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Post by jcvball22 on Sept 4, 2024 12:40:17 GMT -5
I know many have said it’s impossible, but why not try Crawford at OH? Should have taken Mele Corral-Blagojevich from the portal. She’s not perfect but at least she knows how to pass and play defense, and has a heavy arm. To do.... what? She has a whopping 3 kills, hitting .000 for the season with only 12 digs for a painfully bad Mississippi State team against the powerhouses of Samford and UAB. That is not an upgrade over what Wisconsin has in the gym now.
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Post by 25or624 on Sept 4, 2024 13:15:16 GMT -5
I know many have said it’s impossible, but why not try Crawford at OH? Because the Big Ten isn't a Tuesday night bar league? I really don't think Sheffield and Gary and Brittany need our help in identifying the problems facing the team, and the potential solutions to those problems. If they think CC is a better short-term option than TSC, they'll try it. I wanted to confirm the # of players on The Badgers 2024 roster and was surprised to find that someone finally got around to posting the "official" 2024 team picture: uwbadgers.com/sports/womens-volleyball/rosterThe Badgers have 16 players on the roster, but the best case is only 15 available because Una isn't able to play. Here is the # of available players by position, not taking movement between positions into account: DS/L 4 [GG, Lola, Maile, Saige] OH 3, [Sarah, Julia, Trinity] MB 3 [Carter, CC, Tosia] OPP 2 [Anna, Devyn] Setters 3 [Charlie, Carly, Morgan] Sheff has been very blunt about the main reasons for The Badgers' struggles: 1. injuries 2. lack of quality practice time as a result of injuries 3. young players struggling to adjust to the speed of the college game and to the size/skill of teammates and opponents 4. some of the younger players are just beginning to understand the amount of work and effort that goes into excelling at the D1 level He talked about Charlie in greater detail: Freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer struggled at times with her connections, but Sheffield said it’s be challenging to work through those issues with numerous players missing practice time because of injuries in the early going.
“She's a very skilled player who’s still learning her hitters and learning this offense. It’s been really tough. We had quite a few people out there today that haven’t practiced since our last match. It’s hard to learn when you’re not getting a full menu in practice. You learn from situations.
She’s never faced a block or a defense like, e.g., Texas. At times when you get going in transition, she’s forgetting some of the reach that some of our players are able to have. She knows what she’s wanting to do, but establishing the habits of where that ball needs to be is a little bit different than what she’s been doing in the past. She is a fun person to get in the gym and watch film. We’ve got to give her more weapons in the practice gym more often.
It seems clear that The Badgers will be better when they get healthy, are able to get more of out their practices and get more matches behind them. Instant gratification isn't in the cards this year, but we can smile right now after Texas, Nebraska and Louisville were humbled, if only for a little while.
Nothing is guaranteed and nothing should be written off at this point. In the immortal words of Tracy Chapman, "And there ain't no more to say". [Except Go Badgers].
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Post by robtearle on Sept 4, 2024 13:35:01 GMT -5
Because the Big Ten isn't a Tuesday night bar league? I really don't think Sheffield and Gary and Brittany need our help in identifying the problems facing the team, and the potential solutions to those problems. If they think CC is a better short-term option than TSC, they'll try it. It seems clear that The Badgers will be better when they get healthy, are able to get more of out their practices and get more matches behind them. Instant gratification isn't in the cards this year, but we can smile right now after Texas, Nebraska and Louisville were humbled, if only for a little while.
One thing working against them right now in terms of practice and getting over injuries is the crowded schedule. They played Monday, and they have matches again Friday, Saturday, and Tuesday. Unfortunate that the schedule is so packed. (Adding, I had a busy evening and busy morning, so the reference to Nebraska puzzled me... WHAT?!? No, I had not heard. OMG!)
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Post by chibadgerfan on Sept 4, 2024 13:49:17 GMT -5
I know many have said it’s impossible, but why not try Crawford at OH? Because the Big Ten isn't a Tuesday night bar league? I really don't think Sheffield and Gary and Brittany need our help in identifying the problems facing the team, and the potential solutions to those problems. If they think CC is a better short-term option than TSC, they'll try it. Your “Tuesday night bar league” comment is funny. Your other comment is a little over the top though. I’m sure the coaches are taking their own counsel. It’s still fun to talk about possible solutions nonetheless.
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Post by SportyBucky on Sept 4, 2024 13:50:42 GMT -5
One option is to have TSC play front row only, subbing out her back row rotations. Then she can focus exclusively on attack and block. I think our smalls are pretty good this year, so doing a lot defensive subbing can work well. Of course TSC will still make mistakes, but perhaps she can get up to speed sooner in this arrangement. They have been doing exactly that. But a left in the front row still has serve-receive responsibilities. They don't have to. With good passing, you can pass with two.
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Post by robtearle on Sept 4, 2024 13:55:34 GMT -5
They have been doing exactly that. But a left in the front row still has serve-receive responsibilities. They don't have to. With good passing, you can pass with two. Yeah, if the two are Barnes and Civita. There were times Monday they had four lined up across the back row. And I wondered (I never played, even in the Tuesday night bar league) does that many become counter-productive at some point?
