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Post by gofaster88 on Apr 19, 2024 14:05:35 GMT -5
with all the player of the year talk if you have to be player of the year in your conference to win national I would bet on dapre Rodgers, just won player of the year for cal pac, broke a few attacking records this year and no one really seems to care about the fact the team is suffering. If not him then maybe Krausse will win a second time if he wins in the heart, but I have a hard time believing they will give it to setter in paragas I like Rogers but there is no way you can justify him for POY over the other guys. He hit under .200 in 8 of 20 matches he played in. His first 5 matches against Masters, ACU, Park, and Vanguard were pretty terrible (.039 hitting)
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franknvb
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NAIA 2024
Apr 19, 2024 16:09:04 GMT -5
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Post by franknvb on Apr 19, 2024 16:09:04 GMT -5
I'm brand new to this forum so I'm still learning about the league and the players, but I think I see things a bit differently regarding the POY.
First, I absolutely agree that Anderson has had a nice season as the Oppo for Vanguard. Put the ball in his hands and he aces from the service line and kills from the right side. Nearly unstoppable! He carried his team to wins against the top teams in the nation, especially early in the season.
Looks like most on this forum believe that the player of the year should be an attacker. I agree that the attackers are extremely important, and they certainly get the cheers and the glory on the kills, but they cannot do it alone. Unlike basketball where a player can take the ball from rebound to score without any teammate touching the ball, volleyball needs the team on almost every play. And the player who touches the ball on almost every point is the setter.
The setter takes the pass, and like the quarterback in football taking the snap, decides who and where to put the ball. The setter is involved in defense (blocks, digs), and of course setting (assists). They may also get points by serving and dumping (kills). When there's a bad pass, the setter has to "better" that pass to get a point. If certain teammates are not feeling it, they need to find the other teammates to step up. It's easier when the setter has a superstar who always performs well. Put the ball in the vicinity and it's a kill.
I think both Paragas from Masters and Meyer from OUAZ have proven to be great setters who have not just excelled in setting (assists), but also in other aspects of the game as a setter: serving (aces), defense (blocks & digs), kills. They have each come in new to their team, built the chemistry with their teammates, and navigated their team to one of the top three teams in the nation.
The POY in 2022 was a setter from Grand View, Francisco Arredondo, who lead his team to a national championship. Something to consider if either Masters or OUAZ wins the national championship.
As a former setter, I am completely onboard with a setter winning the Player of the Year award (as Jacob Thiel of Hawaii did last year in the NCAA) and I think the three best all play in the same conference and any of them would be warranted to win. (Paragas was obviously considered the best by winning POY and I can't argue with that one bit). They all bring completely different strengths to the game, while all be great at the main skill of setting. It really is a personal prefernce of what you want/need for your team. Patrick Paragas is probably the best pure "setter" in the nation but also has the most well rounded team on the court (backed up by the fact all 7 starters made the GSAC all tournament team). Patrick is able to consistently get his hitters up against single blocks. He is on the shorter side 6'1". Has his team hitting 0.361 for second best in the nation. Zeo Meyer (6'4") is a weapon at both the service line and probably attacks the ball more than any other setter in the nation. That puts lot of pressure on the opposing team. He also brings the ability to become an Opposite hitter (bringing in the backup setter for their back row Opp) when in the front row which can get them out of jams. He has the Spirit hitting .323 for third best in the nation. Ryan Smith is 6'9" and a huge presence at the net. He able to save many over passes and opposing blockers have to pay him a lot of attention. His block touches a ton of ball. His team is hitting .382 for top in the NAIA. Ironically all three of the setters started their career elsewhere and came right into their new teams and made a huge impact. I guess I would argue that some of the players that were all conference was because of Patrick's setting?
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Post by photogirl on Apr 19, 2024 16:44:06 GMT -5
As a former setter, I am completely onboard with a setter winning the Player of the Year award (as Jacob Thiel of Hawaii did last year in the NCAA) and I think the three best all play in the same conference and any of them would be warranted to win. (Paragas was obviously considered the best by winning POY and I can't argue with that one bit). They all bring completely different strengths to the game, while all be great at the main skill of setting. It really is a personal prefernce of what you want/need for your team. Patrick Paragas is probably the best pure "setter" in the nation but also has the most well rounded team on the court (backed up by the fact all 7 starters made the GSAC all tournament team). Patrick is able to consistently get his hitters up against single blocks. He is on the shorter side 6'1". Has his team hitting 0.361 for second best in the nation. Zeo Meyer (6'4") is a weapon at both the service line and probably attacks the ball more than any other setter in the nation. That puts lot of pressure on the opposing team. He also brings the ability to become an Opposite hitter (bringing in the backup setter for their back row Opp) when in the front row which can get them out of jams. He has the Spirit hitting .323 for third best in the nation. Ryan Smith is 6'9" and a huge presence at the net. He able to save many over passes and opposing blockers have to pay him a lot of attention. His block touches a ton of ball. His team is hitting .382 for top in the NAIA. Ironically all three of the setters started their career elsewhere and came right into their new teams and made a huge impact. I guess I would argue that some of the players that were all conference was because of Patrick's setting? I think the argument can be made either way. The setter made all the hitters look better than maybe they otherwise would be. Or the hitters made the setter look better than he might otherwise look. With Masters, I think it is a combination of both. All 7 of their players deserved to be on the All conference team, as I think they have the top middle in the nation in Mason Mullins and Will Avera is top 10. Preston Schmidt is the best player in the nation playing Libero (the only better Libero is his teammate, Diego Perez who is playing OH). Speaking of Diego, he and Braden Van Groningen are solid outside hitters (top 15-20) and provide great passing so Masters is almost always in system, making things a little easier. Isaac Seltzer is a top 10 Opposite and as already discussed, they might have the best setter in the nation. No other team has that kind of talent at every position and that is why the are number 2 in hitting percentage at .361 (leader is 21 points higher at .382).
