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Post by bprtbone on Sept 2, 2024 11:10:48 GMT -5
Thoughts on opening weekend:
- The cautious enthusiasm we had following the Pitt exhibition match has been fully tempered after struggling past an undersized Delaware team and dropping a 25-12 set to Kent State. This is still a much better team than 2023, but there is a lot to clean up here in the non conference.
- It was nice to see contributions from so many of the freshmen. Trixie McMillan is a spark plug; she replaced Chopra as serving sub against Delaware and eventually was getting used as a DS on Sunday against Kent State where she recorded 3 consecutive aces. Ella Demetrician has hang time and a big arm. She will be very useful this season to jump in whenever one of the outsides are struggling.
- Camille Edwards came in to to save the day against Delaware as Virtue pulled the emergency cord down 0-2 and switched to a 6-2 offense. She had an immediate connection with the middles that Burke was missing and it helped flip the match. And so it was incredibly concerning to see Edwards show up on Sunday with a knee brace and crutches. Hoping for the best, but that injury does not look good.
- Really up and down defensive effort this weekend. The block that looked so good against Pitt disappeared until late in the second match against Kent State. We were out blocked 14-7 by Delaware in Friday's match. And the floor defense in general needs to pick up, lots of balls hit the floor that shouldn't have.
- I expected better offensive efficiency considering the competition, but there were times when Burke just couldn't find the answer. I'm not sure what happened prior to the second match against Kent State, but she suddenly found the connection with Nyambio who ended up hitting .533 on a career high 17 kills. More of that please!
- Service pressure is going to be a plus for this team all season. 28 aces in 12 sets was impressive with Vaulet leading the way with 12 and a bunch of additional tough serves that took opponents out of system. They will need to lean on this in the B1G.
- Congrats to Kendyl Reaugh on passing the 1,000 kill mark on Friday and to Allison Jacobs for getting a career high 19K in the Sunday finale.
After an intra-County tilt on Wednesday against Eastern Michigan, Michigan heads to Stark Vegas to take on Mississippi State and Notre Dame, where we should get a better indication of where this team is heading.
Go Blue!
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Post by bprtbone on Sept 8, 2024 11:37:09 GMT -5
What a great weekend for Michigan in Stark Vegas, earning a sweep against the hosts on Friday night and besting Notre Dame in 4 yesterday. This was the team's first test against P4 competition and yes they weren't going up against any Top 25 teams but this was still an encouraging performance for a team that went 2-7 in the non-conference last year. They have nearly equaled last year's win total for the season and this is a much improved roster. Erin Virtue seems to have found the right combination of players to maximize team performance, defying the VT naysayers ready to throw her under the bus after one set last week.
Allison Jacobs is leading the charge for Blue with her experience and leadership, but its freshman OH Ella Demetrician who has emerged as a budding star. She hit .363 for the weekend; 4.57 kps and an early career high 18K against Notre Dame. She has great hang time and a big arm. She needs to develop more on defense, but it looks like Blue has a good one. With two legitimate OH's. Vaulet can now focus on the right. Her serve is still one of Michigan's best weapons.
That was a very clean performance compared to last week's mess. But the team is finding its footing and hopefully will continue to make strides forward. Go Blue!
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1guy
Freshman
Posts: 71
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Post by 1guy on Sept 8, 2024 13:12:52 GMT -5
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1guy
Freshman
Posts: 71
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Post by 1guy on Sept 13, 2024 10:50:24 GMT -5
Sad news out of the athletic department this morning. Many of the headlines will be about his relationship with Tom Brady and other more prominent Michigan athletes, but I had heard many times about his importance to the volleyball program as well. May he rest in peace. https://www.instagram.com/p/C_3K0TQv3Yq |
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Post by pointexas on Sept 15, 2024 12:14:26 GMT -5
Does anyone know what happened to Vaulet? She hasn't played in the past two games and I'm pretty sure she's not even on the bench for the Oakland game.
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Post by b1gvb23 on Sept 15, 2024 13:03:58 GMT -5
What just happened?
