|
|
Post by dietcokefan on Sept 28, 2024 22:59:42 GMT -5
So can Gilk, Garr, or Kinney pass any better than what we currently have? Probably should post in the future thread but too lazy lol
|
|
|
|
Post by gopherhim on Sept 28, 2024 23:04:53 GMT -5
Yes! She should consider membership in the Minneapolis garbage collector union. She took some great swings OOS tonight. Grote had one of her GOAT nights too. Besides The Mel and Calissa connection being off tonight, the offense looked great on paper. Of our 10 points in the 5th set 7 kills from Julia (nearly half of her kills lol) 2 kills from Lydia 1 Purdue SE Thank you for the 5th set breakdown! Not Julia making set 5 interesting. I was concerned about the Calissa/Shaff connection but it takes a backseat far away from my concern with the passing line. Wookie or Acevedo need to buck up and take control of that other pin position. 5 of Purdue's 17 aces being in a shortened 5th set was so depressing (3 of them on Julia, 1 Kate, 1 Z) 5 aces 2 MN SE (back to back from our best servers Mel and Lydia with three consecutive Purdue aces sandwiched between ouch) 1 block on Julia 1 HE by Calissa 2 Chicoine kills 2 Colvin kills 1 Hudson kill 1 Wollard kill that Julia's pinky definitely didn't touch and I'm definitely not mad that call wasn't reversed |
|
|
|
Post by mcmike on Sept 29, 2024 0:30:47 GMT -5
Shondell & co. exposed & exploited. Very well done.
I thought we passed better when we switched to two in the scheme. Purdue set 4 across rather deep and we rarely served short to disrupt them.
This was the second match of the year (Stanford) where we were outserved. I had the impression, based on Purdue's weak reception that we throttled back on our service pressure.
How many successful back row attacks led to points directly or by knocking them OOS? What is the purpose of having a 'tall' in the reception pattern if we can't produce out of bics, pipes, & D balls? Are McGhie, Gray, & Ng no better?
In the game thread I asked what our hitting% is on overpasses.
This week we've seen a pair of dominating slide hitters: Smrek & Colvin. But they are not superhuman when the sets aren't high enough or the right distance from the net. Many of their kills were off free balls when the setter was not on the run. How many of Minatee's opportunities were 'unpressured' sets? If Shaff is not near the net and sends up a back set Minatee will be facing 4 hands. A comment was made on the game thread that it was Phoebe who should have been fronting Colvin, not Minatee. Although there might be chemistry issues from the lineup disruption this is a prescient observation and one worth considering in practice before the next high level MB with a demonstrated slide proficiency is on tap.
Given how woeful our first contacts were it is all the more remarkable the H%s of Hanson & Grote. As adept she was at the net Hanson went into prayer mode on serves that dropped just inside the lines and she played a number of balls from the back line that sure looked to be going long. The one at 24-23 in the set 3 loss was really painful.
Did BTN have end zone looks at Purdue's aces? Did they wobble or was it pace and placement?
