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Post by vbkahuna on Nov 2, 2023 9:58:37 GMT -5
Missed the match tonight- nice win. Can anyone who watched give a re-cap. Not much in the match thread. Sounds like it was all Raina?? All 3 sets were tightly contested from about midway through each set and the Illini were steadier and tougher at the end of all 3. Northwestern is a solid team with decent hitters (Sangiacomo, Hernandez, and Chinn) and a very good setter (Rousseau) and very good libero (Stinson, who is #3 in the Big Ten in digs). If Temi Thomas-Ailara hadn't left and gone to "Transer U"/Wisconsin., this team would likely be heading to the playoffs. In short, the Illini did very well to beat them in 3. Raina did the heavy hitting again (22 kils, 1 ace) and got timely support from both Nunge (8 kills) and Burbage (7 kills, .538!). Each of them seemed to come through with a timely kill when it looked like Northwestern might take over, with Raina almost unstoppable at the end of each set (including the final match point). I would add that Mosher was more aggressive attacking when needed too, with 4 kills, .375. In my opinion, she may be needed even more against Wisconsin, to disrupt their blocking and give Illini hitters some creases in the huge blocking walls. I think the sweep is even more impressive when viewed in light of the slippage in serving (10 errors that killed some potential runs) and serve receive limiting how much Mosher could use her middles. They're going to need to be at least as sharp in both areas as they have been the last couple of weeks to have any chance Saturday. This team is much better and way more dangerous than their RPI indicates. I've already commented on how flawed I believe that metric is. The only thing the Illini can do about it now is keep winning to prove it.
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Post by pointillinois on Nov 2, 2023 11:12:36 GMT -5
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Post by oldmanvb on Nov 2, 2023 12:55:16 GMT -5
It would be classic Illinois to have the NCAA change the system to weight late season matches after Illinois has been adversely impacted by an unfair rule or ruling, without giving any benefit to Illinois.
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Post by ilalum92 on Nov 2, 2023 15:58:57 GMT -5
Tamas/Illini pre-conference records, conference records, season records, and season-end RPI: 2017 9-2 12-8 23-11 #24 Sweet Sixteen 2018 11-0 17-3 32-4 #3 Final Four 2019 5-4 11-9 16-14 #51 First round loss to Utah (IMHO...best Illini performance of season) 2020-21 0-0 7-11 2021 8-3 12-8 22-12 #24 Sweet Sixteen 2022 5-5 10-10 15-15 #82 2023 5-5 We should never have lost the UTAH match. Weren't we up 2-0?
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Post by vbkahuna on Nov 2, 2023 16:04:03 GMT -5
Tamas/Illini pre-conference records, conference records, season records, and season-end RPI: 2017 9-2 12-8 23-11 #24 Sweet Sixteen 2018 11-0 17-3 32-4 #3 Final Four 2019 5-4 11-9 16-14 #51 First round loss to Utah (IMHO...best Illini performance of season) 2020-21 0-0 7-11 2021 8-3 12-8 22-12 #24 Sweet Sixteen 2022 5-5 10-10 15-15 #82 2023 5-5 So to summarize, in the 5 full seasons (eliminating the partial 2020 COVID season when even Stanford went 2-8), Tamas's body of work at Illinois is as follows: * 4 of the 5 years in the playoffs * 2 of those times to the Sweet 16 * 1 time to the Final Four For anyone here still trolling to dump Tamas for the slow start this year (due in large part to 2 starters not available or fully ready to play), that's a pretty good "minimum qualifications" for any replacement you suggest. Good luck.
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Post by brucks on Nov 2, 2023 16:18:17 GMT -5
Noticed Taylor De Boer warming up with the team prior to the match. Don't believe that's happened previously. I'm sure the plan is to redshirt her but it is good to see her working jup a sweat.
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Post by oldmanvb on Nov 2, 2023 17:12:33 GMT -5
At her current rate of kills per set, if Raina comes back for her covid year she can become the all time kills leader. What better reason to return?
