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Post by liberovb10 on Sept 11, 2023 21:47:49 GMT -5
We dropped to #130 in RPI futures. Ouch! Oh man, that hurts. We hate to see it. but we expected it
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Post by rogero1 on Sept 12, 2023 4:36:01 GMT -5
We dropped to #130 in RPI futures. Ouch! I believe that the RPI cut off to make the NCAA playoffs has been in the range of 43-63 for at large bids. It doesn’t look good to make post season this year.
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Post by mosser on Sept 12, 2023 7:28:08 GMT -5
I don't really understand why they are so bad. They are not a good serving team. Which I don't really understand why Tamas doesn't recruit better servers because he certainly doesn't seem to teach it well. But everything else about the team feels like they should be decent. I'm not sold on Mosher as a setter. I almost think I like her more as a pin but no real setter depth.
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Post by oldmanvb on Sept 12, 2023 7:45:21 GMT -5
There seem to be lots of setter transfers every year - moving Mosher back to the left pin might solve several issues if we can find a quality setter. If she would be willing. Didn’t someone comment last spring we were pursuing a setter transfer who chose to go elsewhere? Our practice setters this year would not cut it.
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Post by vball778 on Sept 12, 2023 8:54:52 GMT -5
I think Mosher is going to settle into the role in the next few weeks. It's still early, despite it obviously being super disappointing so far. Mosher is the least of my concerns personally. The defense is still just absolutely atrocious and is not anywhere near B1G level or even middle-tier D1 level. I follow several mid-majors and their libero talent looks way better than ours. I would gladly take the EIU libero at this stage.
Trying not to lose hope but after 2 sweeps from unranked opponents last week, it's just getting harder and harder.
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Post by pointillinois on Sept 12, 2023 9:18:17 GMT -5
For mosser, The Illini have more than double the number of service errors (63) as aces (31) during the first two-plus weeks of the season. “It’s been addressed,” Tamas said. “If you’re not going to produce points off your serve, then you’ve got to be able to back off a little bit. Serving is one of those things in our sport it’s like a free throw out there. There’s just you and the ball. You’ve got to be able to hit it. It’s easier said than done and a fine line between going for it and keeping it in. Some players are maybe trying to do too much back there.
“It can kind of come and go in waves. We’ve seen it in certain players before where they go on a streak of a few too many errors, they back off and figure out how to hit it a little bit better and then ease back into it.”
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Post by Gladys Kravitz on Sept 12, 2023 9:40:23 GMT -5
I am really interested in the coming Illinois-USC match.
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Post by liberovb10 on Sept 12, 2023 22:32:39 GMT -5
For mosser, The Illini have more than double the number of service errors (63) as aces (31) during the first two-plus weeks of the season. “It’s been addressed,” Tamas said. “If you’re not going to produce points off your serve, then you’ve got to be able to back off a little bit. Serving is one of those things in our sport it’s like a free throw out there. There’s just you and the ball. You’ve got to be able to hit it. It’s easier said than done and a fine line between going for it and keeping it in. Some players are maybe trying to do too much back there. “It can kind of come and go in waves. We’ve seen it in certain players before where they go on a streak of a few too many errors, they back off and figure out how to hit it a little bit better and then ease back into it.”
what a quote. Maybe spend the time to coach and practice effective serving…this can’t be the response - “if you’re not going to produce points off your serve, then you’ve got to be able to back off a little bit” while i do agree with knowing when to get after it- it’s been said they don’t spend the time training this in the gym. Josh Whittman was in attendance tonight - despite the FOUR set win against Bradley, i hope some sort of conversation was had. time to wake up!
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Post by oldmanvb on Sept 12, 2023 22:43:09 GMT -5
With as many hard floating serves going long, is suggesting moving back 4 or 5 feet a crazy idea? The floater is effective because of movement at the last moment. There is absolutely room for some coaching and teaching.
