Went to the OSU/Dayton scrimmage today.
Set 1: Dayton 25-13. OSU lineup: S: Sarah White, L: Sydney Taylor, OH: Chelsea Thorpe, and Moore (Grace Egan was not dressed so OSU needed another hitter), OPP: Emily Londot, MB: Rylee Rader and Zaria Ragler DS for both OH: Sarah Sue Morbitzer and Anna McClure. OSU could not pass. It was real bad.
Set 2: OSU 28-26. OSU same hitters but S: Mia Tuman and L: Morbitzer with Taylor at DS. OSU passing was better but still struggled, also got more balls dug in rally. This team really needs their DS options to take a step forward this off season to compete in the B1G.
Set 3: Dayton 25-22. OSU lineup was set 1 except Mia Tuman at setter and Londot played at OH with Moore at Opp, including being part of the passing pattern in serve receive. She didn't look any worse than the littles in passing and looked comfortable hitting on the left, so it could be an option if Lauren Murphy is good enough to play OPP as a freshman. OSU led most of the set but Dayton made a big run with Taylor and McClure in serve receive.
Set 4: OSU 25-22. OSU switched back to Sarah White at setter and Morbtizer at L with Thorpe at Opp. Similar set to 3, except never had Taylor and McClure on the court together, so OSU didn't get stuck in a rotation that could not pass at all.
Set 5: Dayton 15-10. Back to set 2 line up for OSU, but they passed like in set 1 and fell down early.
Overall thoughts:
Mia Tuman looked real good for an early enrollee who has been practicing for at most a month at the college level. I still think it is Sarah White's job to lose, but I wouldn't be stunned if Tuman gets a chance this fall or is the starter.
The passing was real bad. When Thorpe was OH, she struggled to pass, which isn't a surprise for a freshman, but the littles were shockingly bad. Morbitzer was the best at passing and in rally and should be the starting libero based on last year and today. Sydney Taylor struggled again. It looked like last year against Texas where she was the starter but did not pass well and didn't get enough balls up in rallies to be considered as a B1G libero. She really needs to improve or she will be passed on the depth chart for a DS position. McClure also struggled to pass but was less of a liability in rally and has a good serve. Walk on Megan McCann played at DS for OPP in set 3, 4, and 5 and really struggled to cover her area and with ball control, but she won't see any important playing time for this team. I think Murr is going to be the most noticeable loss for OSU.
Chelsea Thorpe looked pretty good hitting and was part of some big blocks. I think she has the inside track to one of the two starting hitter spots up for grabs based on getting these reps in spring while Egan is apparently not fully healthy and Murphy not enrolling for spring semester.
Zaria Ragler had some nice shots but at other times looked a bit awkward, especially on joust situations. I am not sure how long she has been playing volleyball but she looked raw. My guess is that Eloise Brandewie will most likely start alongside Rader when she gets here for the fall.
My last thought is about how much the program has grown the fanbase in the last few years. The crowd today was similar to what it would get for a B1G match in St. Johns. Also so many kids were going up to the seniors (Murr, Gonzales, Podraza) for pictures and autographs.
