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Post by uofaGRAD on Aug 14, 2024 18:31:06 GMT -5
I didn't ask about littles. I will see them play on Saturday. Afterwards, I am going to ask Rita. She did say Jordan is working on it because she wants to play back row. We'll see. thanks Kim! most interested in Ava. kinda know what to expect from Haven and Mandotti, but word is last year Ava had “beat” Haven and Mandotti out for the DS role but then when Kasen got the yips, they needed her to be ready to set for when Ana got rocky
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Post by kimdc on Aug 14, 2024 19:21:46 GMT -5
At the beginning of last year, I expected Ava to get a lot more run. Hope she does this year.
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Post by azcatsfan on Aug 14, 2024 19:56:42 GMT -5
At the beginning of last year, I expected Ava to get a lot more run. Hope she does this year. She’d be the best bet if she can hold up in serve receive.
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Post by kimdc on Aug 17, 2024 22:27:15 GMT -5
The annual Red-Blue scrimmage was earlier today. It wasn't open to the public because they're making changes to the court at McKale Center (adding Big 12 branding and some advertising stuff, so they redid the entire floor). It was held in RJ, which is much to small for many fans. I would say there was probably about 75 people there in total including the handful of us in media. Jordan Wilson looks like she's on a mission. Sydnie Vanek had a really good match, but from what Rita said after the match, I don't think it's going to help her much. Carlie Cisneros is just quietly good. Not flashy at all. Had a lot of roll shots and tooled the block to score. She doesn't jump out at you during the match, but she's very effective. The newcomers pretty much handled the returners despite Wilson being top notch. Here's how it went down and what they had to say after the match.
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Post by azcatsfan on Aug 17, 2024 22:57:35 GMT -5
The annual Red-Blue scrimmage was earlier today. It wasn't open to the public because they're making changes to the court at McKale Center (adding Big 12 branding and some advertising stuff, so they redid the entire floor). It was held in RJ, which is much to small for many fans. I would say there was probably about 75 people there in total including the handful of us in media. Jordan Wilson looks like she's on a mission. Sydnie Vanek had a really good match, but from what Rita said after the match, I don't think it's going to help her much. Carlie Cisneros is just quietly good. Not flashy at all. Had a lot of roll shots and tooled the block to score. She doesn't jump out at you during the match, but she's very effective. The newcomers pretty much handled the returners despite Wilson being top notch. Here's how it went down and what they had to say after the match. Idk if I should be impressed or nervous that the newbies beat the returners lol. How did the liberos/Ds look? Was the passing good enough to utilize the middles? Thanks for the coverage Kim! I always appreciate your live tweets and articles. It was really disappointing that the team didn’t try to promote or provide any coverage.
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Post by kimdc on Aug 18, 2024 1:35:52 GMT -5
Rita called the passing "average," and I think that’s the best way to describe it. The setters weren't running for their lives like they often were last year and I will take it.
I think Brenna Ginder could be the starting libero before long. Haven probably gets it out of the gate, but Brenna isn't far behind. Same with Adrianna Bridges possibly overtaking Alayna Johnson in the middle. I really liked Adrianna.
As far as promotion, it's probably counterproductive to promote something fans can't watch or attend. It just invites anger.
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Post by azcatsfan on Aug 18, 2024 2:33:51 GMT -5
Rita called the passing "average," and I think that’s the best way to describe it. The setters weren't running for their lives like they often were last year and I will take it. I think Brenna Ginder could be the starting libero before long. Haven probably gets it out of the gate, but Brenna isn't far behind. Same with Adrianna Bridges possibly overtaking Alayna Johnson in the middle. I really liked Adrianna. As far as promotion, it's probably counterproductive to promote something fans can't watch or attend. It just invites anger. I really hope Adrianna gets the start over Alayna. What I meant by promotion, is the team could have done a better job showcasing the game. An infographic of who’s on which team, and some still shots posted on social media after the fact was a pitiful effort to draw excitement and attention for the upcoming season. The 1290 Twitter account uploaded a couple videos from the scrimmage but the team couldn’t? Just some observations.
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Post by kimdc on Aug 20, 2024 12:36:06 GMT -5
I wrote about Sydnie Vanek. It's mostly focused on her track and field accomplishments, but we also talked about how this is going to work going forward with both sports. Truth is that she's far more accomplished in TF than in volleyball, but volleyball has a full ride and TF doesn't for most athletes. She looked great at Red-Blue, but Rita was definitely harping on the "consistency" theme with her, so we'll have to see.
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Post by kimdc on Aug 22, 2024 16:32:33 GMT -5
I only wrote the notes at the bottom of this one, but it has some stuff from media day last week about what the newcomers are bringing to the program as a whole. The notes include some stuff about scheduling changes and a fan event that Rita is going to have on a regular basis this year. It's kind of like what Adia Barnes does for a radio show but it doesn't include the radio aspect. Fans can come and meet the players and coaches while having dinner at the Sands Club. Rita did chalk talks for fans last year, and they were very successful, but they only included her. This gives more access to others in the program.
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Post by hanmertime on Aug 22, 2024 16:49:05 GMT -5
The annual Red-Blue scrimmage was earlier today. It wasn't open to the public because they're making changes to the court at McKale Center (adding Big 12 branding and some advertising stuff, so they redid the entire floor). It was held in RJ, which is much to small for many fans. I would say there was probably about 75 people there in total including the handful of us in media. Jordan Wilson looks like she's on a mission. Sydnie Vanek had a really good match, but from what Rita said after the match, I don't think it's going to help her much. Carlie Cisneros is just quietly good. Not flashy at all. Had a lot of roll shots and tooled the block to score. She doesn't jump out at you during the match, but she's very effective. The newcomers pretty much handled the returners despite Wilson being top notch. Here's how it went down and what they had to say after the match. Thanks for the updates!!!
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Post by kimdc on Aug 25, 2024 9:47:07 GMT -5
I didn't get to see it, but I talked to Rita after the exhibition yesterday. Arizona won 3-1. Jordan had a great match (15 kills, .314 hitting, 5 aces, 4 blocks). Kiari was a big difference maker with 5 blocks. Journey Tucker started the match at MB2, but AJ played the other 3 sets. Both Ana and Avery set. Jae started at opp then Amanda DeWitt took over later. Rita said Carlie struggled a little, but she was asked to do a lot and didn't get rattled even when it didn't go her way. She had 7 kills, 9 digs, and 1 solo block. Haven and Brenna traded off at libero. Here's my post on X with some other stats. I am not doing a full article because I don't have a box and couldn't watch. x.com/KimDoss71/status/1827716406449996022?t=WVbTvwMuycWbzWFF8dyKWg&s=19
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Post by kimdc on Aug 29, 2024 16:55:31 GMT -5
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Post by kimdc on Aug 31, 2024 0:33:28 GMT -5
I'll drop this recap of the Boise State match here as well as in the game thread just so all game recaps are here for future reference.
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Post by kimdc on Aug 31, 2024 19:01:08 GMT -5
The middles had 30 of Arizona's 120 attacks against VCU. Not a bad percentage. Based on what Rita said after the match, I expect Journey Tucker to continue to start, especially if the opposing team doesn't have exceptional speed.
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Post by JJVb on Aug 31, 2024 19:07:05 GMT -5
The middles had 30 of Arizona's 120 attacks against VCU. Not a bad percentage. Based on what Rita said after the match, I expect Journey Tucker to continue to start, especially if the opposing team doesn't have exceptional speed. Good for her. I'd expect to see Johnson in against faster tempo teams then it seems.
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