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Post by bprtbone on Sept 15, 2024 13:06:59 GMT -5
It was either a substitution error or they were out of rotation. Erin brought her bench players in way too early that set. |
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Post by n00b on Sept 15, 2024 13:13:24 GMT -5
It was either a substitution error or they were out of rotation. Erin brought her bench players in way too early that set. Based on how it played out, seems like there must've been an incorrect player on the court for the rally that Michigan won to make the score 24-23. It was caught during the timeout, so the result of that rally was reversed giving Oakland a 25-22 win. |
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1guy
Freshman
Posts: 71
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Post by 1guy on Sept 15, 2024 16:24:05 GMT -5
It was either a substitution error or they were out of rotation. Erin brought her bench players in way too early that set. Based on how it played out, seems like there must've been an incorrect player on the court for the rally that Michigan won to make the score 24-23. It was caught during the timeout, so the result of that rally was reversed giving Oakland a 25-22 win. What I saw, after looking back at live stats and the BTN+ video, is that #11 subbed for setter #7 in position 1 early in the set as part of a double sub, but later in the set #11 subbed in for the opposite in position 4. I assume that type of miscue is a coaching error not a player error, but I wonder what others think? Happy that Michigan got the win, and besides a sloppy set 2, I think they took care of business. Next weekend will be another challenging weekend road trip to Duke and North Carolina, then on to the Big Ten, and things will escalate quickly with the opener being against Michigan State. |
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Post by bprtbone on Sept 15, 2024 17:41:59 GMT -5
Does anyone know what happened to Vaulet? She hasn't played in the past two games and I'm pretty sure she's not even on the bench for the Oakland game. Word on the street is that she was out with the flu. She warmed up on Friday night but didn't look right. She spent most of the first set in the training room before joining the team on the bench and today wasn't in the gym at all. I didn't see any glaring injury, so hopefully she recovers this week in time for the trip to North Carolina. Her not being available indirectly led to the substitution mistake today in S2. Erin was toying around with her right side backups, primarily relying on Lydia Johnson but brought in Molly Simmons at one point for Burke to shore up the block. When she tried to put her in later for Johnson, it was an illegal substitution as Simmons had already subbed in earlier in a different position. If Vaulet was playing, this likely wouldn't have been an issue. |
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Post by bprtbone on Oct 1, 2024 11:24:37 GMT -5
Yesterday, U of M unveiled Campus Plan 2050, an ambitious and comprehensive roadmap to future development that looks to better connect people and places at their sprawling campus across Ann Arbor. Some of the proposals look promising such as the pedestrian bridge across the railroad tracks to connect Ferry Field to the Big House. Others seem like a pipe dream: an elevated railway between Central, Medical and North Campus? More realistic and very encouraging for the volleyball program are these details: - The proposed demolition of Weidenbach Hall and the Cliff Keen Arena at the southwest corner of South State Street and East Hoover Avenue reestablishes views into the historic field, providing the opportunity to recreate the original Ferry Field gateway designed by Albert Kahn.- The proposed land use changes accommodate identified and future athletic facility needs, including the demolition over time of all university support buildings in the Kipke Drive Area other than Michigan Stadium and its associated outbuildings, Junge Champions Center, Crisler Center, and Davidson Player Development Center to free up land for future athletic facilities.
Previous plans had identified the current indoor training center location adjacent to Ray Fisher Stadium as a proposed site for a new volleyball/wrestling/gymnastics arena. That site remains viable in the new plan but also opens up opportunities to build a new facility between Kipke Drive and the railroad tracks. The proposed maps for this area are very intriguing and would really reshape the entire Ross athletic campus area. Volleyball desperately needs a modern home. Here's hoping the right donor is out there to see it come to fruition. |
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Post by bprtbone on Oct 5, 2024 23:58:30 GMT -5
Nice bounce back by Michigan tonight after last nights brutal loss to USC, squeaking by UCLA in 5. Very appropriate for Allison Jacobs to get the match winning kill against her old team. Go Blue!
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1guy
Freshman
Posts: 71
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Post by 1guy on Oct 8, 2024 7:53:09 GMT -5
https://www.instagram.com/p/DA1YVlKvd0l Great to see some recognition after a wild west coast swing. Excellent job Morgan! I think Saturday's result against UCLA in a tough 5-setter shows that this team has exceptional mental toughness, especially after Friday's heart wrenching loss. I continue to be impressed with the growth this team has shown in such a short time and I'm looking forward to two good matches coming up at home against Illinois and on the road against Ohio State. Go Blue! |
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Post by exit237a on Oct 8, 2024 17:13:50 GMT -5
Hey Wolverine fans! Here's a thread for Friday night's match between Illinois and Michigan: Let me know if you'd expect a different Michigan lineup than the one I've got in the OP. |
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1guy
Freshman
Posts: 71
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Post by 1guy on Oct 8, 2024 20:47:21 GMT -5
Hey Wolverine fans! Here's a thread for Friday night's match between Illinois and Michigan: Let me know if you'd expect a different Michigan lineup than the one I've got in the OP. That would be the Michigan lineup I would predict based on last weekend. But we've also seen the lineup have Kendyl Reaugh front row / Ella Demetrician back row in the second outside hitter spot. |
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