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Post by comet on Nov 4, 2023 9:00:12 GMT -5
Uff you guys, this was painful to read. Did someone just suggest that Cook is purposely trying to lose games? Get a grip Gopher fans.
We are all frustrated by certain things on this Goher team, but I saw a lot of good things too with this win. We sometimes need to win ugly! Maybe this team will always win "ugly" but get a win anyway you can right now.
Our blocked stepped UP last night. After having a rough second set, we recovered and were able to gain momentum. We haven't always been able to do that. Wurcherer struggled with serve receive a few times but she was a reliable offensive threat the WHOLE game, even at the end, which was huge.
I'll take the win as nothing is guaranteed this year.
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Post by mcmike on Nov 4, 2023 9:13:11 GMT -5
A few years ago after MSU (IIRC) served us off the court I suggested bringing a suitable server from the men’s club to give reps in practice that teammates could not deliver.
I don’t know how you could not be tense when you are constantly targeted but it’s hard to soften a serve with pace if your platform is rigid
As uncomfortable as we, as fans are, more compassion is required, particularly Wookie for herself
Growing pains
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Post by BigDigEnergy on Nov 4, 2023 9:20:27 GMT -5
Uff you guys, this was painful to read. Did someone just suggest that Cook is purposely trying to lose games? Get a grip Gopher fans. We are all frustrated by certain things on this Goher team, but I saw a lot of good things too with this win. We sometimes need to win ugly! Maybe this team will always win "ugly" but get a win anyway you can right now. Our blocked stepped UP last night. After having a rough second set, we recovered and were able to gain momentum. We haven't always been able to do that. Wurcherer struggled with serve receive a few times but she was a reliable offensive threat the WHOLE game, even at the end, which was huge. I'll take the win as nothing is guaranteed this year. This!!! Some of these posters are particularly awful and mean. And it’s a win on a road which they haven’t done a lot this season either. Kudos to the girls for grinding it out for this very important win.
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Post by GoGophs on Nov 4, 2023 9:31:09 GMT -5
Uff you guys, this was painful to read. Did someone just suggest that Cook is purposely trying to lose games? Get a grip Gopher fans. We are all frustrated by certain things on this Goher team, but I saw a lot of good things too with this win. We sometimes need to win ugly! Maybe this team will always win "ugly" but get a win anyway you can right now. Our blocked stepped UP last night. After having a rough second set, we recovered and were able to gain momentum. We haven't always been able to do that. Wurcherer struggled with serve receive a few times but she was a reliable offensive threat the WHOLE game, even at the end, which was huge. I'll take the win as nothing is guaranteed this year. Thank you for mentioning Wuchs being consistently reliable too.. what a huge difference when she doesn't get down on herself. She stayed decently steady throughout the match and didn't let a bad swing/bad pass/or bad defensive move get her down completely. HUGE win in the Wookie column last night. Also BOTH Landfair and Wuchs had double doubles last night... 14K/11D and 16K/10D respectively. SEVEN blocks for Awoleye and 5 for Shaff. TWELVE blocks and EIGHT aces as a team last night too. Serve receive shmerve shmaceive, they made it work and got it done. Edit to add: Shaffmaster had her 14th double double of the season too... leading the Big Ten. That's pretty freaking good... Edit to add again: AND they held Londot to .079 (on 63 swings too... girl needs some major R&R on her shoulder after this season)
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Post by forvolley on Nov 4, 2023 10:01:02 GMT -5
STOP ASKING THIS. The answer is literally anyone. More specifically, the backup libero Palabiak, then the other DS Skylar Gray, then the backup OH Julia Hanson. COOK REFUSES TO TRY. it's not his fault, trust me on this next year should be different from what I've heard What does this mean? What isn’t Cooks fault and what will be different next year? Just curious what you mean by that.
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Post by vbruh on Nov 4, 2023 10:42:00 GMT -5
it's not his fault, trust me on this next year should be different from what I've heard What does this mean? What isn’t Cooks fault and what will be different next year? Just curious what you mean by that. The Gophers lack viable options to shore up defense, specifically serve receive. The key question to ask is "are we better off subbing Wucherer for a better passer/digger?" To those who think Cook just refuses to make a change, how do you explain Hanson serving for Wucherer? Hint: Because in that rotation it increases MN odds of scoring, as evaluated in training and recommended by staff. So back to who to back row sub: the answer depends on who that is, between Hanson (who already subs for serve), Zeynep, Gray, Ng, and McGhie. Most folks here say that is Zeynep. Do we know Z's passing stats in practice? No, we don't. Unless it's significantly better, why make a move, when the secondary/tertiary goal is BIC (let's not go there yet ? "But she was a great libero in Turkey..." I get it, different circumstances. When Zeynep shows consistent SR metrics, and is reliable as a middle back, not libero, I'll bet she becomes an option. Another observation: 6 weeks ago, most here were demanding subbing Landfair, who has shown steady improvement in SR and defense. She's been given time and improve. The same is probably the case with Kenna. Ideally, the best attackers play 6 rotations. I realize that Nebraska is doing what everyone is asking MN to do...Choboy for Batenhorst. It would have been nice to have Choboy at MN.
