productive starters right off the bat. So if Caylen does stay on the left because that’s our best lineup and having Tiff/Brae as Opps in a 6-2 or otherwise is, then cool. All I’m saying is that it is an option, especially if we can get a middle in that can put up better middle BLOCKING numbers than Tiffany. If she sits or starts at middle or pin is a non factor issue for me personally. I just think we NEED a middle with experience and a decent amount of eligibility to come in with the 2 first year pins. It wouldn’t be a good idea to have Mili and Maddie have to start right away as freshman at the collegiate level. Can’t even think of a time I’ve ever seen 2 freshman middles starting for a top D1 program. But Tiffany is a middle. She was recruited as a middle. That’s her best position. Not saying Robyn won’t recruit a middle or look for one in the portal (because with Anna out, they need another) but I think Tiffany stays in the middle. She’s improved a lot this season playing her natural position. Tiff is an athlete. I get everyone has their own rigid ways of confining an athlete to 1 dimension. I appreciate the growth Tiff has made as the best option at M2 when we really only had 1 returning middle who was healthy. Fact still remains is that she’s probably a better pin blocker rather that reading and moving side to side, which is more of a necessity than just being good at hitting middle sets. I’m glad she got a few more blocks last weekend but .55 bps on the season is not going to cut it long term/into the post season, no matter how good she looks offensively
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Post by babybacksets on Nov 23, 2022 21:47:45 GMT -5
Local walk on player coming home or high school player staying home ? This team will be pretty complete next season depth wise if we can add a middle but the more competitive bodies in the practice gym, the better! No idea. My thought was local player coming home, but what do I know lol. A scholarship middle and a couple quality walk on backcourt players would be a great addition to Adeyemi and Hakas Ok sweet, hopefully it works out. Idk who is out there as a potential grad transfer who could actually make an impact, like I GUESS a setter who provides a bigger block but Kate is serviceable as a blocker and with Matias and the pins we have a double sub for strategic purposes is prob better. Guess we’ll see!
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Post by volleyguy on Nov 23, 2022 21:48:05 GMT -5
But Tiffany is a middle. She was recruited as a middle. That’s her best position. Not saying Robyn won’t recruit a middle or look for one in the portal (because with Anna out, they need another) but I think Tiffany stays in the middle. She’s improved a lot this season playing her natural position. Tiff is an athlete. I get everyone has their own rigid ways of confining an athlete to 1 dimension. I appreciate the growth Tiff has made as the best option at M2 when we really only had 1 returning middle who was healthy. Fact still remains is that she’s probably a better pin blocker rather that reading and moving side to side, which is more of a necessity than just being good at hitting middle sets. I’m glad she got a few more blocks last weekend but .55 bps on the season is not going to cut it long term/into the post season, no matter how good she looks offensively Tiffany has not lived up to expectations, even if those expectations were unfounded. She is an average DI athlete, particularly at her position. I don't mean that in a derrogatory way. It's just what happens in sports. Talent and potential don't always line up the way we expect them to, but she is undoubtedly a terrific team-mate, a good person and has contributed in a lot of other ways.