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Post by inpaign on Nov 2, 2023 17:41:32 GMT -5
At her current rate of kills per set, if Raina comes back for her covid year she can become the all time kills leader. What better reason to return? I have strong reason to believe she will be back
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Post by inpaign on Nov 2, 2023 17:51:24 GMT -5
Found this on the RPI website that was linked awhile ago:
The standard formula for the RPI is as follows:
Team's Winning Percentage (WINPCT) - 25% of RPI Team's Opponent's Winning Percentage (OWP) - 50% of RPI Team's Opponent's Opponent's Winning Percentage (OOWP) - 25% of RPI
If I'm understanding this right, 50% of our RPI is determinant on the success of the teams we play, win or lose. That explains why just playing Wisconsin & Nebraska, even if we lose, boosts our RPI. Maybe losing to them these next two weeks won't be so bad after all.
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Post by inpaign on Nov 2, 2023 22:43:43 GMT -5
I realized I never posted a game review from last night and because I'm so superstitious, I will continue to post one until we are off this winning streak haha. Put simply, we looked very similar to how we have throughout the winning streak. We seemed to continue clicking on multiple cylinders. Pins were good again, as was Brooke's setting (and attacking on 2!) Our defense looked solid, both blocking and backrow. I'll say that our blocking is extremely impressive and keeps us in sets. A few areas of concern I saw last night that haven't been as big of problems in the recent past...serve receive was very iffy, especially at the beginning. We looked like the non-conference passing team that we all dreaded, specifically Pan and Berry. Hoping we see improvement there. The lack of use of our middles was also disappointing, but it is understood that with bad passing comes and inability to set the middles consistently. The sets that Cari did get didn't turn out as well as they did against Purdue...maybe an off night. Finally, the serving was extremely frustrating and kept NW in sets. Situational serving has to be understood and sometimes we just need to keep the ball in bounds (OUT OF THE NET) in order to just give ourselves a chance. Our block has been very, very good. Give us a chance! Overall, we take a sweep of our in-state rival and we continue this streak..love to see it!
In terms of tourney aspirations - I want to believe we have a decent shot. Tied for 4th in the Big Ten is huge! Unfortunate to only move up 2 spots in the RPI, but all we can do is continue to grind and show everyone what we've got. Recently I've watched some of the teams that are 10, 20 spots above us in the RPI and I'm confident we would destroy them. As would most of the other Big Ten teams. It's unfortunate the rankings work the way that they do, something needs to be adjusted within the selection criteria. On the other hand, it is kind of fun to think that one win on Saturday against Wisconsin and we likely wouldn't have to worry about RPI any longer. I'd love to see us be competitive with them. For that to happen we HAVE to serve tough and get them out of system, we have to continue blocking and serve receiving like we have been, and we need Raina to have a great game. Do all that, and we've got a chance. Personally, I like how we matchup with Nebraska more than Wisconsin, as Wisconsin's block is huge and they are loaded with attackers at all positions on the court, but I think we can take at least a set off of both. Based on the RPI formula I sent above, it looks like just playing elite competition like those two teams could boost our RPI. Here's to hoping!
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Post by oldmanvb on Nov 3, 2023 8:06:23 GMT -5
As I understand the RPI formula, there is little we can do within the B1G, other than winning our own games, to improve our RPI. Each time one of our B1G opponents wins a game, improving our RPI, they beat another of our RPI opponents, decreasing our RPI. Our RPI hope is found in hoping our non-conference opponents who do not play each other win out. I am now officially rooting for WSU, ND, Oklahoma, USC, UCF to win out, even though each time one of them wins, as they are ahead of us in RPI, it makes it more difficult for us to catch them.
What a ridiculous way to evaluate teams at the end of the season. A system that does nothing to reward improvement during the season prevents the best end of season tournament.
