BYU 2024

[bbg95]

Mary Lake gave an interview in which she talks about her return to volleyball with LOVB Salt Lake.



Edit: apparently, she'll be playing in Athletes Unlimited first in preparation.

[vvv]

Wow!! That is so awesome!

[bbg95]

Well, after four straight five-setters (which apparently tied the school record), BYU sweeps Weber State and UVU over the weekend. I'll take it.

[vvv]

I didn't see Eden Bower at the last games?

[bbg95]

This is pretty fun:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAkCo5NsLgS

[utvolleyguy]

Oct 1, 2024 16:58:23 GMT -5 vvv said:

I didn't see Eden Bower at the last games?

I noticed that as well and was curious too. Didn’t hear anything mentioned on a rewatch of the broadcast either.

[marnvbc2]

Oct 1, 2024 16:58:23 GMT -5 vvv said:

I didn't see Eden Bower at the last games?

I haven't heard that Eden is hurt.  Makes me wonder??  This team is filled with problems created by Heather.  Eden shouldn't have been recruited.  A host of other OH's have wasted their time on this team.  Stowell should have transferred last year because she would have been good enough to play for a better team than BYU.  Never given a real shot courtesy of Heather.  Mortensen has nailed down the OH2 but she has very limited upside with lack of hops and a low ball.  Little is a very good hitter and simply an awkward athlete on defense and S/R.  She is a liability on the back row and will become more so as teams scout us.  Our freshman Lulu is laterally challenged and therefore will be a DS for her whole career.  We have no true L but lots of DS's with Miller and Johnson in the mix.  Johnson is better than Miller and Miller shouldn't have been recruited but courtesy of Club V Johnson was shelved at the Y.  BYU needs to put 6-7 passers on their roster so they can find 2 who can play.  The bright spot is at middle where we have a superstar in the making.  Lee should have never played MB and always been at Opp.  Prior should have switched to MB last year when Lee should have played Opp.  It didn't take a vb genius to see this issue.  The problem going forward is that Heather simply can't evaluate passing talent and spends her time with OH's who she can't stomach because they aren't named Eden .... until it dawns on her that Eden really can't jump, move or hit well and the Mortensen legacy recruit shows up.  2 years too late.  The conductor of the team is the setter and Alex is 3 inches taller than Whitney but can't jump as high, play defense as well, set and locate as well nor serve as effective.  Damuni showed the door without even a sniff of competition on the floor or in matches.  It is mind boggling to most observers.  I thought 6-7 losses would be the floor for this team.  They might loose 10-12 matches this season.  Utah may be a better team and probably is.  Just so disappointing and i have no faith that the chain will be broken into the future with more Bowers in the pipeline and Heather with her blinders on.

[vvv]

Speaking of OHs.... Suli Davis is set to come next year and she is amazing right? I wonder how that will play out? Also, I think Damuni and Meyers had the same situation with knowing they wouldn't play in front, but meyers left with a redshirt, not wasting a single second- Damuni stayed a year, wanted to serve a mission, but was not going to waste any more time on a bench either, so she went on her way. I do hope Eden Bowers is able to find a place that she will thrive at. Passing.... crossing fingers and hoping something will click. Let's go Cougs!!!!

[bbg95]

Once again, marn is all over the place. I think Eden was recruited by some other big programs (I want to say Nebraska was one of them). She didn't end up being that good at the next level, which happens. As for Stowell, maybe she actually likes the school and doesn't want to transfer? Crazy, I know. And I think she was given a fair shot the last couple of seasons. Unfortunately, she wasn't as consistent as she needed to be to lock it down. Anyway, it will be amusing to see marn twist themself into a pretzel by continuing to push the "Heather has a pro-Bower bias" nonsense when Eden is getting no playing time, lol. Again, the best of the Bowers is a professional volleyball player going into her second season. The ones that weren't very good got benched. We'll see on Alex.

[bbg95]

Oct 9, 2024 8:10:13 GMT -5 vvv said:

Speaking of OHs.... Suli Davis is set to come next year and she is amazing right? I wonder how that will play out? Also, I think Damuni and Meyers had the same situation with knowing they wouldn't play in front, but meyers left with a redshirt, not wasting a single second- Damuni stayed a year, wanted to serve a mission, but was not going to waste any more time on a bench either, so she went on her way. I do hope Eden Bowers is able to find a place that she will thrive at. Passing.... crossing fingers and hoping something will click. Let's go Cougs!!!!

Passing has been a problem since 2019. At this point, I think it is imperative that BYU hire an assistant that has a track record of developing good passers. Like in football, if the offensive line is consistently a problem for years, the offensive line coach (and possibly even the coordinator) will get replaced. It's just really hard to rely on your setter just running down all the bad passes and making something of them. I suppose it could be possible with an exceptional setter (like in football, the Steelers somehow won the Super Bowl in 2008 with a mediocre offensive line because they had a Hall of Fame QB), but it's not optimal.

[vvv]

I get that point too. It is really hard to be running all over the court with so many out of system balls? I also see what you mean about having development coaches like football. I do hear a lot about young team, etc. But, if things don't improve, it won't matter if they are young or graduate students. But, I have faith it will improve.

[vvv]

They played great tonight! Thoughts?

[bbg95]

Oct 10, 2024 22:09:56 GMT -5 vvv said:

They played great tonight! Thoughts?

I watched the whole match on DVR last night. Serve receive remains a concern per always, but it was adequate against Baylor. Little and Mortensen both have huge arms (the poor Baylor setter took a Little rocket off the face) and did well with out-of-system balls. They're better at dealing with the block than a lot of the other pins BYU has tried in recent years. Strong is really solid in the middle, and Kemavor is just unstoppable if she gets a good set in system. She's also a great blocker. I thought Alex Bower played pretty well. She had a few sets that weren't great, but she is a freshman. And she also had some very good sets. Uluave had a nice match overall at libero. There is still a gaping hole at opposite that needs to be addressed. Prior is worse now than she was as a freshman. Anyway, the team is still very young, so I think playing at home helped them out. I expect them to keep getting better but still be somewhat inconsistent.

[azvb]

Either Lee or Bobik at OPP, please.


No Eden Bower again. Inquiring minds want to know….

[bbg95]

Oct 11, 2024 13:44:17 GMT -5 azvb said:

Either Lee or Bobik at OPP, please.

No Eden Bower again. Inquiring minds want to know….

Have to think she's transferring because she got beat out by younger players and has no real hope to start again. I've seen her at the gym recently, so I don't think she's injured. Kind of weird that she wouldn't be with the rest of the team, including her own sister, though.