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NAIA 2024
Apr 19, 2024 20:57:21 GMT -5
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Post by whacvolleyball on Apr 19, 2024 20:57:21 GMT -5
Indiana Tech 3-0 over Cornerstone Lawrence tech 3-2 over Lourdes.
Tech vs Tech tomorrow for the WHAC.
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NAIA 2024
Apr 19, 2024 21:05:45 GMT -5
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Post by photogirl on Apr 19, 2024 21:05:45 GMT -5
Indiana Tech 3-0 over Cornerstone Lawrence tech 3-2 over Lourdes. Tech vs Tech tomorrow for the WHAC. Lawrence Tech was down 9-16 in third and then up 24-21 with a chance for the sweep before losing 32-30. Then pulled out in set 5 for the big upset.
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NAIA 2024
Apr 19, 2024 22:32:37 GMT -5
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Post by naiamvbfan on Apr 19, 2024 22:32:37 GMT -5
I think at large bids are likely set with Menlo losing today. My guess at seeding for nationals.
1. GSAC winner 2. GSAC runner up 3. HOA winner 4. OUAZ 5. HOA runner up 6. Saint Xavier 7. Jamestown 8. Georgetown 9. Mount Mercy 10. Indiana Tech/Lawrence Tech 11. UC Merced/Westcliff 12. Webber/Reinhardt
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NAIA 2024
Apr 19, 2024 23:40:55 GMT -5
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Post by photogirl on Apr 19, 2024 23:40:55 GMT -5
I think at large bids are likely set with Menlo losing today. My guess at seeding for nationals. 1. GSAC winner 2. GSAC runner up 3. HOA winner 4. OUAZ 5. HOA runner up 6. Saint Xavier 7. Jamestown 8. Georgetown 9. Mount Mercy 10. Indiana Tech/Lawrence Tech 11. UC Merced/Westcliff 12. Webber/Reinhardt I think the top 5 seeds are a lock. After that I think you are pretty spot on unless there are upsets tomorrow. Today felt like the opening round of the NCAA basketball tournament with all the games to follow and with a few upsets. Had four devices going at one time with either the stream on or watching the score change because I didn’t want to pay to watch the match (talking to you mid south and Cal PAC). Six finals tomorrow where the winner gets in and the losers season is over. Should be fun.
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franknvb
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Apr 20, 2024 12:04:03 GMT -5
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Post by franknvb on Apr 20, 2024 12:04:03 GMT -5
Can't count outBen U Mesa. After their loss, on their website they say they have a small chance for an at large bid.
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Post by photogirl on Apr 20, 2024 14:05:11 GMT -5
Can't count outBen U Mesa. After their loss, on their website they say they have a small chance for an at large bid. Talk about delusion. About 5-10 teams that would get it before them.
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NAIA 2024
Apr 20, 2024 14:07:00 GMT -5
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Post by photogirl on Apr 20, 2024 14:07:00 GMT -5
Reinhardt is first team team to punch their ticket with a four set win over Webber. Without upsets, I think they will be the 12 seed.
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Apr 20, 2024 14:30:22 GMT -5
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Post by photogirl on Apr 20, 2024 14:30:22 GMT -5
Saint Xavier wins the CCAC in three and probably locks up the 6 seed.
Grand View wins first set against William Penn.
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Apr 20, 2024 15:59:06 GMT -5
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Post by photogirl on Apr 20, 2024 15:59:06 GMT -5
Grand View sweeps William Penn. I would expect Gran View to be the 3 seed and William Penn to be 5.
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Post by photogirl on Apr 20, 2024 16:44:44 GMT -5
Masters with a dominating win against Vanguard in the GSAC final proving why they are the National Championship favorite. Masters showed their depth today. Libero Preston Schmidt did not play with Diego Perez playing Libero and Cole Oliver came in at Outside and had a monster game, hitting .667 with 10 kills on 15 errorless swings. This match also showed why Masters earned 7 all conference team members (of the 14). They are really good at every position.
Everything went their way. A call here or there, a lucky bounce or three off the ceiling but most importantly, their defense was amazing. Nothing hit the floor. They were able to completely neutralize Will Anderson limiting him to one kill while hitting -.278 on 18 swings. As a team, they hit .362 while limiting the nations top hitting team in Vanguard to .132. Both teams had 14 service errors but Masters had an 11-3 Ace advantage.
Vanguard saw the return of Reza Tahmasebi (also played last night against OUAZ) after more than a month out and he looked a little rusty. I would expect him to be much better in Cedar Rapids. Vanguard also played their last two matches without Libero, Sean Nguyen. Not sure if he is hurt or coach decided to go with someone else.
I think Vanguard is still the clear cut second best team in the nation with todays scores were more indicative of the level that Masters is playing at right now. Who would have thought you could lose Nolan Flexon and actually be much better? That is obviously no slight at Nolan, but I think they clearly are.
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NAIA 2024
Apr 20, 2024 17:45:11 GMT -5
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Post by naiamvbfan on Apr 20, 2024 17:45:11 GMT -5
Grand View sweeps William Penn. I would expect Gran View to be the 2 seed and William Penn to be 5. You think Grand View is the 2 seed? Not Vanguard?
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NAIA 2024
Apr 20, 2024 18:18:18 GMT -5
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Post by photogirl on Apr 20, 2024 18:18:18 GMT -5
Nope. Looks like I fat fingered it. Trying to type on a phone while following all the games.
Vanguard at 2 and Grand View and 3.
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