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Post by oldmanvb on Sept 18, 2023 12:08:16 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeing if Barnes makes a difference against Indiana. We were lethargic last year when we played them. That has to change.
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Post by liberovb10 on Sept 18, 2023 13:43:15 GMT -5
If inpaign wants to maintain a good, healthy relationship with the coaching staff, as we all hope he will, we probably don’t want him in the position of relaying our thoughts, at least unless he is able to sanitize them. haha i was only joking - i value the inside scoop way too much
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Post by oldmanvb on Sept 18, 2023 14:27:21 GMT -5
I was also joking. I actually hope the coaching staff has the good sense to not read blogs relating to the team. In a prior life I periodically made decisions or did thaings which were reported in newspapers. When on-line comments started I made the mistake of reading a couple and quickly learned it was a bad idea. Lesson learned, I stopped reading anonymous, on-line comments. Not that any of the comments made on this thread are intemperate or not well considered……
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Post by ilalum92 on Sept 18, 2023 16:18:24 GMT -5
RPI futures we have dropped to an abysmal 153. UIC is 69. We need to right this ship immediately. Can’t help buy wonder how wins against USC & UCF would have helped.
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Post by ilalum92 on Sept 18, 2023 16:19:20 GMT -5
The transfer portal is the key to success in EVERY collegiate sport. USF almost beat Bama in football this weekend, and they had 39 transfers on their team. Colorado football has almost double that. Look at our own men's golf team. Mike Small, the most successful coach on campus, knows how important transfers are, and there are just 6-8 players on a golf team. He has two transfers starting on this years' team. One of last years top players (Hunt), didn't even play for the Illini this weekend. Small wants to win - period. Accept the portal as a necessity, not a choice. couldn’t have said it better myself! inpaign can you relay this to the coaching staff on our behalf? haha. I’m sure someone on the coaching staff reads VT.
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Post by volleyaudience on Sept 18, 2023 17:35:49 GMT -5
How many wins in conference for Illinois this year?
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Post by exit237a on Sept 18, 2023 17:38:27 GMT -5
How many wins in conference for Illinois this year? What's your prediction?
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Post by exit237a on Sept 18, 2023 19:11:13 GMT -5
How many wins in conference for Illinois this year? What's your prediction? My only generic prediction about our conference results doesn't include a W/L guess, volleyaudience , just an expectation that this group will continue to grow, jell as a unit, and get better as the season progresses. I know, I'm not much fun with the prediction exercise. I don't know how anyone makes a meaningful prediction about our eventual conference record based solely on what we've seen so far other than by going on vibes. I don't know how much you watched of Illinois's non-conference play. Our lineup has changed quite a bit over the course of the first four weeks and some folks are expecting at least one more big change to it imminently (a libero and DS swap between Caroline Barnes and Lily Barry). If that change does happen Wednesday as suggested by our resident Illinois insider, then any prediction someone gives you before then isn't super useful, IMO. They're either basing their prediction on a lineup they have watched that's about to change or they're basing it on a guess about how a lineup they haven't seen play yet is going to perform. I wouldn't put a ton of stock into it for that reason. The other factor for me personally is that I have only seen portions of a smattering of games played by Big Ten teams other than Illinois during the first four weeks and honestly they've all been of teams picked to finish above us. I have no idea what Indiana, Northwestern, Iowa, Maryland, Rutgers, Michigan State, and Michigan look like this year because I haven't watched a single play of theirs. What I can say is that I've got a lot of belief in our players and coaches and expect them to bring it against any conference foe- looking forward to getting to watch it all play out.
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Post by inpaign on Sept 18, 2023 19:33:33 GMT -5
RPI futures we have dropped to an abysmal 153. UIC is 69. We need to right this ship immediately. Can’t help buy wonder how wins against USC & UCF would have helped. It makes me feel better to look at these rankings: I'm not sure how much stock to hold in them or how exactly they compare to RPI, but I definitely like where we are at in those way more than the RPI futures haha. Speaking of RPI, do we know when official RPI rankings begin to be released?
