bluepenquin
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4-Time VolleyTalk Poster of the Year (2019, 2018, 2017, 2016), All-VolleyTalk 1st Team (2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016) All-VolleyTalk 2nd Team 2023
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Post by bluepenquin on Jun 4, 2024 10:18:42 GMT -5
Some general thoughts I have. Burgess and Ptacek were (as far as I can tell) enrolled at KU this spring. I suspect that Burgess is the most likely player to start, but from what I have seen in the past, Ptacek can also play. There is no doubt in my mind that Nelson is a 6-rotation player. I don't necessarily think she is the best option playing 6-rotations on this team, but I fully believe plan A is for Nelson to be a 6-rotation OH in 2025. If Nelson starts the year - and it isn't because of injury to either Bien or Elnady - that would be great news, but it isn't what I am expecting. For me - best case scenario is for Nelson to redshirt. Nelson and Burgess made VB Magazine's Top 40 - Kansas is the only school in the Big 12 to have more than 1. This team has an immediate need for a Freshman to step in and be good a MB (which I believe is attainable), but in my mind, this 2024 Freshman class is more about 2025 and being able to hit the ground running instead of doing a complete rebuild with all Freshman next year. Agreed on that being best case scenario for Nelson, but how likely do you think it’ll be? Feel like Bechard will love to get her some reps this year since she’ll probably be the presumable top hitter in 2025. I assume preseason FOTY will go to Cisneros at Arizona, but would have to guess Nelson would be up there somewhere in the mix in coaches minds. I don't think Nelson redshirting is likely. It isn't something KU has done, unless and injury (Elnady). I caught the tail end of Jarmac's career, so I don't know the specifics of her redshirt (I believe she was a redshirt). They did redshirt Simpson, but I think she wanted that year to fully recover. Also - it is a two-way street, the player needs to be interested in a redshirt. This would need to be a mutual decision, and I don't think it is likely. As for Nelson - I may have mentioned this elsewhere - she reminds me a lot of London Davis as a hitter. Nelson is a ton of power, but can also be susceptible to being blocked. This isn't a bad thing - as getting hitters that can terminate is very important. But I also think she has some adjusting that will need to be done to excel at the next level. If she starts this year - then that is a very good sign since we know Bien's floor is pretty high.
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Post by buttery on Jun 17, 2024 9:43:55 GMT -5
I’ve been piecing together some of Kansas’s non-con opponents on the 2024 schedule thread and NCAAVBScores sheets since they are historically one of the last to post their schedule:
Opponents: Aug. 30 - South Carolina Aug. 31 - at Duke (I have to believe this is home, despite what NCAAVBScores says…some Kansas Classic or something) Sept. 1 - Colgate At Marquette - Sept. 6 Purdue/Tulsa/Creighton - Sept. 19/20/21 (these teams just happen to be confirmed playing each other in Lawrence, so it’s a safe bet…looks like it’ll be Purdue Thursday, Tulsa Friday, Creighton on Saturday)
Purdue and Creighton were no brainers that I would’ve been surprised not to see on KU’s schedule. The addition of Creighton isn’t surprising, but very exciting as I think this is somewhat of a pinnacle year for both Kansas and Creighton.
There’s room for about 3 more games left here. Initial thoughts are that I’d like one game to be against a big whale like Nebraska/Wisconsin/Louisville/Stanford/Texas and there is a gaping hole on the weekend of Sept. 13-15th in both KU’s and Texas’s schedule…so I’m hopeful that we get the Horns in Horjesi.
There’s also hardly any road games right now, though we only played 2 last year. My guess is we’ll have 1 more road…hosting the Kansas Invitational and Jayhawk Classic every year is a great way to guarantee 6 home games and those appear to be the weekend of Aug. 30 and Sept. 19.
Somewhat surprised we haven’t ended up on the schedule of Omaha, South Dakota, or Wichita State. Still room for UMKC which I would like because my guess is they’d be favorites for Summit League Champs this year, so not terrible RPI…but easily winnable game.
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bluepenquin
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Post by bluepenquin on Jun 17, 2024 11:36:11 GMT -5
I’ve been piecing together some of Kansas’s non-con opponents on the 2024 schedule thread and NCAAVBScores sheets since they are historically one of the last to post their schedule: Opponents: Aug. 30 - South Carolina Aug. 31 - at Duke (I have to believe this is home, despite what NCAAVBScores says…some Kansas Classic or something) Sept. 1 - Colgate At Marquette - Sept. 6 Purdue/Tulsa/Creighton - Sept. 19/20/21 (these teams just happen to be confirmed playing each other in Lawrence, so it’s a safe bet…looks like it’ll be Purdue Thursday, Tulsa Friday, Creighton on Saturday) Purdue and Creighton were no brainers that I would’ve been surprised not to see on KU’s schedule. The addition of Creighton isn’t surprising, but very exciting as I think this is somewhat of a pinnacle year for both Kansas and Creighton. There’s room for about 3 more games left here. Initial thoughts are that I’d like one game to be against a big whale like Nebraska/Wisconsin/Louisville/Stanford/Texas and there is a gaping hole on the weekend of Sept. 13-15th in both KU’s and Texas’s schedule…so I’m hopeful that we get the Horns in Horjesi. There’s also hardly any road games right now, though we only played 2 last year. My guess is we’ll have 1 more road…hosting the Kansas Invitational and Jayhawk Classic every year is a great way to guarantee 6 home games and those appear to be the weekend of Aug. 30 and Sept. 19. Somewhat surprised we haven’t ended up on the schedule of Omaha, South Dakota, or Wichita State. Still room for UMKC which I would like because my guess is they’d be favorites for Summit League Champs this year, so not terrible RPI…but easily winnable game. I was interested in this once I heard about Purdue and Creighton, but didn't want to take the work to figure it out. I don't know about South Carolina - but the rest of this schedule looks really good for Kansas. I am curious who else Kansas will play that weekend at Marquette? Marquette has Stanford on Wednesday, Kansas on Friday and Western Michigan on Sunday - all at home. Western Kentucky would be great one to get on Saturday? Also - Stanford would be interesting. For the other outstanding week - I would suggest something easy from opponent's w/o a likely terrible record. What we know as of now is providing a ton of opportunities for T25 and T50 wins.