|
|
|
|
Post by midwest83 on Sept 29, 2024 1:21:32 GMT -5
Shondell & co. exposed & exploited. Very well done. I thought we passed better when we switched to two in the scheme. Purdue set 4 across rather deep and we rarely served short to disrupt them. This was the second match of the year (Stanford) where we were outserved. I had the impression, based on Purdue's weak reception that we throttled back on our service pressure. How many successful back row attacks led to points directly or by knocking them OOS? What is the purpose of having a 'tall' in the reception pattern if we can't produce out of bics, pipes, & D balls? Are McGhie, Gray, & Ng no better? In the game thread I asked what our hitting% is on overpasses. This week we've seen a pair of dominating slide hitters: Smrek & Colvin. But they are not superhuman when the sets aren't high enough or the right distance from the net. Many of their kills were off free balls when the setter was not on the run. How many of Minatee's opportunities were 'unpressured' sets? If Shaff is not near the net and sends up a back set Minatee will be facing 4 hands. A comment was made on the game thread that it was Phoebe who should have been fronting Colvin, not Minatee. Although there might be chemistry issues from the lineup disruption this is a prescient observation and one worth considering in practice before the next high level MB with a demonstrated slide proficiency is on tap. Given how woeful our first contacts were it is all the more remarkable the H%s of Hanson & Grote. As adept she was at the net Hanson went into prayer mode on serves that dropped just inside the lines and she played a number of balls from the back line that sure looked to be going long. The one at 24-23 in the set 3 loss was really painful. Did BTN have end zone looks at Purdue's aces? Did they wobble or was it pace and placement? You've been to practices this year correct? At what point is it no longer about the quantity of reps and more about technical instruction and the quality of reps emulating in practice the pace and trajectory of what they get in games? I hope they are able to simulate in practice those low, flat missiles hitting the back lines in zone 5. No amount of "easier" reps in practice will prepare these players for what they saw tonight or will see regularly in this conference. It goes without saying that all of these players are great athletes and it seems illogical that they can't develop their passing skills with proper technical instruction and quality reps. Wucherer and Hanson are on year 3 of their collegiate careers and year 2 with Keegan. What are they being asked to do from a technical standpoint that isn't working or showing some kind of incremental improvement by now? A few of these players were fairly reliable passers in the club scene so it rings hollow when I see people commenting that it's just bad recruiting regarding passing. The kind of serving we saw from Purdue tonight was next level but I'm still left wondering if the program needs to bring in a high level passing coach to address technical (and mental) aspects of what looks like a systemic issue across the board (including the littles). Some on here seem hopeful recruits in the pipeline may save the day with the passing woes. It's possible but I'm not so sure of that. Especially if the current development paradigm regarding passing is not effectively yielding results. The NCAA is full of players who were reliable passers in club ball and struggle when they get to the big leagues. Hopefully Keegan figures out quickly how to develop the players we have into more reliable passers THIS season because this team could be really formidable if we can make any kind of progress on this. |
|
|
|
Post by BigDigEnergy on Sept 29, 2024 8:33:36 GMT -5
So can Gilk, Garr, or Kinney pass any better than what we currently have? Probably should post in the future thread but too lazy lol That is the hope. I think maybe one or two of them will probably be inserted in some passing rotations. I heard Garr is a stud and Gilk can pass as an OPP. At least something different. Or maybe Keegan will go into the portal for a passing DS. |
|
|
|
Post by mplsgopher on Sept 29, 2024 8:41:57 GMT -5
Hopefully Keegan figures out quickly how to develop the players we have into more reliable passers THIS season because this team could be really formidable if we can make any kind of progress on this. We're now 2-4 against competition with a pulse. Could easily be 0-6, probably should be 1-5. That Wisc team played like absolute trash, didn't even look top 25, and we still almost gave the match away, at home. I don't think this team is trending any better than 2023. Make the playoff, but won't host. Will win their first match against a nobody, then it will be a tough match against the first round host. There were three ultra, uber, [use some made up, fake Gen Z word here] recruits that Hugh brought in that people here have been drooling and obsessing over for the last several years. We need a hard reset from all three. One of which is gone, the other appears to have flamed out and perhaps will also transfer out. The third, is a good player. Not a great player. We aren't getting to the promised land that was envisioned. I'm already looking forward to next year. |
|
|
|
Post by VBallFan on Sept 29, 2024 10:45:18 GMT -5
I think the whole team should read Hugh’s book!!
And I agree, the last few years have been rough. We supposedly had the best recruiting class a few years back but that has led to underperformance every year.
If the team doesn’t like each other as a team you have nothing .
|
|
|
|
Post by GoGophs on Sept 29, 2024 12:10:03 GMT -5
That match was 100% a mental breakdown on serve receive... it took me back to my playing days as a lib/ds riding the struggle bus and thinking "please dont serve me, please dont serve me". Pretty sure Thibault was in that mindset with Colvin serving her, she picked Thibault apart and it was contagious, no one was able to right the ship. Purdue witnessed the breakdown and took advantage and started serving tougher and tougher, no fear holding them back, gaining confidence with every serve. Not much you can do after that (ie Nebraska who's a fantastic passing team vs Texas in the championship or vs SMU this season)
That being said, everything else was good and they kept it very close in 5 sets despite passing like sh*t which is actually amazing. Like others have said, if you look at the box score or the stats you'd think it was a better match than it was and that's a positive to build off of. Minn is still the underdog and has a ways to go but theres been so much improvement this season... literally every other aspect of their game has gotten better besides passing, so I can't even be upset with this loss 🤷♀️
|
|
|
|
Post by courtwatchers on Sept 29, 2024 12:16:31 GMT -5
I keep wondering what this team would be like without Grote and Z. Both are very bubbly personalities and you can count on them to bring the energy to a match. I just can't wrap my head around how DOWN this team came across on National TV last night. It was like they wanted off the court as quickly as possible. It was such a complete opposite of Wednesday night.