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Nov 23, 2022 21:48:46 GMT -5
But Tiffany is a middle. She was recruited as a middle. That’s her best position. Not saying Robyn won’t recruit a middle or look for one in the portal (because with Anna out, they need another) but I think Tiffany stays in the middle. She’s improved a lot this season playing her natural position. Tiff is an athlete. I get everyone has their own rigid ways of confining an athlete to 1 dimension. I appreciate the growth Tiff has made as the best option at M2 when we really only had 1 returning middle who was healthy. Fact still remains is that she’s probably a better pin blocker rather that reading and moving side to side, which is more of a necessity than just being good at hitting middle sets. I’m glad she got a few more blocks last weekend but .55 bps on the season is not going to cut it long term/into the post season, no matter how good she looks offensively I hear you re-her blocking but Hawaii needs middle depth, not pin depth. Not sure why you’re advocating for Robyn to move her to the outside where she would be 3rd or 4th on the rightside depth chart. She’s the staring middle opposite Amber for the remainder of this season and will probably be the 2nd starting middle in camp next year until someone else replaces her, either Evans or someone else from the portal. I defer to your technical and coaching expertise but it seems like a waste to move her from where she is now to a logjam at the pins but that why I’m not a coach. 😄
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Post by babybacksets on Nov 23, 2022 22:38:52 GMT -5
Tiff is an athlete. I get everyone has their own rigid ways of confining an athlete to 1 dimension. I appreciate the growth Tiff has made as the best option at M2 when we really only had 1 returning middle who was healthy. Fact still remains is that she’s probably a better pin blocker rather that reading and moving side to side, which is more of a necessity than just being good at hitting middle sets. I’m glad she got a few more blocks last weekend but .55 bps on the season is not going to cut it long term/into the post season, no matter how good she looks offensively I hear you re-her blocking but Hawaii needs middle depth, not pin depth. Not sure why you’re advocating for Robyn to move her to the outside where she would be 3rd or 4th on the rightside depth chart. She’s the staring middle opposite Amber for the remainder of this season and will probably be the 2nd starting middle in camp next year until someone else replaces her, either Evans or someone else from the portal. I defer to your technical and coaching expertise but it seems like a waste to move her from where she is now to a logjam at the pins but that why I’m not a coach. 😄 Not once did I advocate for her moving back to being a primary pin, what I’m saying is that she is an athlete capable of doing both and although I understand fans that do not coach, see positions as very rigid and immovable but that’s simply not the case. It’s about being as effective as possible in your respective position and I love Tiff as a player but she’s really only doing half of what’s needed in the middle and not even the most important half. She had a decent stretch as a pin towards the end of last season and obviously we know from early season interviews that she was willing to stay in the middle for the sake of the team because the other 2 options at middle besides Amber were not cleared medically. If Evans’ health and fitness gets on par with Tiff and Amber next season, awesome! We will have a great option there. However I still think a younger middle who can contribute would be the priority because we lose all 3 of those middles next season. And if that middle can beat out Evans and Westerberg, there isn’t any harm in using Tiff in a double sub on the rightside along with Matias, IF it’s needed. I have yet to see what makes people so high on De Goede besides her height and being a lefty and I don’t foresee Hakas or Adeyemi being better rightside blockers than Tiffany. This is why it’s good to have players who aren’t in rigid roles
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Post by babybacksets on Nov 23, 2022 22:41:12 GMT -5
Tiff is an athlete. I get everyone has their own rigid ways of confining an athlete to 1 dimension. I appreciate the growth Tiff has made as the best option at M2 when we really only had 1 returning middle who was healthy. Fact still remains is that she’s probably a better pin blocker rather that reading and moving side to side, which is more of a necessity than just being good at hitting middle sets. I’m glad she got a few more blocks last weekend but .55 bps on the season is not going to cut it long term/into the post season, no matter how good she looks offensively Tiffany has not lived up to expectations, even if those expectations were unfounded. She is an average DI athlete, particularly at her position. I don't mean that in a derrogatory way. It's just what happens in sports. Talent and potential don't always line up the way we expect them to, but she is undoubtedly a terrific team-mate, a good person and has contributed in a lot of other ways. Yea I dont disagree at all. I think she has shown some bright spots offensively but it’s the blocking that is the main factor for making her presence felt more in the middle. Pretty sure Evans had over 1bps in her most recent season, she’s just nowhere near the shape that Tiffany is in.