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Post by inpaign on Sept 12, 2023 23:18:16 GMT -5
My typical take on the game against Bradley... Ugly ugly win. Looked like a high school team most of the game. Our offense actually wasn't awful. The middles were good, Burbage was good (I do believe she should get more sets, however I know it's hard when you're not in system lol), and the pins were good when the sets were on target. Brooke Mosher looked off tonight...again. I keep hoping she will gel into the position but I am starting to get worried. Her sets are often too tight, or too quick, or too low in comparison to what Nunge or Raina are expecting. Hopefully that gets better as the season goes. I do love when she attacks on 2 though. The primary concern this game was our backrow. If it's not one thing it's another right? Pan, Barnes and Barry all looked poor. We hide Pan in serve receive (LOL) and a few of her very routine touches were not good. Barnes and Barry both couldn't serve receive at all...it is bad when your libero is being targeted. I also noticed what was mentioned in a comment last week...on defense we look lost and out of position at times. COACHING. I'm not sure who deserves the libero jersey but I do know that things have to change with our backrow. I'm also recognizing it is difficult for Brooke to get into a groove of setting when she is constantly on the run. Also, we finished the game serving well but the first two sets were pathetic when it comes to our service errors. So frustrating. Needs to be worked on. Finally, the number of miscommunications is concerning. It is like they don't trust each other out there...so sad to see. I'd be surprised if we take 1 set over our next two games Thursday and Friday. Barring a complete change, I think we are in turn for more disappointment and a continuation of the projection of the season we are currently on. I'm trying to be optimistic in thinking that if we can steal one or even both of these matches, everything changes and our momentum will be at an all time high. Unlikely, but one can dream right? Please let me know your thoughts! Would love to hear what others thought
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Post by bucky415 on Sept 13, 2023 0:20:40 GMT -5
Ignoring the proper names, but recognizing the positions, you described all the Illini seasons since Poulter graduated. Weird how USWNT level setters change programs, isn't it? (Not a shot at Illinois, think about my context).
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Post by gurnee50 on Sept 13, 2023 3:52:28 GMT -5
If Ron Guenther hadn't hired Theresa Grentz, imagine where our volleyball program would be today. Imagine where Minnesota's would be. He is probably the worst AD in the history of college sports. Killed the football program with his hires for almost two decades. And he's collecting a pension in the mid-six figures.
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Sept 13, 2023 6:25:05 GMT -5
If Ron Guenther hadn't hired Theresa Grentz, imagine where our volleyball program would be today. Imagine where Minnesota's would be. He is probably the worst AD in the history of college sports. Killed the football program with his hires for almost two decades. And he's collecting a pension in the mid-six figures. If the statement former Illini AD Ron Guenther was the worst in the history of college sports may be pure hyperbole, Illinois now has one of the best from my perspective. If you happen to be a coach, current Illinois AD Joah Whitman is someone you want to work for. This was taken from the Peoria Journal Star-Register May 17th, 2011, re: Guenther's retirement: "CHAMPAIGN — The Illini will have a new chief. Athletics director Ron Guenther kept his department out of the red ink and Illinois out of the NCAA penalty box for the bulk of his 19 years on the job. But during the last few years, his coaches and teams didn’t win enough games to keep everyone happy. With a new president in place and the university wanting to hire a new chancellor by July, Guenther said Monday it was time to retire. “Obviously, the decision to step down wasn’t easy,’’ Guenther said. “In my gut, the timing of this felt right." Lest we Illinois fans undersell what Guenther accomplished at Illinois, the Journal Star-Register went on to write about Guenther: "The former Illini football MVP and academic all-Big Ten selection took over a program with aging facilities, little money in the bank and a reputation for breaking NCAA rules. He spearheaded a department that multiplied its fundraising, overhauled its infrastructure and avoided major violations. The department finished in the black in the final 17 years of his tenure. Illinois won a cumulative 34 Big Ten titles under Guenther, reached the Final Four in men’s basketball and played in six bowl games, including the Rose Bowl following the 2007 season. Yet Guenther came under fire in the last five years for football and men’s basketball programs that were slipping down the pecking order in the Big Ten." I also want to mention that Guenther mentored current U of Illinois AD, Whitman, while Josh was a student at Illinois. If Guenther was stingy with coach's salaries, Whitman is the opposite. Coaches working for Whitman at Illinois are known for being well-paid. Whitman also is open to upping assistant coaches salaries when the head coach of a sport ask for it.