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Post by mcmike on Nov 4, 2023 11:37:13 GMT -5
A MN win proves nothing, but a failure to keep Londot et.al. in check seriously damages NCAA tourney hopes for them. Serious questions for me re. the coaching staff if late to close Davis will be responsible when Londot is front row. VERY HAPPY TO SEE PHOEBE WITH TWO BLOCK ASSISTS EARLY IN SET 1 Maybe hold tOSU hitting % under .200? I expect the squad to show resolve and improvement with the middle connection and hitting percentages. Report card Londot 18 13 63 .079 awesome, blocked 4x twice in the first set and Davis got a block out of a pipe in set4 OSU H% .133 awesome, particularly the early blocking Middle stats 5 2 14 appears that it ain't gonna happen this year MN H% .195 Wookie & TayLa carried the load Resolve A, E, B, B, the inability to get back on the rails in set 2 was worrisome, but the team got itself reorganized to finish well
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Post by zero-rotation outside hitter on Nov 4, 2023 12:33:35 GMT -5
What does this mean? What isn’t Cooks fault and what will be different next year? Just curious what you mean by that. The Gophers lack viable options to shore up defense, specifically serve receive. The key question to ask is "are we better off subbing Wucherer for a better passer/digger?" To those who think Cook just refuses to make a change, how do you explain Hanson serving for Wucherer? Hint: Because in that rotation it increases MN odds of scoring, as evaluated in training and recommended by staff. So back to who to back row sub: the answer depends on who that is, between Hanson (who already subs for serve), Zeynep, Gray, Ng, and McGhie. Most folks here say that is Zeynep. Do we know Z's passing stats in practice? No, we don't. Unless it's significantly better, why make a move, when the secondary/tertiary goal is BIC (let's not go there yet ? "But she was a great libero in Turkey..." I get it, different circumstances. When Zeynep shows consistent SR metrics, and is reliable as a middle back, not libero, I'll bet she becomes an option. Another observation: 6 weeks ago, most here were demanding subbing Landfair, who has shown steady improvement in SR and defense. She's been given time and improve. The same is probably the case with Kenna. Ideally, the best attackers play 6 rotations. I realize that Nebraska is doing what everyone is asking MN to do...Choboy for Batenhorst. It would have been nice to have Choboy at MN. All of this seems reasonable on paper, but the reality is Wucherer had seven reception errors, and I doubt her % on those that weren't aces was anywhere near solid. So, while the Gophers scrape by a pretty rough team, they could possibly be sweeping at -14, -15 or -16. Choboy for Batenhorst works. Nebraska wins more matches (not just for that reason of course), but their setter is just given so many more opportunities. And they have a setter who can better the ball MUCH more consistently than can Minnesota's. It remains a huge head scratcher to me. Yes, "a win is a win" blah blah blah. But like McCutcheon used to correctly point out, the work they do through the season is so they are best when tourney time rolls around. The opposite seems to be happening for Minnesota. Maybe there is still time to prove this observation wrong (assuming they even make the tournament). I'm not holding my breath. As an aside, it's interesting how Landfair is actually shaping up to be first-team all B1G. Her numbers for the conference season have been quite good.