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Post by badgerbreath on Sept 4, 2024 14:34:45 GMT -5
They don't have to. With good passing, you can pass with two. Yeah, if the two are Barnes and Civita. There were times Monday they had four lined up across the back row. And I wondered (I never played, even in the Tuesday night bar league) does that many become counter-productive at some point? Yeah, and it wasn't like they were hiding anyone of them in serve receive. I thought this couldn't be a good idea. They seemed to get in each others way. It's the seams that are the problem, and that means there were three seams instead of two. Maybe they were worried because Texas was able to pinpoint some serves on the middles and down the sidelines a few times, but my guess is that there is some limited range of motion between Orzol, Franklin and Damrow that forced the issue.
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Post by swaggyp on Sept 4, 2024 15:41:07 GMT -5
Yeah, if the two are Barnes and Civita. There were times Monday they had four lined up across the back row. And I wondered (I never played, even in the Tuesday night bar league) does that many become counter-productive at some point? but my guess is that there is some limited range of motion between Orzol, Franklin and Damrow that forced the issue. We know Oz is injured, the only speculation is the degree to which the injury limits her mobility. The game is so fast, I suspect any limitation or hesitation is enough to cost you a point or two against elite competition.
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Post by SportyBucky on Sept 4, 2024 17:22:50 GMT -5
They have been doing exactly that. But a left in the front row still has serve-receive responsibilities. I know many have said it’s impossible, but why not try Crawford at OH? Because it is impossible in every way.
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Post by badgerbreath on Sept 4, 2024 17:32:16 GMT -5
This is my post mortem on reflection.
I'm not particularly worried. I'm sad that we lost all three matches matches, but I came in expecting we'd lose two without the injuries, so it's not entirely surprising to me that we lost all three. I wish that we didn't have to use these matches essentially as our practice time. Really wish we didn't have to throw Trinity straight into the Lion's den. But circumstances are what they are and it's a useful learning experience. I saw improvement match to match to the extent it was possible given the injuries, lack of practice and familiarity.
I'm not worried at all about Charlie. She will slowly develop a more habitual understanding of her setting options and what they each need. I would imagine this is a hard team to set. You've got a sub 6' track star and a 6'4" NPOY at OH, two middles who are quick and pretty dynamic and a middle and a RS who are giant and move a bit slower but need the ball a lot higher. The mix is changing all the time and the play is fast. It will take time but she will get it.
I'm not that worried about the blocking, yet. The blocking right now fades as the match goes on, but blocking technique and blocking adjustments generally get better as the year goes on. Two new smaller pin blockers changes things. They need to be better at setting the block and adjusting.
The serving is something that worries me more, and I think that is tied to the blocking. We've typically found the best servers right out of training camp. So far only Orzol, GG and Franklin are serving dependably, IMO. I expect Charlie will join that group eventually. Dev could join them as well if she can reliably get them in without sacrificing pace. Plus she can swing from the BR now and again. Although I would like Smrek to turn into a terror from the service line, I suspect they will eventually opt for a small to preserve the BR D. Not sure who that is.
I worry a bit about closing out sets. The badgers really should have won at least one other set in both fiserv matches, but could not finish. It feels like 2019 a bit when the badgers spent preseason struggling to close out sets. But that can turn around. The two losses to Washington led to a team discussion that steadied them out and really bore fruit against PSU three matches later when something just seemed to click.
The back row play does leave something to be desired. Passing against Texas was excellent overall, but the D isn't quite a locked as I've seen from the other teams. There are a number of ways to solve that problem. I expect that will get hammered out, though some tough decisions may need to get made.
The thing that I will continue to worry about is Orzol's health. TSC getting better rapidly or Una getting miraculously healthy again are the only ways to solve that problem. Both are a lot to ask for, but fingers crossed.
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Post by volleyball90 on Sept 4, 2024 17:45:56 GMT -5
They don't have to. With good passing, you can pass with two. Yeah, if the two are Barnes and Civita. There were times Monday they had four lined up across the back row. And I wondered (I never played, even in the Tuesday night bar league) does that many become counter-productive at some point? Orzol also successfully passed 2 with Barnes. Basically, just have Barnes.
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Post by maigrey on Sept 4, 2024 18:12:12 GMT -5
Yeah, if the two are Barnes and Civita. There were times Monday they had four lined up across the back row. And I wondered (I never played, even in the Tuesday night bar league) does that many become counter-productive at some point? Orzol also successfully passed 2 with Barnes. Basically, just have Barnes. I believe Frank and Oz passed 2 several times last year as well.
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Post by swaggyp on Sept 4, 2024 18:16:43 GMT -5
Yeah, if the two are Barnes and Civita. There were times Monday they had four lined up across the back row. And I wondered (I never played, even in the Tuesday night bar league) does that many become counter-productive at some point? Orzol also successfully passed 2 with Barnes. Basically, just have Barnes. Going from Clarky to Barnes to Oz was such a W. Some Favre to Rodgers to Love stuff there.
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Post by chibadgerfan on Sept 4, 2024 20:46:28 GMT -5
Anyone see the latest photos of the players coming to practice on Instagram? The focused, business looks on the faces of Crawford and Smrek say a lot!
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Post by SportyBucky on Sept 4, 2024 21:31:10 GMT -5
Anyone see the latest photos of the players coming to practice on Instagram? The focused, business looks on the faces of Crawford and Smrek say a lot! Well...as long as they look focused. 🙄
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