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Post by exit237a on Sept 4, 2023 21:26:43 GMT -5
I think having Nunge will be an upgrade at OH, Kayla can go back to her natural position on OPP. Should give us somewhat of an upgrade. My questions are: Is Stephenson that bad? It’s been two years and we have to bring back a grad who hasn’t played in 6 months? May not be able to serve receive? Setters have to know how to dig and pass. How long will TdB be out? She does look like she is on immunosuppressive drugs. How she recovers fully and soon. Barnes on concussion protocol is not good. If she gets hit again it could mean an end to her season. I don’t think Sophie is 100%- her hitting hand is wrapped/taped up right now.
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Post by vbkahuna on Sept 4, 2023 21:36:39 GMT -5
I’ve been thinking about this team and have one question for the group. With the addition of Nunge, do we think she’ll have that much of an impact on the left pin as we think she will? Playing devil’s advocate here for a second. She was never really a power hitter and relied a lot on her “shots” - mainly a roll shot to middle court or line roll shot/back right corner placement. She didn’t play much back row but had an effective serve - and remembering to last season when she got healthy and was cleared to come back she didn’t dethrone Mosher from that pin spot. Mind you Mosher was playing lights out in every facet of the game…but as happy as i am to have the depth on the pins - and senior leadership - i don’t see how much of a significant impact she’ll truly make. Maybe i’m just being a scrooge but i welcome any different thoughts! Yes, I think it will be significant, but not because she's going to be getting 20 kills. Mainly, because they'll be moving Burbage over to the right side, where she is way more effective and way more confident. Everyone will finally be in their natural position, steadier, and after a few games they'll settle in and start feeling it. Same goes for when Barnes returns. I'm really looking forward to that, because I believe their back row has the potential to finally be not just good but a real game changer for this team. Barnes, Barry, and Pan in some combination finally give them a legit back row. I get why some people are hitting the panic button. Freshmen and people playing out of position out of necessity tend to look like a fire drill, and especially in the preseason. I'm waiting to see what they look like once all the pieces are back in place.
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Post by inpaign on Sept 4, 2023 21:49:23 GMT -5
Like the others, I think Nunge back brings a sense of stability to the lineup. I think Nunge is better on the left than Kayla is, and I think Kayla is better on the right than Sarah is. An upgrade at both spots in my opinion. I think it'll do wonders for the team. I believe Stephenson is/has battled some injuries. She clearly isn't competitive enough if our coaches have refused to put her in games. Bianca May is a walk on, so I have to remind myself that she didn't intend to see this much playing time upon joining the team. I'm unsure how long TdB is out, but I feel like a return anytime soon is unlikely. Finally, I believe Barnes was given the go ahead to return to practice. I doubt we will see her tomorrow, but I am hoping she returns soon that will make a huge difference in the back row. Nunge took swings in the hitting lines before the game yesterday...perhaps she finally gets the start tomorrow night? I hope we can squeak out a win tomorrow against a good UIC team. It will be interesting for sure.
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Post by ilalum92 on Sept 5, 2023 17:41:51 GMT -5
Yikes! RPI futures has us in the 90’s. Just an FYI, tonight’s opponent UIC is 83.
Dropped from 70 the week before. We need to win out this preseason.
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Post by exit237a on Sept 5, 2023 20:24:18 GMT -5
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Post by exit237a on Sept 5, 2023 20:37:07 GMT -5
After a rocky start to the first set, that's the smoothest Illinois has looked so far this season! Really good service pressure, especially from Barry + Barnes + Pan. Kennedy getting kills in every way possible and looking like a real good connection with Brooke. Kayla just ripping balls and Raina doing what she always does. Bingham quietly having a nice night too with a couple clever placement kills that stood out and putting up that big block on the right side.
Welcome back to the lineup, Caroline! Solid passing and really strong serving- two or three really long service runs come to mind. Elevates the collective quality of our first contact to have her back on the court.
Brooke switching to the standing float serve this match- it was pretty effective. Loving the aggressive lefty swings on two.
Quick turnaround, then Notre Dame on Thursday.
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Post by ilalum92 on Sept 5, 2023 22:20:57 GMT -5
Can’t afford to lose either of these. RPI’s for Oklahoma & ND respectively: 88 & 141
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2023 0:14:24 GMT -5
Good win. Looked better. Floor is nice!
