BYU 2024

[bbg95]

Yeah, I'm not going to read any of the seven consecutive posts that marn spammed on this thread. The block feature is one of the best parts of VT.

[marnvbc2]

Nov 1, 2024 1:59:54 GMT -5 loversrock said:

It’s so funny watching Marn run his mouth as if everything he says is volleyball doctrine and anything that we have to say is absolutely wrong. Are we just going to ignore the fact that you claimed right before the Baylor game that Uluave was going to be a DS for her whole career at BYU? If I were to word it right you claim she was laterally challenged. Now you’re claiming that she’s legit? Not only is she legit she’s a true Lib that is learning the role Each game. She has only elevated her game so that makes your arguments obsolete. Alex Bower Is way more advanced than Damuni was. The fact that you claim Lee is the best player cracks me up. Funny how a coach and her assistant coaches would bench the best player on the team. Lol I guess the coaches hate winning, anything I read from you is laughable because obviously you have no idea what you are talking about.

loversrock -maybe you need to learn to read?  First, please bring the quote that I said right before the Baylor game that Uluave was going to be a DS for her whole career?  I don't think that was in context.  What i have said about her is that if she wasn't able be a premium L for BYU this season, they would be in trouble.  I did say her lateral quickness is challenged and it is.  And she will get worse over the next 3 years.  We will see this lack of lateral speed against good teams as the tourney nears.  Actually she really is just a DS anywhere in the top 20 except at BYU because they haven't got a legit L on this roster.  Billiter isn't one and other back row passers are all in the DS category.  Lulu is simply the closest they have to a libero.  But, she is a legit DS .... which is what I said, not a legit L.  She isn't a "True" libero lol. 

Your Alex Bower comment is just stupid.  I watched her club team and coached against them and the V boys top teams.  Damuni just killed the Bower(s) on every occasion.  You obviously didn't see her play.  Damuni is a good setter and substantially better than Bower.  I said Lee is the best athlete on the team.  I didn't say she was the best player on the team.  Again, your reading comprehension is lacking here and you probably just exceeded the bad recall of bbg!  So, be cracked up over your reading comprehension and not knowing the difference between player and athlete!  Having better players on the bench isn't a new idea for Heather .... and if you go back in the thread while you are checking to see how bad your reading comprehension is - you can see the list of players who were on the bench and not playing for political reasons or just inability to evaluate.  We can start the Heather era with the biggest washout in BYU women's vb history when she played Madi in the tourney when McKenna M got hurt. All the while she had a great OH who was 6 inches taller and a better OH than Madi Robinson was as a young player.   Probably cost BYU a shot at a championship.  Grimmer played over Prior, Bower played over Meyer, Bower player over Hifo (San Diego match), and the list goes on.  Really it may not be and probably isn't all political, Heather just really doesn't know how to evaluate talent.  She just doesn't know.  I will give her the benefit of the doubt that she doesn't do it on purpose.  What she does is hemorrhage humility when refusing to listen to assistant coaches and in not hiring a passing coach.  They are out there but she doesn't want to admit her weakness.

[marnvbc2]

Nov 1, 2024 9:34:50 GMT -5 bbg95 said:

Yeah, I'm not going to read any of the seven consecutive posts that Marn spammed on this thread. The block feature is one of the best parts of VT.

Yet, you are reading them enough to know that there were 7 consecutive posts lol!  Keep up the good work bbg!

[marnvbc2]

Nov 1, 2024 9:29:49 GMT -5 vvv said:

Marn did say that about Uluave, but he also said, years ago, that damuni was only on the team because her dad was at the school. That is actually when I started chiming in because I was in the same club circuit and knew full well what damuni was capable of. Since then, Marn has changed his tune because he actually was coaching, I think, in the club circuit and watched that class closely. His claims on Lee and Damuni are legit. I have watched that same circuit, but not in the coaching realm, and know for an absolute fact, that A. bower was not more advanced than damuni. I watched the games they played and saw what damuni could do vs bower. Yah she may have more insight from being in the vb family, but damuni was faster, more athletic, and had a year under her belt at BYU. So, no way, she was more advanced prior to spring and this season. That was evident in the spring games, at least the ones I attended. Everyone, and I mean everyone who knows volleyball and has watched these girls play, was questioning it. But, damuni chose to serve a mission and now attend another school, so moving on. I am just saying that Marn may say some things that he changes a bit later, after watching and analyzing more. So, I can see him taking back the part about uluave only playing DS. That part about coaches benching the best player on the team goes with the same idea of why would they bench damuni during spring games and not even give her a shot to show how advanced she actually is? That would be the question for Lee? Why is she not on the court in some capacity? It makes no sense to, not just Marn, but to many of us, who have watched these players for years. But, yes... coaches must have some reason for it. Marn seems to ruffle feathers, but, for me, I do agree with much of it.

vvv = I did say that Damuni was only at BYU because of her dad.  I stand by my comment!  That doesn't mean she wasn't good enough to play at BYU.  Heather had pressure on her to recruit Damuni because of the vb community in Utah.  She didn't want to do it.  She kept Damuni off the court in spring of 2023 and the whole fall season of 23 and then offed her in spring of 24.  Heather never wanted Damuni at BYU and when she had the cover of A Bower, she defied all observers and showed Damuni the door with a conversation that she wasn't good enough to play in front of Bower.  So, she got rid of her and kept her away from Utah or other programs who would have taken her in a heart beat out of club.   Damuni made a mistake with her dad in thinking competition would be allowed in Heather's court with a Bower!  Look at the Spring and tell me which setter played better. 

