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Post by Chewblocka on Nov 9, 2024 21:58:41 GMT -5
Nice win tonight, we had control through most of it which shows in the teams confidence. Moser does look hurt though, I hope that this will heal as we move forward. Seems like Tamas is adjusting and padding as necessary. I-L-L
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Post by pittsstan on Nov 9, 2024 22:05:40 GMT -5
Great win! Hopefully, we can keep picking up the must-wins and snag a few upsets along the way. I feel really confident that we’re in great shape to make it back to the tournament. So happy for Terry and all that she’s accomplished here – I’ve been a fan of hers since my grad student days at Illinois, and I’m really rooting for her to finish the season strong and earn those AA acknowledgements. She absolutely deserves it!
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Post by illinivbfan1992 on Nov 9, 2024 23:39:26 GMT -5
I want to correct something I said yesterday. I thought the first set we won against USC was our first set off any ranked team this year. Forgot that we took one off Dayton (then #24, now #19).
It's a good looking record we've built up. Honestly, if we just don't stumble against Rutgers and win at least one other match (so we don't end the season losing 5 of 6 and looking out of gas), we're in. Now it's mostly about building momentum, and the several high-ranked teams left can be approached as opportunities. No real pressure, so swing for the fences!
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Post by ilalum92 on Nov 10, 2024 0:33:36 GMT -5
I want to correct something I said yesterday. I thought the first set we won against USC was our first set off any ranked team this year. Forgot that we took one off Dayton (then #24, now #19).
It's a good looking record we've built up. Honestly, if we just don't stumble against Rutgers and win at least one other match (so we don't end the season losing 5 of 6 and looking out of gas), we're in. Now it's mostly about building momentum, and the several high-ranked teams left can be approached as opportunities. No real pressure, so swing for the fences!
Completely agree! We need to get out there and go for it. Stop thinking ahead and play each match with attitude. |
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Post by vbkahuna on Nov 10, 2024 10:24:49 GMT -5
Great weekend for the Illini. Picked to be 11th in the Big Ten and now sitting tied for 6th with Minnesota. 17-7 with 6 matches to go, so if they split those remaining games or better, they'll have a 20-win season and a trip to the playoffs.
I was at both matches this weekend, and to my eyes, they're now playing like they really belong in the playoffs and not just squeaking in. They fought toe-to-toe against #20 USC and seriously beat up a really good Ohio State team that is much better than its record shows (Londot, Rader, Sellman...are you kidding me?).
So what's happened since the shaky start of the season? A lot of pieces have finally come together and are finally playing well together. Most of all, the back row play and overall team defense are vastly improved. They're staying in points on long rallies that they used to lose. Raina has reinforcements, and now has more in the tank left at the end of sets and matches to turn into Superwoman for the win, with Supergirl Philpot flying in if needed. Really good, quick blocking walls put up by the big front row, and especially Bohm, Philpot, and Raina. And who knew Hernandez had every trick shot in the book to somehow get over, around, or through the blocking walls?
Sure, don't get cocky, but stop walking on eggshells. This team is now playing like it's legit. To paraphrase the immortal words of ilalum92, stop thinking ahead and ENJOY each match...with attitude.