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Post by oldmanvb on Sept 6, 2023 7:31:32 GMT -5
The team we watched after the first set would not have lost to Wichita State. Before Barnes returned, they appeared to lose confidence, in no small part due to poor passing and unable to run an offense. Thanks to Barnes, Burbage and to a lesser extent Bingham were far different players. Playing Notre dame will be the answer to the puzzle as ND beat Wichita State in 5. While Burbage played great on left side yesterday, I still think we are better with Nunge on left and Burbage on right. Has Nunge any experience on the right side? I think she played opposite in her year at Florida State.
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Post by inpaign on Sept 6, 2023 8:16:42 GMT -5
The team we watched after the first set would not have lost to Wichita State. Before Barnes returned, they appeared to lose confidence, in no small part due to poor passing and unable to run an offense. Thanks to Barnes, Burbage and to a lesser extent Bingham were far different players. Playing Notre dame will be the answer to the puzzle as ND beat Wichita State in 5. While Burbage played great on left side yesterday, I still think we are better with Nunge on left and Burbage on right. Has Nunge any experience on the right side? I think she played opposite in her year at Florida State. I agree with you 100%. We are better with Nunge on the left and Burbage on the right. Bingham just doesn't impress me on the right and isn't getting as many kills as she should with the amount of swings she is getting and the size of the block on her. Sadly, our coach doesn't usually like to make many adjustments. I'm afraid it's going to take a couple bad losses for changes to be made. Putting Nunge out there for one set point doesn't show them anything..I wish she would've gotten more of a chance but I do understand they were in a groove last night.
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Post by vbkahuna on Sept 6, 2023 8:17:28 GMT -5
The team we watched after the first set would not have lost to Wichita State. Before Barnes returned, they appeared to lose confidence, in no small part due to poor passing and unable to run an offense. Thanks to Barnes, Burbage and to a lesser extent Bingham were far different players. Playing Notre dame will be the answer to the puzzle as ND beat Wichita State in 5. While Burbage played great on left side yesterday, I still think we are better with Nunge on left and Burbage on right. Has Nunge any experience on the right side? I think she played opposite in her year at Florida State. Talk about a demo of how important Barnes is to this team, and ditto the combo back row of Barnes, Barry, and Pan. The stats really tell the story: only 2 team receive errors and 4 serve errors, and Collins with 13 kills on 17 attacks and no hitting errors. (Great work by Collins but the only way a middle gets that many attacks is if the passing is getting the ball to the setter near the net.) And Burbage was finally a real force out there, with 12 kills (with some real bombs) on 24 attacks with NO hitting errors! Regarding whether Burbage or Nunge should play left side, I still like Nunge there even though Burbage showed what a powerhouse she can be when she has confidence and swings hard instead of tipping or rolling the ball. I think Nunge has more body control on OOS sets and is crafty enough to get kills with a variety of shots. Can't wait to see her back in there, but think the coaches are smart to hold her out until she's really ready, no matter how much the fans whine.
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Post by agean09 on Sept 6, 2023 8:55:06 GMT -5
The question that I would like the answer to is… will Barry keep the L jersey? My fantasy team decisions will be impacted lol
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Post by liberovb10 on Sept 6, 2023 9:26:53 GMT -5
maybe a silly question - but did they get a new taraflex floor?
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Post by vbkahuna on Sept 6, 2023 9:39:42 GMT -5
maybe a silly question - but did they get a new taraflex floor? If they did, they also got the beautiful new VB arena that has been promised... Oh wait, my bad. They were playing in Chicago. Huff still lives (unfortunately). But hey, they have the giant video board and new flashing lights now...kind of like putting spinner hub caps and an 8-track tape into a Stutz Bearcat.
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Post by oldmanvb on Sept 6, 2023 10:30:45 GMT -5
maybe a silly question - but did they get a new taraflex floor? If they did, they also got the beautiful new VB arena that has been promised... Oh wait, my bad. They were playing in Chicago. Huff still lives (unfortunately). But hey, they have the giant video board and new flashing lights now...kind of like putting spinner hub caps and an 8-track tape into a Stutz Bearcat. A Stutz Bearcat has value. Huff, not so much.
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