[vvv]

okay... yes I can see that. I don't read things closely either and missed some of these points marn is making about Uluave and DS and Lee and athlete/player. I am also convinced he has some inside connection. He knows too much from the inside and has experience with coaching in and around these players. I gotta give that to him for sure even though he gets on nerves of others on this board LOL. The damuni dad situation makes sense to me too. I think he works in football and competition there is straight "best man out there... period." They don't have time to play favorites or hold agendas that don't make sense, etc. I mean, they have had issues in the past, but it seems they look for the best possible solutions even if it means hiring different coaches etc. So, the damuni dad mistake makes total sense to me. He thought his daughter would be able to obviously compete and maybe thought because he was there, that might help get fair competition. But, nope- that was not the case. A bower is developing and will be very good, but the fact of the matter remains - like her sister, the setting position was hers to work through and develop. It didn't matter who was better from the start. I do agree that Meyer, after watching several games, etc. should have started over w bower. I have heard ( through the grapevine) that she had the same type of conversation Marn is saying damuni had with heather. Theory- They were both told they would not start in front of the respective bower setter. Both setters are too good to sit behind, so they left with heather's blessing, I'm guessing. Meyer to Long Beach- thriving and Damuni- Mission-USU. Heather will just need to keep good enough back up setters who are willing to stand on the side so they can keep developing the bower sister for the duration. There are many out there who just want to play at BYU and get a great education. But, some just don't want to waste their talents yet still get a great education somewhere else. It makes me wonder about Lee. Will she wait and see if heather brings her back in at some point? It would be a huge loss if she decided to leave. But, I surely wouldn't blame her.

[bkedane]

Has the byu AD been told about what you take to be the coach's misconduct, favoritism, poor recruiting and awful playing time decisions? Why not give him that information?

The AD is surely committed to maintaining a successful volleyball program. If the repeated allegations have merit he will replace the coach won't he? Or is the AD part of the conspiracy? I've lost track.

[vvv]

Oh but we do have a successful program. That doesn't mean we have the best program we could have? I don't think I care enough to tell the AD. But, I can state what I agree with or have seen while watching. If I had a child in this situation though.... believe me... I would be the first one knocking down his door.

[loversrock]

Oct 9, 2024 0:17:43 GMT -5 marnvbc2 said:

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.

My reading comprehension is just fine, I just called it out for what it is when I see your sorry comments flying around like your opinion is concrete. No out of context here. You obviously can’t see talent even when it’s right in front of your face. Uluave is definitely a Libero in the making and has what it takes to become one of the best ever to play at BYU. Damuni is absolutely a baller and has a different style of play. I’ve watched Damuni her whole life so this isn’t a bias stance. I will admit, her handwork is cleaner than Bower, but Bower has a motor to keep pushing. We’ve seen it time after time with these 5th set matches. The fact that you think Lee is the best on the team still cracks me up.

[loversrock]

I will admit I was pissed off when Damuni was not given the opportunity to play over Bower. But just because she beat Bower in club doesn’t mean anything. It’s a team sport. It’s not a one on one so obviously Damuni had a better team. That doesn’t make your point valid at all. Obviously, Heather and her Assistant coaches Want to win so obviously they’re going to play the best.

[vvv]

But... actually- in the grand scheme of things. This is D1 volleyball with D1 coaches, not high school where parents get so involved. So, yah.. just hope for the best for our BYU team and one game at a time.

[loversrock]

Nov 1, 2024 9:34:50 GMT -5 bbg95 said:

Yeah, I'm not going to read any of the seven consecutive posts that Marn spammed on this thread. The block feature is one of the best parts of VT.

I agree, it’s gibberish at this point. lol 😂

[vvv]

Nov 2, 2024 14:49:57 GMT -5 loversrock said:

I will admit I was pissed off when Damuni was not given the opportunity to play over Bower. But just because she beat Bower in club doesn’t mean anything. It’s a team sport. It’s not a one on one so obviously Damuni had a better team. That doesn’t make your point valid at all. Obviously, Heather and her Assistant coaches Want to win so obviously they’re going to play the best.

[vvv]

They did, from what I saw back then. But, with the same opportunity awarded the bower setters, i think damuni would have showed up with a motor and more. However, I am watching the game on tv right now and we are going to sweep!!

[vvv]

Lee got in today and did well.. Marn is not saying she is the best on the team. He is saying she is the best athlete on the team and best athletes usually contribute more to the success of a team.

[pelagius]

A little note about Prior. A little while ago Prior changed her swing pretty significantly; particularly, for a mid season change. She's using a much compact swing than before. More wrist snap too. It seems to be paying off. She's doesn't generate the same velocity, but it does seem to do the following for her: (1) she's able to hit the ball before seems close up on her (she was really only successful before when she could go over the top ), adjust to the ball better when the set isn't perfect (she struggled here too before ... it may have been her biggest problem), and (3) she's generating a lot of topspin.

I think it will be interesting to watch how well this adjustment continues to work. Right now her hitting location and topspin is giving teams trouble. We'll see how defenses adjust.

I do think the coaching staff deserves some credit here. It has made Prior a lot more effective the past couple of weeks.