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Post by ilalum92 on Nov 10, 2024 15:32:32 GMT -5
Great weekend for the Illini. Picked to be 11th in the Big Ten and now sitting tied for 6th with Minnesota. 17-7 with 6 matches to go, so if they split those remaining games or better, they'll have a 20-win season and a trip to the playoffs. I was at both matches this weekend, and to my eyes, they're now playing like they really belong in the playoffs and not just squeaking in. They fought toe-to-toe against #20 USC and seriously beat up a really good Ohio State team that is much better than its record shows (Londot, Rader, Sellman...are you kidding me?). So what's happened since the shaky start of the season? A lot of pieces have finally come together and are finally playing well together. Most of all, the back row play and overall team defense are vastly improved. They're staying in points on long rallies that they used to lose. Raina has reinforcements, and now has more in the tank left at the end of sets and matches to turn into Superwoman for the win, with Supergirl Philpot flying in if needed. Really good, quick blocking walls put up by the big front row, and especially Bohm, Philpot, and Raina. And who knew Hernandez had every trick shot in the book to somehow get over, around, or through the blocking walls? Sure, don't get cocky, but stop walking on eggshells. This team is now playing like it's legit. To paraphrase the immortal words of ilalum92, stop thinking ahead and ENJOY each match...with attitude. We are playing with more confidence for sure. The effort level has increased too. Philpot is a bonafide threat in the front row. Dare I saw she is having a better frosh season than Ali had. Averie has come into her own. She is swinging with more confidence and hitting the ball a lot harder plus mixing in some shots. Smith seems to be hot & cold along with Bohm, but their block is making up for it. We’ve also cut down on service errors. I am all for get the ball In let your block & defense work, rather than giving the other team free points. Back row is digging more and more tenacious covering tips, block touches etc. Passing is getting better. Overall, a big improvement over the last few matches. Let’s finish the season strong! We’ve got at least 3 more wins in us. |
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Post by oldmanvb on Nov 10, 2024 16:11:00 GMT -5
We need to raise our expectations. We are more than capable of doing much better than 3 more wins before the end of the year, and I expect that we will. Next weekend will be tough and I hope it does not impact our new-found and well-deserved confidence. Still, I would not be shocked by a split against PSU and Purdue, even though both are terrific teams and both matches are on the road. After next weekend, we are fully capable of winning our last 4.
Here are our pre-season predictions
exit237a Illinois 21-9
Ilalum92. ILLINOIS. 20-10
PostPrime Illinois 19-11
pointillinois Illinois 19-11
IntheKnow Illinois 18-12
UofIlliniVBfan Illinois 17-13
Del Bocavista Illinois 19-11
badgerbyproxy Illinois 21-9
BigDigEnergy Illinois 20-10
Oldmanvb Illinois 21-9
B1gvballfan Illinois 20-10
Illini88 Illinois 21-9
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Post by illinivbfan1992 on Nov 10, 2024 16:45:40 GMT -5
Having a hard time getting used to this: We're now living in a world where I find myself rooting for traditional power/Big Ten partycrasher USC against Big Ten OG Indiana. Gotta preserve the value of our win. USC just took the first set in Bloomington, 26-24. Go ... Trojans? Feels so strange to say it out loud!
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Post by exit237a on Nov 10, 2024 17:31:11 GMT -5
Having a hard time getting used to this: We're now living in a world where I find myself rooting for traditional power/Big Ten partycrasher USC against Big Ten OG Indiana. Gotta preserve the value of our win. USC just took the first set in Bloomington, 26-24. Go ... Trojans? Feels so strange to say it out loud! Good point about preserving the value of the win! I think we want USC to remain Top 50 for RPI bonus or whatever that is. So yeah, makes sense to root for USC from here on out. |
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Post by illinivbfan1992 on Nov 10, 2024 18:58:00 GMT -5
Having a hard time getting used to this: We're now living in a world where I find myself rooting for traditional power/Big Ten partycrasher USC against Big Ten OG Indiana. Gotta preserve the value of our win. USC just took the first set in Bloomington, 26-24. Go ... Trojans? Feels so strange to say it out loud! Good point about preserving the value of the win! I think we want USC to remain Top 50 for RPI bonus or whatever that is. So yeah, makes sense to root for USC from here on out. Mission accomplished in four, but not easily. USC took the first and fourth sets 26-24. Here's a stat that jumps out: USC 3 aces, 18 errors (Tuaniga 1 and 6) against Indiana. Against us: USC 17 aces, 10 errors (Tuaniga 6 and 3). As we know so well from Brooke's experience, the killer jump serve giveth and it taketh away. |
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Post by jdl on Nov 11, 2024 8:38:14 GMT -5
RPI 26
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Post by oldmanvb on Nov 11, 2024 10:35:22 GMT -5
Just for fun, and not wanting to jinx the balance of the season, if we were to go 5-1 over the rest of the regular season could our rpi improve enough to sniff at a seed?