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Post by brooselee on Nov 23, 2022 23:49:26 GMT -5
Tiffany has not lived up to expectations, even if those expectations were unfounded. She is an average DI athlete, particularly at her position. I don't mean that in a derrogatory way. It's just what happens in sports. Talent and potential don't always line up the way we expect them to, but she is undoubtedly a terrific team-mate, a good person and has contributed in a lot of other ways. Yea I dont disagree at all. I think she has shown some bright spots offensively but it’s the blocking that is the main factor for making her presence felt more in the middle. Pretty sure Evans had over 1bps in her most recent season, she’s just nowhere near the shape that Tiffany is in. Not only did Evans have more than 1bps, she did it against PAC 12 level play. She also had matches where she was in on double digit blocks. I believe she has 15 against Cal, 10 against UW and 8 against UCLA. That is some pretty hefty numbers.
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Post by rainbowcard on Nov 24, 2022 1:42:11 GMT -5
I think a few people mentioned this name before but just wanted to say Malu Garcia the 6’1 OH committed to CAL for beach.
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Post by babybacksets on Nov 24, 2022 2:12:20 GMT -5
Yea I dont disagree at all. I think she has shown some bright spots offensively but it’s the blocking that is the main factor for making her presence felt more in the middle. Pretty sure Evans had over 1bps in her most recent season, she’s just nowhere near the shape that Tiffany is in. Not only did Evans have more than 1bps, she did it against PAC 12 level play. She also had matches where she was in on double digit blocks. I believe she has 15 against Cal, 10 against UW and 8 against UCLA. That is some pretty hefty numbers. Exactly! And even though it would likely be a hard sell for going after a legit underclassmen middle to have to compete with 3 seniors who are all solid, I think it’s still got to be the priority. I’m assuming Evans already took her medical redshirt or otherwise and she can’t go into next season as a RS Junior so we’ll see once the portal opens up who would be great fits for the program to be a mainstay for at least 2 seasons.
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Post by volleyguy on Nov 24, 2022 2:28:12 GMT -5
I hear you re-her blocking but Hawaii needs middle depth, not pin depth. Not sure why you’re advocating for Robyn to move her to the outside where she would be 3rd or 4th on the rightside depth chart. She’s the staring middle opposite Amber for the remainder of this season and will probably be the 2nd starting middle in camp next year until someone else replaces her, either Evans or someone else from the portal. I defer to your technical and coaching expertise but it seems like a waste to move her from where she is now to a logjam at the pins but that why I’m not a coach. 😄 Not once did I advocate for her moving back to being a primary pin, what I’m saying is that she is an athlete capable of doing both and although I understand fans that do not coach, see positions as very rigid and immovable but that’s simply not the case. It’s about being as effective as possible in your respective position and I love Tiff as a player but she’s really only doing half of what’s needed in the middle and not even the most important half. She had a decent stretch as a pin towards the end of last season and obviously we know from early season interviews that she was willing to stay in the middle for the sake of the team because the other 2 options at middle besides Amber were not cleared medically. If Evans’ health and fitness gets on par with Tiff and Amber next season, awesome! We will have a great option there. However I still think a younger middle who can contribute would be the priority because we lose all 3 of those middles next season. And if that middle can beat out Evans and Westerberg, there isn’t any harm in using Tiff in a double sub on the rightside along with Matias, IF it’s needed. I have yet to see what makes people so high on De Goede besides her height and being a lefty and I don’t foresee Hakas or Adeyemi being better rightside blockers than Tiffany. This is why it’s good to have players who aren’t in rigid roles Most players are better at one position than another. This idea you have of non-rigid roles isn't borne out by reality. In Westerberg's case, she's better in the middle than as a pin, and unfortunately, even as a middle she's not elite.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2022 2:49:53 GMT -5