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Post by aardvark on Nov 3, 2023 8:53:24 GMT -5
As I understand the RPI formula, there is little we can do within the B1G, other than winning our own games, to improve our RPI. Each time one of our B1G opponents wins a game, improving our RPI, they beat another of our RPI opponents, decreasing our RPI. Our RPI hope is found in hoping our non-conference opponents who do not play each other win out. I am now officially rooting for WSU, ND, Oklahoma, USC, UCF to win out, even though each time one of them wins, as they are ahead of us in RPI, it makes it more difficult for us to catch them. What a ridiculous way to evaluate teams at the end of the season. A system that does nothing to reward improvement during the season prevents the best end of season tournament. This is mostly true, and has always been this way. Note that as long as your conference schedule isn't fully balanced, then there is reason to cheer on conference foes you play twice over ones you play just once. The other "within conference" detail that matters is the bonus awarded for top 25 and top 50 opponents. You will obviously get more such bonus if your conference brethren can win and lose in such a manner that more of the conference squeezes into those categories. This means cheering against the cellar-dwellers, and also against Nebraska and Wisconsin, which are pretty much sure things to make the top 25, even if they do suffer some unexpected losses in conference play. Now that you know the minute aspects of intra-conference play affecting your school's RPI value, I trust you can put the information to good use and make sure you cheer for the right teams. Doing otherwise would just prove your school wasn't worthy.
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Nov 3, 2023 12:00:28 GMT -5
At her current rate of kills per set, if Raina comes back for her covid year she can become the all time kills leader. What better reason to return? I have strong reason to believe she will be back This is from the local newspaper Champaign News-Gazette: CHAMPAIGN — Illinois eventually got a little variety in its attack as Wednesday night’s match against Northwestern progressed. The complementary point scoring necessary from the likes of Jess Nunge, Kennedy Collins, Kayla Burbage and Brooke Mosher. But it was Raina Terry or nothing early on for the Illini. Now, that’s not a bad option. Terry entered Wednesday’s match second in the Big Ten in kills per set behind Ohio State’s Emily Londot. Not far behind either as the actual league leader in total kills. And with Illinois’ first-set passing not quite as crisp as it had been during the team’s winning streak, Terry was sometimes the only option with the Illini in scramble mode to score. She delivered — repeatedly. The 6-foot-3 senior outside hitter put down 22 kills in a 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 victory to extend Illinois’ winning streak to six in a must-win match to start the final month of the regular season. “She’s a weapon for sure,” Illinois coach Chris Tamas said. “I keep telling everyone even though teams are going to set up for we’re still going to set her. She’s used to that, and she still hits a heavy ball and has all the shots in the book, too. If she’s clicking and she’s on, we’re still going to find her no matter where she’s at.” Terry’s 22 kills didn’t just come in a match Illinois (13-10, 8-5) needed to win. They were also milestone-setting. Her seventh doubled as the 1,500th of her career. By the end of Wednesday night’s win in front of an announced Huff Hall crowd of 2,023, the Marengo, Ohio, native had passed former teammate Megan Cooney for 10th all-time in program history with 1,515 career kills. And counting. Terry was quick to credit assistant coach Krista Hendrickson and her teammates for putting her in position to reach that career milestone. “I love Krista,” Terry said. “She’s made a huge difference in my career and is a wonderful coach. Then my teammates. I’m the last one to touch the ball, right? They have to give me those opportunities.” Next up for Terry? Three-time All-American, Illinois hall of famer and Olympic gold medalist Michelle Bartch’s 1,644. But also No. 2 Wisconsin in a 7 p.m. Saturday match in Madison, Wis. Illinois lost to the the then No. 1-ranked Badgers in three sets in early October. Tamas said the difference is “night and day” from that home loss.
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Post by ilalum92 on Nov 3, 2023 12:34:02 GMT -5
I wonder how much of win against WISC/NEB would do for our RPI/KPI and help get us a bid to the tourney
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Post by oldmanvb on Nov 3, 2023 13:14:42 GMT -5
Win or lose against Wisconsin and/or Nebraska, there is no margin of error in the other remaining games. We have to win every one.
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