The Beach 2022

[BigDigEnergy]

Aug 25, 2022 11:09:34 GMT -5 BeachbytheBay said:

Aug 25, 2022 10:53:26 GMT -5 BigDigEnergy said:

Sorry if this has been talked about, but what is the predicted line-up for this team this season?

guesstimate - there are actually two lineups likely as Kennedy has been rotating as a MB & or as the Opp (her traditional role) so far

S: Meyer
Opp: Kennedy
MB: Schwarzenbach, Bacon
OH2: Chacon
OH1: O'Sullivan/Jordan/GLenn (committee)
L: DeLaCruz & Chacon (so far)
DS: Giambi/Chacon (committee)

SS: Lopez et. al.

II think the first five listed are fairly solid, the others I'd expect to see competition for throughout non-conference, lots of depth

Thank you! I didn't reliaze that they have such a huge roster (20+ players).

[Gladys Kravitz]

LBSU finally getting on track again

[BeachbytheBay]

http://instagram.com/p/ChsgszYsNHy

[BeachbytheBay]

factoid for Oregon State, Beach's first opponent

OSU has a Russian & Ukrainian on the roster


& an Italian, from Lodi, Italy (inspiration for stuck in Lodi by CCR?!)

[BeachbytheBay]

[BeachbytheBay]

showtime!

Beavers, then Vikings (did the Vikings really ever come to the west coast?!)

http://instagram.com/p/ChumSXAri7n

[jwvolley]

Congrats on surviving that fourth set and taking the match in five!

From down 13-19 to winning 28-26

[BeachbytheBay]

undefeated after one day!

kudos out to Dylan Dela Cruz playing all sets as teh libero, have to say was the most impressive plaer to me. 44 digs, 11 assists - just was receiving and passes putting the ball in good spots, plus she's proven with her setting ability and having her to set a number of balls leads to solid attack attempts, especially without a stand-out out of system threat right now. really consistent, and good to see for he graduate student.

Meyer also solid, Beach's setting is gonna be well improved over last year

[bucky415]

Aug 26, 2022 22:36:26 GMT -5 BeachbytheBay said:

undefeated after one day!

kudos out to Dylan Dela Cruz playing all sets as teh libero, have to say was the most impressive plaer to me. 44 digs, 11 assists - just was receiving and passes putting the ball in good spots, plus she's proven with her setting ability and having her to set a number of balls leads to solid attack attempts, especially without a stand-out out of system threat right now. really consistent, and good to see for he graduate student.

Meyer also solid, Beach's setting is gonna be well improved over last year

While I want Hawai'i to win the Big West, The Beach being good is good for volleyball! I hope that the Big West becomes a 2+ bid league again!

[beachgrad]

I am really enjoying watching this team play this season. In the early going the players are showing a steadiness and toughness that projects well for the season. I really like what I am seeing from Morgan Chacon as she is developing into a go to player. From the videos I have watched of her FSU days she looks to be ascending and that is great news for LBSU. Actually the whole team is starting to kick it up a notch.

[JJVb]

Long Beach finish the weekend's tournament 2-1, and nearly upset the top 20 ranked Ducks team. M. Chacon looks like a force to be reckoned with, and excellent defensive team.

[bucky415]

They won't win at Nebraska, but they could beat Boise State and Notre Dame and win twice versus LMU, giving them a chance for an at large bid if the league does not go their way!

[BeachbytheBay]

I don't understand the comment 'they won't win at Nebraska'. I agree not likely. Beach will get better, they have a very good block, and don't make mistakes, and proved vs. a 'taller' attacking team they could score and force mistakes. So wait and see. Not likely, yes.

best thing about this weekend is there is still more upside to this Beach team still.

to be fair, the narrative in sports perceptions is so slight. we could be here talking about a dissapointing 1-2 record or a Hollywood ending 3-0 record, just by a difference in two points in two matches.

The best team always wins, yet the better OSU team couldn't put away Beach, and the better Beach team couldn't put away Oregon

the positives:

Beach was behind in all three matches and essentially out-fundamentaled each team. after looking like they'd get blown away by the Ducks starting out behind 8-2, they settled down and just grinded with a better block, better passing, better setting and kept Oregon off balance

Meyer setting - started shaky vs. OSU but settled down and ran a solid offense, and the middle connections on Saturday were much improved over the day before

DeLaCruz at libero. solid, but the main thing is she's a setter as well, so Beach effectively does have a couple setters out there, and able to keep a lot quality attacks to always apply pressure during points.

recent Beach teams were so frustrating to watch and would too many times being in a position to just pass the ball over on the 3rd contact, yet it seemed like just a handful of plays this weekend where the Beach was not taking swings. Even if it's not a high percentage attack, at least this Beach team was applying pressure constantly. Also, much fewer attacks that were into the net, the attack execution wasn't giving away points. Significantly fewer attack errors and service errors in all 3 matches added up.

Chacon. I thought she'd be that all-around OH2 Beach needed, all weekend she was the go-to attacker, especiallly Sunday. now, 176 swings in two days including the eye-popping performance, if there is a player in the country that took more swings, hard to imagine? Already looking a bit like BVS type of player


Bacon. She finally got the start at MB, and followed up the OSU performance with another solid outing. Two matches, hitting over 0.450.

the updside:

Kennedy can play both the MB & Opp. Have to think as she plays more Opp and not back and forth as much, she'll keep becoming more effective. Beach outblocked Oregon with Callie/Bacon/Kennedy on the front row, that wall Beach can put up will win a lot of matches

OH2. It's been by committee. Glenn & Jordan will need to improve their consistency and reduce errors, not unexpected given the lack of experience, to avoid a lot of hitting errors. So how Tyler manages this position and attack options will be interesting. O'Sullivan is a proven attacker, and expect somehow she'll be integrated into a role to take advantage - probably the most difficult position to manage, and lots of options. Glenn had a solid match vs. OSU, but then tailed off the rest of the weekend. Brings that lefty look and an overspin serve, still has to be able to put the ball away. Lot's of upside here and some tough coaching decisions to deal with, good to have options, super competitive and difficult to figure out the OH2 & DS rotations. good problem to have I guess

All in all, good to see a Beach team playing machine like and Beach volleyball - this looked like a Knipe grinding team and a BG fundamentally sound team, and fun to watch solid VB.

Boise State next up and gonna be tough after taking two dominating over St. Mary's, and with some talented experienced players across the net. No easy task, Boise has designs on winning the Mountain West which Utah State and Colo State also made statements over the weekend.

[beachgrad]

Based on name recognition I believe most casual fans would believe that Notre Dame will be LBSU's toughest match next week but you pointed out that Boise State returns plenty of talented players competing for a conference championship. This match should be very competitive and close throughout.

Morgan Chacon has been awesome so far but I hope some of the others can take some of the pressure off her. Would be nice if she can have her swing count reduced and the team still compete at a high level.

Finally I can sit back and watch the team perform like a well coached team. The past five years the play on the court was extremely ugly. Both the team and the coaches should be proud how far they have come in a few weeks. Hard to do with a completely new roster and coaching staff.

My expectations for this team keep rising.

[JJVb]