Both of our middles were so off their game and never got on track. It is unfortunate but the common denominator in our past years and Colvin's success is Shaffmaster. I hate to say it, but it just appeared Purdue was ready for every set she made last night, no matter if we were in system or not. And add to that their very very focused tough serving and it was a disaster.
This season they talk a lot about liking each other on and off the court and team chemistry. But what we saw last night was not a positive example of that. I just have such a hard time understanding how the Jekyll and Hyde back to back matches appeared again this season.
|
|
|
|
Post by mr. samwich on Sept 29, 2024 12:37:28 GMT -5
Some of youse are wilding lol. They got aced 17 times and still barely lost to a good Purdue team. One major flaw that presumably can and should be attenuated over the season. A loss is a loss but it's not like they're different personnel from the team everyone was hyping after Wednesday. Credit Purdue for executing a gameplan and firing brutal serves that kept painting the backline
|
|
|
|
Post by comet on Sept 29, 2024 12:46:18 GMT -5
Like GoGophs said, it was a mental breakdown in passing. I think a lot of you have never played volleyball before so you may not know what it's like to be on the receiving end of a tough serve. Once you start to error, you start to dread being served because your confidence has tanked, and they weren't able to pull themselves out of it. It kept compounding. Again Purdue was putting in great serves and could see we were falling apart. It was relentless. Also it's really hard to have good team chemistry in a moment like that, there is frustration all around. Should our mental toughness be better? Yes. Is it realistic? Maybe, but remember Nebraska was also served off the court in the championship last year so it happens to even the best teams. We still took it to 5 so like someone else said, we were doing other things right. Coming off a big win it's hard to keep up the energy and intensity. The season is not tanked after a 5 set loss to the #10 team. That said, it is still a big issue that needs to be worked on. |
|
|
|
Post by mplsgopher on Sept 29, 2024 13:05:13 GMT -5
Losing 3.4 points per set dictates losing a match?
Get real
|
|
|
|
Post by mplsgopher on Sept 29, 2024 13:06:28 GMT -5
Also love how it's "guys, we just have to serve receiver better!! That's it!! That's all we have to do!!"
"Because, obviously we haven't been practicing a critical, foundational skill of volleyball literally every single day of practice. Definitely not!! We should do that, from now on!!!"
|
|
|
|
Post by mplsgopher on Sept 29, 2024 13:08:03 GMT -5
The season is not tanked after a 5 set loss to the #10 team. Now do 2-4 to teams with a pulse.
You know, Big Ten level teams.
|
|
|
|
Post by gopherhim on Sept 29, 2024 13:16:43 GMT -5
Has anyone said the season has tanked? I mean there’s the one fan that hasn’t seemed to enjoy a single moment of this season. But it’s been a wild ride since the start, so I don’t think anyone’s surprised that Purdue was able to win in the Pav. We didn’t look invincible against Texas and Wisconsin, but they were great wins we hope the Gophers can keep replicating.
For the most part I’m seeing Gopher fans emotionally relating to each other about the frustrating parts of last nights match that we experienced as FANS. That’s what we have in common on this board. Many of us have pointed out positives.
Another positive: it seemed like Mel and Julia were connecting on a noticeably faster tempo set a handful of times throughout the match yesterday. Julia must have been calling for it in transition. Mel put her in some sweet spots along the net that even Colvin struggled to catch up with. Seems they are working on speeding up the offense. We haven’t been doing moon ball sets this season but some of them last night were looking SSS fast.
|
|
