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Post by B1Gminnesotafan on Nov 28, 2023 13:53:04 GMT -5
I don't think so. Our biggest concern should be replacing Awoleye and Murr. We are losing a middle and a libero and our incoming class is a setter and an outside. The miss match is due to Covid. I don't know if KCook has two schollarships to work with. I hope so. I thought you guys got the ballyhooed Turkish libero? I honestly don’t know what happened to her. Did she redshirt this year? No she didn't redshirt. From what I heard, she didn't get approved to start practice/playing until after the preseason started. It was quite the adjustment. She is playing now and is part of the reason why the past month the Gophers have been more consistent. She can be the libero next year but we only have one other DS/libero on the roster. I do think a third middle is more important than a third DS/libero. |
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Post by comet on Nov 28, 2023 13:56:45 GMT -5
I thought you guys got the ballyhooed Turkish libero? I honestly don’t know what happened to her. Did she redshirt this year? No she didn't redshirt. From what I heard, she didn't get approved to start practice/playing until after the preseason started. It was quite the adjustment. She is playing now and is part of the reason why the past month the Gophers have been more consistent. She can be the libero next year but we only have one other DS/libero on the roster. I do think a third middle is more important than a third DS/libero. I kind of disagree, I think this season has proven we need 2 solid DS/liberos to stabilize the backrow. For some reason Gray is not considered for this position so we'll need another one from the portal. This is just as important as another solid middle. |
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Post by JT on Nov 28, 2023 14:00:00 GMT -5
I don't think so. Our biggest concern should be replacing Awoleye and Murr. We are losing a middle and a libero and our incoming class is a setter and an outside. The miss match is due to Covid. I don't know if KCook has two schollarships to work with. I hope so. I thought you guys got the ballyhooed Turkish libero? I honestly don’t know what happened to her. Did she redshirt this year? She is our highest-efficiency attacker, with 2 kills on 3 attempts, no errors! |
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Post by volleysota on Nov 28, 2023 14:00:51 GMT -5
I would argue we need multiple middles from the portal or otherwise. We lose Phoebe, and based on what we've seen I don't think we want Arica near the starting lineup. I don't know if we've seen enough of Minatee to know whether she's up to the starting job yet.
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Post by gophergirl on Nov 28, 2023 14:11:59 GMT -5
I would argue we need multiple middles from the portal or otherwise. We lose Phoebe, and based on what we've seen I don't think we want Arica near the starting lineup. I don't know if we've seen enough of Minatee to know whether she's up to the starting job yet. Agree about Minatee, but I sure do love it when she breaks out the slide attack. Catches the other team off gaurd since we never run them. |
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Post by GoGophs on Nov 28, 2023 15:31:23 GMT -5
I would argue we need multiple middles from the portal or otherwise. We lose Phoebe, and based on what we've seen I don't think we want Arica near the starting lineup. I don't know if we've seen enough of Minatee to know whether she's up to the starting job yet. Agree about Minatee, but I sure do love it when she breaks out the slide attack. Catches the other team off gaurd since we never run them. Really hoping we can perfect that slide in the off season 🤞 |
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Post by BigDigEnergy on Nov 28, 2023 15:51:37 GMT -5
Agree about Minatee, but I sure do love it when she breaks out the slide attack. Catches the other team off gaurd since we never run them. Really hoping we can perfect that slide in the off season 🤞 And with Stella coming in, I think and hope that we will see more of that next season. |
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Post by digs on Nov 28, 2023 16:16:36 GMT -5
Agree about Minatee, but I sure do love it when she breaks out the slide attack. Catches the other team off gaurd since we never run them. Really hoping we can perfect that slide in the off season 🤞 Calissa is such a dynamic athlete. I expect her to continue to ascend. Gobs of upside. |
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Post by vbruh on Nov 28, 2023 16:19:55 GMT -5
It's rather clear that this staff will look to the portal to augment the team including departing Libero and MB, while at the same time allowing existing players to step up and take over starting roles (Zeynep and Minatee). With only 2 MBs and 2 DSs (and Elise as back up DS), it's clear they need depth at those 2 positions, unless they pull an Anna Dixon and try to move Sydney to a MB who at 6'4 would certainly be an interesting option. What is unclear to me is Zeynep ready to take on such a massive role as libero on this squad. That is a really big responsibility, and it feels as if she's just now getting comfortable being a 2.5 rotation defender. If a legit graduate option--like Simkens of Western Michigan or Morris of Kansas State--was available that would be interesting. I don't have any stats for top passers/defenders but those 2 stood out as top liberos this year.