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Post by jeepers on Nov 4, 2023 12:42:53 GMT -5
The Gophers lack viable options to shore up defense, specifically serve receive. The key question to ask is "are we better off subbing Wucherer for a better passer/digger?" To those who think Cook just refuses to make a change, how do you explain Hanson serving for Wucherer? Hint: Because in that rotation it increases MN odds of scoring, as evaluated in training and recommended by staff. So back to who to back row sub: the answer depends on who that is, between Hanson (who already subs for serve), Zeynep, Gray, Ng, and McGhie. Most folks here say that is Zeynep. Do we know Z's passing stats in practice? No, we don't. Unless it's significantly better, why make a move, when the secondary/tertiary goal is BIC (let's not go there yet ? "But she was a great libero in Turkey..." I get it, different circumstances. When Zeynep shows consistent SR metrics, and is reliable as a middle back, not libero, I'll bet she becomes an option. Another observation: 6 weeks ago, most here were demanding subbing Landfair, who has shown steady improvement in SR and defense. She's been given time and improve. The same is probably the case with Kenna. Ideally, the best attackers play 6 rotations. I realize that Nebraska is doing what everyone is asking MN to do...Choboy for Batenhorst. It would have been nice to have Choboy at MN. All of this seems reasonable on paper, but the reality is Wucherer had seven reception errors, and I doubt her % on those that weren't aces was anywhere near solid. So, while the Gophers scrape by a pretty rough team, they could possibly be sweeping at -14, -15 or -16. Choboy for Batenhorst works. Nebraska wins more matches (not just for that reason of course), but their setter is just given so many more opportunities. And they have a setter who can better the ball MUCH more consistently than can Minnesota's. It remains a huge head scratcher to me. Yes, "a win is a win" blah blah blah. But like McCutcheon used to correctly point out, the work they do through the season is so they are best when tourney time rolls around. The opposite seems to be happening for Minnesota. Maybe there is still time to prove this observation wrong (assuming they even make the tournament). I'm not holding my breath. As an aside, it's interesting how Landfair is actually shaping up to be first-team all B1G. Her numbers for the conference season have been quite good. Landfair must have had some nagging core/back injury earlier in the that let her play but hindered her power. She is hitting the ball MUCH harder the last 3 weeks. I think last night was the first night where both Landfair and Wucherer showed up offensively against a decent team. I've given up on serve receive for the year, and a consistent middle attack for the rest of the Shaffmaster era. This team is seriously one dimensional and limited, but they do have the ability to be a tournament team.
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Post by Kearney Kingston on Nov 4, 2023 12:44:21 GMT -5
I am suspicious that the former Gopher coach, the guy who has an Olympic Gold medal, was so unamused with UM fans antics that he said, “I don’t need this”.
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Post by zero-rotation outside hitter on Nov 4, 2023 12:51:43 GMT -5
All of this seems reasonable on paper, but the reality is Wucherer had seven reception errors, and I doubt her % on those that weren't aces was anywhere near solid. So, while the Gophers scrape by a pretty rough team, they could possibly be sweeping at -14, -15 or -16. Choboy for Batenhorst works. Nebraska wins more matches (not just for that reason of course), but their setter is just given so many more opportunities. And they have a setter who can better the ball MUCH more consistently than can Minnesota's. It remains a huge head scratcher to me. Yes, "a win is a win" blah blah blah. But like McCutcheon used to correctly point out, the work they do through the season is so they are best when tourney time rolls around. The opposite seems to be happening for Minnesota. Maybe there is still time to prove this observation wrong (assuming they even make the tournament). I'm not holding my breath. As an aside, it's interesting how Landfair is actually shaping up to be first-team all B1G. Her numbers for the conference season have been quite good. Landfair must have had some nagging core/back injury earlier in the that let her play but hindered her power. She is hitting the ball MUCH harder the last 3 weeks. I think last night was the first night where both Landfair and Wucherer showed up offensively against a decent team. I've given up on serve receive for the year, and a consistent middle attack for the rest of the Shaffmaster era. This team is seriously one dimensional and limited, but they do have the ability to be a tournament team. It's disheartening that the Shaffmaster era is likley going to be five seasons. There will be no question that Stella Swenson has the better hands. I read someone post earlier that the setter with the better hands (when comparing the setter's offensive capabilities) will start 100% of the time. While I agree that should be the case, Cook has shown that actually scoring more points is not necessarily his number-one priority when fielding a lineup. So, we may be looking at another season of no middle attack, poor free ball swings, and a high high percentage of bumps sets to the outside.
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Post by mcmike on Nov 4, 2023 13:01:25 GMT -5
zero-rotation outside hitter: spot on, but you seem to have shortchanged the following:
I think it is worth noting that, in set 1, they had Phoebe on Londot. That is a switch. I think you need to sacrifice offense (as meager as it is from our middles) to have your best blocker on the opponent's OH1. When we meet Purdue again I vote facing Chicoine.
TayLa's defensive efforts are notable, but this is a shift from dismal to not quite respectable. She appears more attentive, but that hasn't necessarily translated into movement. She let an offspeed roll shot into the donut basically fall basically in front of her feet. No question though, there is improvement.
Wookie's performance, aside from reception woes, was AWESOME. Was only blocked twice and only had 2 HEs. I didn't see set 1, was in a bar for sets 2, 3 & part of 4. I don't know if the set location she received was different, or her ability to adjust was different, or the stars just aligned, but she wasn't driving the ball into a wall and having it come back at her. SEE CHART OF WOOKIE KILLS BELOW
Finally, I think you have to give MN credit for reversing the SA/SE ratio over the last two months. I do think they could work more on serving seams and serving with more pace.
Agree that a sweep could have been in the cards, but they continue to be sorta woeful when it comes to FBSOs. I think I am more optimistic than you, but let's get out of Evanston with a win and see if we can handle two strong pins in the Purdue rematch. If we cannot, then the Haworth/Hoosier match will be really crucial.
