Exhibition match today vs SUU at Millard High School in Fillmore, Utah (abt halfway between Provo & Cedar City). Caught some of the live stream on teamhive. They played five sets.
S1 @ 5:34 BYU 25-14
(S) Alex Bower
(L) Hannah Billeter
(OPP) Kate Prior/Lulu Uluave (backrow)
(MB) Mia Lee, Kjersti Strong
(OH) Elli Mortensen, Clair Little
S2 @ 29:35 BYU 25-17
(S) Alex Bower
(L) Lulu Uluave/Hannah Billeter (serve receive)
(OPP) Blaykli Bobik/Kaieva Johnson (backrow)
(MB) Brielle Kemavor, Kjersti Strong
(OH) Elli Mortensen, Claire Little
S3 @ 59:18 BYU 25-18
(S) Alex Bower
(L) Lulu Uluave
(OPP) Kate Prior/Hannah Billeter (backrow)
(MB) Mia Lee, Brielle Kemavor
(OH) Claire Little, Blaykli Bobik/Brielle Miller (backrow)
S4 @ 1:27:24 SUU 25-18
(S) Kalia Thunstrom
(L) Lulu Uluave
(OPP) Blaykli Bobik/Kaieva Johnson (backrow)
(MB) Abby Hoybjerg, Kjersti Strong
(OH) Addie Benson, Elyse Stowell
S5 @ 1:54:50 BYU 15-6
(S) Kalia Thunstrom
(L) Hannah Billeter
(OPP) Kate Prior/Kaieva Johnson (backrow)/Alyssa Erickson (serving sub)
(MB) Brielle Kemavor, Mia Lee
(OH) Eden Bower/Lulu Uluave (backrow), Elli Mortensen
I'd guess the starting seven to be Alex Bower (S), Lulu Uluave (L), Mia Lee/Brielle Kemavor/Kjersti Strong (MBs), Kate Prior (OPP)/Hannah Billeter (br), Claire Little (OH), Elli Mortensen or Blaykli Bobik (OH)/Brielle Miller (br).
If Prior isn't in good form, maybe Bobik at OPP and Little and Mortensen as OHs.
Alex Bower certainly deserves to be the starting setter. She seems promising, but again hard to tell on placement with just a net view. Slide sets seemed good though. Looks better to me than what I saw in the spring.
Uluave needs some time I think to get more comfortable with her teammates. I was expecting a little more presence and polish from her, but I'll temper my expectations for now. We might still see Billeter at libero. I think BYU prefers to stick with one libero, but with this type of situation (i.e. poor passing, brand new libero, new setter), they may have to switch at times.
Kemavor and
Little Lee both consistently hitting slide attacks. Looks much better for both than last year/spring. Kemavor also hitting well on quick middle sets. Her blocking seemed good, too, but it's hard to say from the angle of the camera (on the net). It might be Kjersti Strong or Kemavor as the 2nd MB. Strong's connection with Bower isn't as good yet as Kemavor's, so that may be the difference at first. Kemavor looks really good, but she might be a bit slow against some teams. Wouldn't be surprised to see any combo of Lee/Kemavor/Strong on the court this year depending on the opponent and matchups. I'm guessing they'd prefer to redshirt Hoybjerg at MB if possible.
Prior seems a bit better, but I can't really tell with her. She's always been inconsistent from match to match (and from hit to hit), and SUU didn't challenge her like other teams will. I really hope she's turned a corner, even if it's a small one.
EDIT: just watched the 2nd set replay which I didn't see live and
Hoybjerg Bobik played opposite in that one, so they've got her as the backup to Prior, thank goodness. She's a great server too. And watching Prior more closely the second time through, I'm cautiously optimistic about her development.
Mortensen played/passed in six rotations. She may be the starter just because of her passing. BYU might prefer/need the power of Bobik at times, but they might need Bobik on the right side as well. Bobik is the kind of aggressive OH that BYU seems to want, and just like in the spring, she is ahead of the other newcomers/returning OHs except for Mortensen. Hits well cross court, but not sure about her ability to use the block or hit line. Blocking is good if she's already in position, but she's got some work to do on reading the hitter, movement, sealing the net, all the things you'd expect from a freshman. I remember thinking at the spring scrimmage that she looked better hitting on the right than Prior, but I don't know if I even saw her hit on that side today. The coaches seem to be focused on developing these two freshman as the future based on what I saw today. Addie Benson, Elyse Stowell, Eden Bower, and Alyssa Erickson have been relegated to subwork at this point. We'll see if that holds true in the trial by fire the team will be going through.
Claire Little as the 6-rotation outside is going to be leaned on heavily this year, and I hope she's up to the task. I don't know if her passing will hold up, but she's close to the same level as the DS/Ls on BYU, so they might as well leave her in as long as possible even if she's struggling. That way she can get all the reps and experience possible for the future. I'm not sure any one's passing will hold up at BYU, which is no surprise. On a positive note, they have plenty of room for improvement. On another positive note, they let Prior hit on the left side today instead of trying to switch her to the right during serve receive.
I say batten down the hatches, it's going to be a bumpy ride this year, and if Bower and/or Little get injured, it will be even bumpier. I do like what I saw today. The coaches seem to have a good idea of where they want to go with this team.