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Post by genej101 on Nov 28, 2023 18:02:45 GMT -5
While I hope Stella will do well, it will be tough for a top tier middle who has a year or two left and think Minnesota is the stop for them. It is a lot to ask of an incoming Freshman to completely change the trajectory of an offense. More importantly, it would be even tougher for a perspective middle to look at film and be convinced she is the second coming at the HS and Club level. The game is so much faster. Again, I am sure Stella will do well, but I am worried about the pressure of her living up to expectations. I worry too but on the flip side, she's a Swenson and in the MN volleyball community that's a big name with a lot of expectations built in to it. I think that she, and her sisters, are fairly used to pressure because of that. Will she adjust to the speed of the college game? That's another question, but I don't think you can answer that for any incoming recruit. Some top recruits don't adapt well and other lower ranked recruits adjust spectacularly. We'll have to wait and see. I can tell from watching her play club and HS though that she loves setting her middles, that's something to look forward to. Personally, I'd prefer Shaff to stay and Stella redshirts so she can get used to the game and have some mentorship. It's a bummer about Awoleye but I'm happy she's had a great last season with the Gophs. I'm pretty confident though that this coaching staff can pick up a good middle from the portal (Awoleye was a pleasant surprise last year). A top middle might be difficult like you've said, but they could definitely pick up a good middle on a middle tier team who could shine on a better team. Talked with a woman who coached Stella in club and she said she will be better than SSS, we’ll see, certainly taller. I like Olivia too. But we really need size in the middle, no team without that wins a national championship or a BIG title. |
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Post by genej101 on Nov 28, 2023 18:26:58 GMT -5
Minnesota was fortunate to be grouped with teams that are rated highly by the RPI and KPI, but lower by other (more realistic) polls/rating systems. Utah State is ranked 17th and 23rd by the RPI and KPI, well above the Gophers at #40 and #54, so this is a great opportunity to demonstrate how flawed those ratings systems are. I'm expecting a Gopher win. The match at Creighton should be hotly contested instead of the blowout one might expect if looking only at the RPI and KPI numbers. Creighton is clearly a top 10-20 team on par with Purdue and Penn State, but the way the Gophers have been playing lately gives me hope. We got really fortunate with the bracketing. It is entirely possible to get out of the first weekend, if they can play as well as they did against Nebraska, McKenna really needs to learn how to tool the block, all of them do really. Still it’s possible. I see the number one seeds from the other brackets in the final four rather easily, this is their best shot. Would help a lot with recruiting and help from the portal if they can really show up this weekend, at minimum. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2023 18:30:24 GMT -5
Love these positive vibes about everyone staying. Call me a boomer, but I love when hopes for next year are built on the incoming recruits and the existing players getting better, not which free agent they can pick up from school X. OK boomer  |
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Post by genej101 on Nov 28, 2023 18:31:33 GMT -5
I thought grote was returning? before the season, cook said in a press conference that the entire roster would be returning next year aside from Murr - it appears awoleye changed her mind sometime between then and now... did grote change her mind too? I don't think so. Our biggest concern should be replacing Awoleye and Murr. We are losing a middle and a libero and our incoming class is a setter and an outside. The miss match is due to Covid. I don't know if KCook has two schollarships to work with. I hope so. I don’t know if we can afford Elise as just a one rotation server, or Skylar for that matter. It would be harsh but scholarships could be freed up. |
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Post by genej101 on Nov 28, 2023 18:34:01 GMT -5
I thought you guys got the ballyhooed Turkish libero? I honestly don’t know what happened to her. Did she redshirt this year? No she didn't redshirt. From what I heard, she didn't get approved to start practice/playing until after the preseason started. It was quite the adjustment. She is playing now and is part of the reason why the past month the Gophers have been more consistent. She can be the libero next year but we only have one other DS/libero on the roster. I do think a third middle is more important than a third DS/libero. When Cook finally started using her as a DS, the team got better. Playing without a DS to help Kylie really hurt for most of the season, every great team has both. So we’re looking for a DS next year as Zeynep will be the libero, or is planned to be. |
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Post by volleysota on Nov 28, 2023 19:04:37 GMT -5
I would argue we need multiple middles from the portal or otherwise. We lose Phoebe, and based on what we've seen I don't think we want Arica near the starting lineup. I don't know if we've seen enough of Minatee to know whether she's up to the starting job yet. Agree about Minatee, but I sure do love it when she breaks out the slide attack. Catches the other team off gaurd since we never run them. What is this “slide attack” you speak of? |
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