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Post by UofIlliniVBFan on Nov 11, 2024 11:15:44 GMT -5
Just for fun, and not wanting to jinx the balance of the season, if we were to go 5-1 over the rest of the regular season could our rpi improve enough to sniff at a seed? Maybe the RPI gurus will chime in. IMHO...No chance in Hades of Illinois receiving a seed. The Illini have not defeated a top 20 RPI team (below) with two opportunities upcoming at Penn State and Purdue. If Illinois were to go 6-0 or 5-1, which team(s) are likely to hit the iceberg and sink reciprocally (0-6 or 1-5). Recent seasons, we've observed it is difficult to significantly improve RPI the last several weeks. However, 6-0, 5-1, or 4-2 might send Illinois to Dayton or Kansas or Missouri or Purdue (assuming receive a seed), avoiding a first weekend match with a top 8 seed. Let's hope. I'd like to see the Illini with at least 20 wins. At least twenty wins seems to make for a plus memorable season. Add a Sweet Sixteen appearance to reward the Illini coaches/players, boost the program image, and see Raina Terry in discussion for All-American (currently, I don't see any mention of Raina Terry), 1 Nebraska 24-1 2 Louisville 21-3 3 Pittsburgh 23-1 4 Creighton 23-2 5 Stanford 19-4 6 Penn State 23-2 7 Arizona State 24-2 8 Wisconsin 18-5 9 SMU 19-6 10 Kentucky 16-7 11 Texas 13-6 12 TCU 17-5 13 Oregon 18-5 14 Dayton 26-1 15 Utah 19-5 16 Kansas 20-3 17 Missouri 18-5 18 BYU 14-8 19 Baylor 17-6 20 Purdue 20-5 |
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Post by ilalum92 on Nov 11, 2024 11:24:50 GMT -5
Just for fun, and not wanting to jinx the balance of the season, if we were to go 5-1 over the rest of the regular season could our rpi improve enough to sniff at a seed? Maybe the RPI gurus will chime in. IMHO...No chance in Hades of Illinois receiving a seed. The Illini have not defeated a top 20 RPI team (below) with two opportunities upcoming at Penn State and Purdue. If Illinois were to go 6-0 or 5-1, which team(s) are likely to hit the iceberg and sink reciprocally (0-6 or 1-5). Recent seasons, we've observed it is difficult to significantly improve RPI the last several weeks. However, 6-0, 5-1, or 4-2 might send Illinois to Dayton or Kansas or Missouri or Purdue (assuming receive a seed), avoiding a first weekend match with a top 8 seed. Let's hope. I'd like to see the Illini with at least 20 wins. At least twenty wins seems to make for a plus memorable season. Add a Sweet Sixteen appearance to reward the Illini coaches/players, boost the program image, and see Raina Terry in discussion for All-American (currently, I don't see any mention of Raina Terry), 1 Nebraska 24-1 2 Louisville 21-3 3 Pittsburgh 23-1 4 Creighton 23-2 5 Stanford 19-4 6 Penn State 23-2 7 Arizona State 24-2 8 Wisconsin 18-5 9 SMU 19-6 10 Kentucky 16-7 11 Texas 13-6 12 TCU 17-5 13 Oregon 18-5 14 Dayton 26-1 15 Utah 19-5 16 Kansas 20-3 17 Missouri 18-5 18 BYU 14-8 19 Baylor 17-6 20 Purdue 20-5 I think 4-2 for the rest of the season is entirely possible. |
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Post by pointillinois on Nov 11, 2024 12:04:50 GMT -5
I think 20 wins is on the table. My guess:
L: @psu, @pu, MINN
W: RU, UCLA, @iu
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