Not once did I advocate for her moving back to being a primary pin, what I’m saying is that she is an athlete capable of doing both and although I understand fans that do not coach, see positions as very rigid and immovable but that’s simply not the case. It’s about being as effective as possible in your respective position and I love Tiff as a player but she’s really only doing half of what’s needed in the middle and not even the most important half. She had a decent stretch as a pin towards the end of last season and obviously we know from early season interviews that she was willing to stay in the middle for the sake of the team because the other 2 options at middle besides Amber were not cleared medically. If Evans’ health and fitness gets on par with Tiff and Amber next season, awesome! We will have a great option there. However I still think a younger middle who can contribute would be the priority because we lose all 3 of those middles next season. And if that middle can beat out Evans and Westerberg, there isn’t any harm in using Tiff in a double sub on the rightside along with Matias, IF it’s needed. I have yet to see what makes people so high on De Goede besides her height and being a lefty and I don’t foresee Hakas or Adeyemi being better rightside blockers than Tiffany. This is why it’s good to have players who aren’t in rigid roles Most players are better at one position than another. This idea you have of non-rigid roles isn't borne out by reality. In Westerberg's case, she's better in the middle than as a pin, and unfortunately, even as a middle she's not elite. Totally agree with this. Tiff’s clutch performance vs Cal Poly was encouraging but the question is, “would she be able to replicate that consistently?” And while you can never say never, signs point to that she won’t be able to do that consistently especially against an elite opponent. I don’t think she should move to the pins either. She doesn’t have the footwork, speed, arm swing or repertoire of shots needed to affect the game the way pin attackers need to. Not bashing on her because she has worked hard this season for her team but this is what has been shown over the course of her career this far.
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Post by hwnstunner on Nov 24, 2022 3:55:33 GMT -5
Lots of people here said Akana couldn't get better from the right, and sheeesh, girl is lighting it up. This staff brings out the best and develops who they have. PERIOD. And because of that, there will ALWAYS be potential for Westerberg to rise up to a new level of play. Can we not say she's reached her peak when she has the rest of this season, all of next spring, all of next summer, all of next fall, and all of next season to get better? And at the end of the day, Robyn will ONLY bring players that fit this program and from the roster, she'll play the best seven. If that's going to include Westerberg, great. If its Evans, great. If it's another player that comes in, great. I'm happy with where Hawaii is this year. They only had 13 ACTIVE PLAYERS and the team has gotten better from TAMU to this weekend. And we're LIGHT YEARS better than last season. So let's just be happy with this season before we write 2023 into existence.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Nov 24, 2022 5:31:59 GMT -5
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Post by babybacksets on Nov 24, 2022 6:06:16 GMT -5
Lots of people here said Akana couldn't get better from the right, and sheeesh, girl is lighting it up. This staff brings out the best and develops who they have. PERIOD. And because of that, there will ALWAYS be potential for Westerberg to rise up to a new level of play. Can we not say she's reached her peak when she has the rest of this season, all of next spring, all of next summer, all of next fall, and all of next season to get better? And at the end of the day, Robyn will ONLY bring players that fit this program and from the roster, she'll play the best seven. If that's going to include Westerberg, great. If its Evans, great. If it's another player that comes in, great. I'm happy with where Hawaii is this year. They only had 13 ACTIVE PLAYERS and the team has gotten better from TAMU to this weekend. And we're LIGHT YEARS better than last season. So let's just be happy with this season before we write 2023 into existence. Exactly. After what I’ve seen from players on this team I’m trying to be less in the camp of writing off players from just their current line of work, ESPECIALLY if the sample size isn’t big to make a real decision on. I feel like it just makes me a better fan of the sport(not compared to anyone, just how I enjoy the sport) to focus on what is lacking in their game currently and whether they are improving on it. Rather than getting bogged down by any bias that I may harbor against an athlete based off of what I see on a couple television games, despite the fact that growth is developed in practice. I don’t think I’ve been advocating for one position over the other for Tiff and I feel like people simply aren’t understanding that so I’m just going to drop it lol. Excited to see this team finish strong and make a push in the post season.
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Post by aznsun90 on Nov 24, 2022 12:34:12 GMT -5
Happy Thanksgiving my fellow Hawaii volleyball fans! I am thankful that there are others passionate about the Wahine program and I am also thankful for those who post so much information to keep us in the loop!
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