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Post by comet on Nov 4, 2023 15:13:47 GMT -5
mcmike from what I noticed it seemed like the sets from Shaff were a little better/more consistent OR Wurcherer's timing was better. I'd have to rewatch to see. She also seemed to maybe be jumping higher? But that could be because of full momentum off better sets/timing.
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Post by mcmike on Nov 4, 2023 17:06:37 GMT -5
mcmike from what I noticed it seemed like the sets from Shaff were a little better/more consistent OR Wurcherer's timing was better. I'd have to rewatch to see. She also seemed to maybe be jumping higher? But that could be because of full momentum off better sets/timing. I did rewatch using the play by play to cue up the kills BiT= ball in transition
4-6 FBSO Wookie pass to 9', set to 7', kill off high hands 5-7 FBSO Wookie to knees, bump set OOS, kill from 8' 7-8 Roll shot from backcourt in transition (only back row attack for a kill) 24-21 FBSO OOS tooling block after bump set across the entire court
0-0 FBSO OOS bump set from outside court, hits into block from 10' 5-7 FBSO OOS super high perfect set from TayLa, over block
4-3 FBiT beautiful high set by Shaff after diving dig Murr, for kill over block 5-4 FBSO from bump set, opp. block touch caromed OOB 7-11 FBSO from beautiful back bump set by Davis, xcourt ending 7-0 OSU run 18-15 FBiT roll shot into donut after set from TayLa 21-17 FBiT on2 from 3' after fortunate high knuckle? dig from Shaff 22-17 FBiT after in system pass and HIGH set 3' from net, hit over 4 hands 24-22 FBSO perfect pass from TayLa, lower set from Shaff, hard drive
7-9 3BiT Shaff's set from behind attack line was shallower, attacked at sideline over or between blockers, good adjustment by Wookie 15-13 2BSO after good pass and set 5x5 24-18 FBSO Wookie3pass, Shaff high set, killed over the block which appeared to expect a lower set
Wookie scored every set & matchpoint. Most of her kills were from hard swings, not finesse shots, no tip kills Surprisingly, not many of her kills were classically in system Her point of contact was routinely higher and most of her kills were from higher sets. imo, a breakout performance, one of the best of any OH that I remember, and hopefully a harbinger of more to come.
(I've never charted anyone else like this however) It must be emphasized that she made only 1 HE the entire match aside from the 1x she was blocked and her 'take out the garbage' responsibility means that her hitting efficiency gets compromised by OOS 3rd contacts that are not attackable
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Post by mcmike on Nov 4, 2023 20:50:47 GMT -5
Turning point of the MN tOSU match: Resilience in the face of 86% collapse of serve reception
MN up 7-4 then a Grote SE Lauren Murphy serves 7 times: 4 aces, 1 shank, 1 good pass (but Wookie got tippy), & the bad pass that Davis turned into a fabulous high backset that Wookie crushed for a truly magnificent assist.
A run like this tanked the second set for MN. A sideout like that could turn the momentum 180o It's 8-11 can we get reconstituted? Nope, after O O M M(super line kill by TayLa) O the score is 10-14 Rader serves and TayLa somewhat awkwardly gets a reasonable pass a few feet her side of the centerline. TayLa gets a cross court kill and Shaffmaster goes to the service line
I aim to assign gold stars and note gifts during this 9-1 run that turned the match around in our favor
11-14 Shaff very long rally won by OSU but a challenge found them in the net 12-14 Shaff ace 13-14 Shaff FBiT Shaff's serve was not handled well leading to free ball and TayLa kill 14-14 Shaff ace 15-14 Shaff shanked pass, bettered bump set, & Londot tools Phoebe 15-15 OSU FBSO Ro1 TayLa xcourt after nice pass by Grote on a very short serve. TayLa (home in zone 6) was stacked behind Phoebe & Grote. Shaff hiding, Murr & Wookie covering most of back court. Don't think I've seen this stack before. 16-15 TayLa OSU sets Londot on RS, Wookie and Phoebe block 17-15 TayLa HE by OSU 18-15 TayLa poor pass, OOS set 11' off, got a block touch, great dive save by Murr, high set from TayLa 5' from endline up to Wookie for FBiT roll shot kill into the donut OSU t.o. 19-15 TayLa FBiT HE by Wookie from an OOS set. her only untouched HE of the match MN was the beneficiary of an OSU net and of one HE. The other 7 points was a truly competent display of VB. They earned their run that turned the match in their favor after nearly crashing on serve reception shoals High marks to Shaff & TayLa for tough serving keeping OSU mostly OOS and not killing momo with any SEs
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