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Post by inpaign on Sept 18, 2023 19:35:16 GMT -5
RPI futures we have dropped to an abysmal 153. UIC is 69. We need to right this ship immediately. Can’t help buy wonder how wins against USC & UCF would have helped. It makes me feel better to look at these rankings: I'm not sure how much stock to hold in them or how exactly they compare to RPI, but I definitely like where we are at in those way more than the RPI futures haha. Speaking of RPI, do we know when official RPI rankings begin to be released? I'm unsure if you can see the website I linked, but its nova-vmss .onrender.com
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Post by volleyaudience on Sept 18, 2023 21:32:48 GMT -5
How many wins in conference for Illinois this year? What's your prediction? I appreciated your thoughtful comments. For me, I very much hope Illinois can stay in the upper half of the B1G, even though everyone is trying to move up. I asked the number of win s projections because I had just been disappointed reading the RPI Futures prediction of 12. Lots of moving parts.
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Post by inpaign on Sept 18, 2023 23:03:50 GMT -5
Since I've had the opportunity to watch most of the Big Ten teams so far this season, I wanted to post my predictions for conference play for us!
@ Indiana - L v MSU - W v PSU - L v Iowa - W @ Purdue - L v Wisconsin - L @ Ohio St. - L v Rutgers - W @ Maryland - W @ Rutgers - W v Indiana - W v Purdue - W V NW - W @ Wisconsin - L @ Iowa - W @ Nebraska - L v Ohio St. - W v Michigan - W @ Minnesota - L @ NW - L
(11-9)
I think when we look at our schedule, we actually have a pretty good one in terms of the teams we play once vs. twice. These predictions are assuming we play to a decent level each night and to the level we are capable of some nights (specifically at Huff) - I'm fully aware we will have off nights where we look terrible...consider this me being optimistic about the outlook of conference play for us haha. Watching Iowa, Rutgers and Michigan St., I believe we should win any and all games against those teams. They look to be a step below everyone else. Michigan is also close there as well, but I'm sure they will ramp up their level slightly as the season goes on. I also believe we can edge out a win against MD. NW is interesting to me..I think they are more talented than their play this season has shown and for that reason I have us splitting our games against them. That also goes with Indiana...I wanted so badly to pick us to win our first conference game but Indiana's serving is fantastic and I have a feeling it will be a long game for our serve receive :/, if we can stay in system, we will have a good shot. I picked us to pick up a win against them at home just to be a bit conservative. It was hard predicting games against teams at the top of the league - last season we stayed close with many of them (several 5 setters). Nebraska and Wisconsin are a step above - should be L's for us. Same when playing Minnesota at their place. I do believe that we have potential to knock off Purdue, Penn St. and Ohio St. at least once this season - those teams have clear weaknesses that can be exploited. I picked us to win a couple of those games. I'm sure I'll look back on these predictions and laugh after a long, tough season but here's to hoping I'm somewhat accurate. I-L-L!
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Post by vball778 on Sept 19, 2023 19:54:21 GMT -5
inpaign what is the story on Maddie Llewellyn? I understand it that she was a manager last year and is now on the roster. Can she contribute? That scenario seems so rare these days.
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Post by oldmanvb on Sept 19, 2023 23:00:06 GMT -5
There are probably any number of DSs walking around the UI ncampus who could help this team. Some years ago one of my daughter’s high school and club teammates was the best passer I may have ever seen, and absolutely could have played D1 libero. Only 5’3”. She went to UI, I think played some club.but instead graduated, went to U of C law school and ended up at some monster Chicago law firm. Some people justhave their priorities backwards.
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Post by ilalum92 on Sept 20, 2023 9:10:35 GMT -5
There are probably any number of DSs walking around the UI ncampus who could help this team. Some years ago one of my daughter’s high school and club teammates was the best passer I may have ever seen, and absolutely could have played D1 libero. Only 5’3”. She went to UI, I think played some club.but instead graduated, went to U of C law school and ended up at some monster Chicago law firm. Some people justhave their priorities backwards. ILL has a great men’s/women’s club program, as a former club player myself. I’m sure they could raid the club team in a pinch.
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