Penn State 2024

[mediawatcher]

Watch out! Penn State never goes away!

[jagdpanther]

Aug 1, 2024 22:27:58 GMT -5 mediawatcher said:

Watch out! Penn State never goes away!

I mean, we haven't left, but we're definitely not the center of attention anymore.

[dc155]

[dc155]

[jagdpanther]

Aug 6, 2024 16:29:42 GMT -5 dc155 said:

I don't really watch TV much anymore that isn't live sports but I'll have to DVR that.

[psunitwit]

All this talk about Penn State having a freshman setter and that it’s rare that a freshman can have as much impact as those for Texas and Nebraska. I seem to recall a few that didn’t seem to work out so well.

Micha Hancock Penn State
Lauren Carlini Wisconsin
Sydney Hillie Wisconsin
Jenna Grey Stanford
Maddie Bugg Stanford

I’m sure if I put forth a little effort, I could find a few more.

The bottom line is Izzy Starck will be just fine and Wisconsin will do just fine with Charlie Fuerbringer. The biggest advantage any of these players had were being surrounded with excellent support. Good serve receive & good passing and good hitters that can hit out of system balls.

[jagdpanther]

Aug 6, 2024 19:51:03 GMT -5 psunitwit said:

The biggest advantage any of these players had were being surrounded with excellent support. Good serve receive & good passing and good hitters that can hit out of system balls.

That's part of the trick. Schumacher-Cawley is building the talent back up, but this team is not at the level of those teams you mentioned.

[dc155]

[jagdpanther]

What kind of concrete dungeon did they get put in?

[Deleted]

I think KSC has done a really good job recruiting since she took over. I know she’s exceeded my expectations. Once you realize some of psu’s past teams are legendary and that’s not the norm and as a fan you stop trying to make it the norm then you can see that she’s actually done a above average job since taking over for sure

[dc155]

[psunitwit]

I personally think Penn State is going to have a much better year than a lot of people expect. For whatever reason, last year’s start for the team was a bit rocky in their connections with Mac Podraza. It took a bit of time to work that out. There were two many key pieces to coordinate. I don’t think it will take anywhere near that long this year.

Also, I believe that Maggie Mendelson concentrating solely on volleyball and getting out of the shadow of Nebraska’s middles, will absolutely shine at Penn State with a coach that likes to focus on middle play. Her basketball talents will be a big asset on developing a slide hitting profile. She is going to surprise a lot of people

Caroline Jurevicius is going to be an absolute beast as the other pin hitter once she gets her footing.

Adding Ava Falduto to the backcourt of Grimes and Ang Starck will make the defense much stronger. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Falduto as the libero by the time the NCAA’s roll around. I would consider her having the 2nd libero spot to keep her on the floor as much as possible.

Izzy Starck will be at least as efficient at setting as Podraza was, but I truly believe she will be better. She will certainly be a big improvement defensively. Podraza improved by season’s end, but defense was not a strong point for her. Starck is a much better defensive player from the get go.

I also think Izzy will serve up some nice sets to her big sister giving Penn State a much needed attacker upgrade there.

[toomuchvb]

Where does Alexa Markley stand as a pin hitter on the team?

[psunitwit]

Yeah, I forgot about Marley. Another year of experience and strengthening will pay dividends too. She and Hannah can seriously elevate.

[psunitwit]

Caroline J. & Markley will push each other hard for that pin position, The real advantage that I see is if one is struggling a bit, the other can step in and pick things up. It’s a great position of depth for the team.