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Post by vball778 on Sept 13, 2023 7:51:15 GMT -5
My typical take on the game against Bradley... Ugly ugly win. Looked like a high school team most of the game. Our offense actually wasn't awful. The middles were good, Burbage was good (I do believe she should get more sets, however I know it's hard when you're not in system lol), and the pins were good when the sets were on target. Brooke Mosher looked off tonight...again. I keep hoping she will gel into the position but I am starting to get worried. Her sets are often too tight, or too quick, or too low in comparison to what Nunge or Raina are expecting. Hopefully that gets better as the season goes. I do love when she attacks on 2 though. The primary concern this game was our backrow. If it's not one thing it's another right? Pan, Barnes and Barry all looked poor. We hide Pan in serve receive (LOL) and a few of her very routine touches were not good. Barnes and Barry both couldn't serve receive at all...it is bad when your libero is being targeted. I also noticed what was mentioned in a comment last week...on defense we look lost and out of position at times. COACHING. I'm not sure who deserves the libero jersey but I do know that things have to change with our backrow. I'm also recognizing it is difficult for Brooke to get into a groove of setting when she is constantly on the run. Also, we finished the game serving well but the first two sets were pathetic when it comes to our service errors. So frustrating. Needs to be worked on. Finally, the number of miscommunications is concerning. It is like they don't trust each other out there...so sad to see. I'd be surprised if we take 1 set over our next two games Thursday and Friday. Barring a complete change, I think we are in turn for more disappointment and a continuation of the projection of the season we are currently on. I'm trying to be optimistic in thinking that if we can steal one or even both of these matches, everything changes and our momentum will be at an all time high. Unlikely, but one can dream right? Please let me know your thoughts! Would love to hear what others thought Im pretty aligned with this take. One poster said we should give the lib. jersey back to Barnes, but she got aced more than anyone else last night and also had some questionable first touches. We have been aced almost 50 times this year and we've played 8 total matches... That's over 6 reception errors a match. I looked a Nebraska's reception stats for example, and they have only been aced 22 times. I looked at Florida's stats because they have played an incredibly tough schedule.... against top teams they have only been aced 35 times. It's just insane to me how terrible our defense and serve receive has become and it feels like any opportunity to do something about it (hire a defense coach for a 3rd assistant, replace current staff with better defense staff, recruit strong defenders instead of basically walk-ons), we make zero improvements. At this point, I will be thrilled if we get wins over Rutgers, Iowa, Maryland, or Michigan State.
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Post by oldmanvb on Sept 13, 2023 8:41:13 GMT -5
A fast tempo offense is supposed to create seams in the block. When the pass is such that the set can only go to one place the value of a fast tempo is lost. I believe that is why Terry is forced to tip so much and hits into the block as much as she does. I really wonder what the team works on in practice. In the spring we saw Mosher push the ball to the middle from at or behind the 10 foot line, but we have not seen that very much now that the season has started. Why not? Setters connecting with hitters is the result of a lot of repetition in practice, so the hitter doesn’t have to wonder how or where the ball will be set. Which causes me to ask, why is Collins hitting with a short arm so much, without having to extend her arm to the ball. The hitters with whom I played would make sure I knew the ball was not where they wanted it.
What is the deal with Raina tipping from the back row?
Question. If we don’t practice serving in practice, as Tamas seems to have said, does that mean we don’t practice receiving? With as bad as our basic skills are, maybe we should be going back to working on basic skills as though we are a junior high team. Again, what the heck do we work on in practice?
Why aren’t our players (other than Kennedy) down before the ball is hit at us?
Do we scout these teams? Do we share scouting reports with our players? Do our players watch video of the teams we will be playing to try to learn tendencies? All of these are coaching and effort questions.
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