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Post by AmeriCanVBfan on Jun 17, 2024 12:05:57 GMT -5
I’ve been piecing together some of Kansas’s non-con opponents on the 2024 schedule thread and NCAAVBScores sheets since they are historically one of the last to post their schedule: Opponents: Aug. 30 - South Carolina Aug. 31 - at Duke (I have to believe this is home, despite what NCAAVBScores says…some Kansas Classic or something) Sept. 1 - Colgate At Marquette - Sept. 6 Purdue/Tulsa/Creighton - Sept. 19/20/21 (these teams just happen to be confirmed playing each other in Lawrence, so it’s a safe bet…looks like it’ll be Purdue Thursday, Tulsa Friday, Creighton on Saturday) Purdue and Creighton were no brainers that I would’ve been surprised not to see on KU’s schedule. The addition of Creighton isn’t surprising, but very exciting as I think this is somewhat of a pinnacle year for both Kansas and Creighton. There’s room for about 3 more games left here. Initial thoughts are that I’d like one game to be against a big whale like Nebraska/Wisconsin/Louisville/Stanford/Texas and there is a gaping hole on the weekend of Sept. 13-15th in both KU’s and Texas’s schedule…so I’m hopeful that we get the Horns in Horjesi. There’s also hardly any road games right now, though we only played 2 last year. My guess is we’ll have 1 more road…hosting the Kansas Invitational and Jayhawk Classic every year is a great way to guarantee 6 home games and those appear to be the weekend of Aug. 30 and Sept. 19. Somewhat surprised we haven’t ended up on the schedule of Omaha, South Dakota, or Wichita State. Still room for UMKC which I would like because my guess is they’d be favorites for Summit League Champs this year, so not terrible RPI…but easily winnable game. Marquette has Stanford on Wednesday, Kansas on Friday and Western Michigan on Sunday - all at home. Western Kentucky would be great one to get on Saturday? Also - Stanford would be interesting. For the other outstanding week - I would suggest something easy from opponent's w/o a likely terrible record. What we know as of now is providing a ton of opportunities for T25 and T50 wins. I would be surprised if Stanford stuck around for a match with Kansas in Milwaukee , or were you thinking that Stanford would come to Kansas?
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bluepenquin
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Post by bluepenquin on Jun 17, 2024 13:13:50 GMT -5
Marquette has Stanford on Wednesday, Kansas on Friday and Western Michigan on Sunday - all at home. Western Kentucky would be great one to get on Saturday? Also - Stanford would be interesting. For the other outstanding week - I would suggest something easy from opponent's w/o a likely terrible record. What we know as of now is providing a ton of opportunities for T25 and T50 wins. I would be surprised if Stanford stuck around for a match with Kansas in Milwaukee , or were you thinking that Stanford would come to Kansas? Not Stanford coming to Kansas - but Stanford sticking around for a 2nd match on Thursday with Kansas? With open dates on Thursday. It could just as likely be Stanford going somewhere else in that area for a road match on Friday and Kansas doing likewise for a road match around Marquette. I just don't see either school playing just 1 match that week as a flyin to Milwaukee.
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Post by buttery on Jun 17, 2024 14:05:45 GMT -5
I would be surprised if Stanford stuck around for a match with Kansas in Milwaukee , or were you thinking that Stanford would come to Kansas? Not Stanford coming to Kansas - but Stanford sticking around for a 2nd match on Thursday with Kansas? With open dates on Thursday. It could just as likely be Stanford going somewhere else in that area for a road match on Friday and Kansas doing likewise for a road match around Marquette. I just don't see either school playing just 1 match that week as a flyin to Milwaukee. Definitely viable as NCAAVBScores spreadsheet have the rest of the week wide open for Stanford. I’d be hopeful…and my first thought was Stanford would be playing in Madison, but they play both Wisconsin and Minnesota earlier in their non-con schedule. I thought maybe I was had forgotten about South Carolina having a decent season or something last year, but yeah…don’t love them as our only exposure to the SEC. Not actually that bad though, and Colgate isn’t a terrible team either (UNH, Bellarmine, Oral Roberts last year were much worse).
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Post by AmeriCanVBfan on Jun 17, 2024 16:44:12 GMT -5
I would be surprised if Stanford stuck around for a match with Kansas in Milwaukee , or were you thinking that Stanford would come to Kansas? Not Stanford coming to Kansas - but Stanford sticking around for a 2nd match on Thursday with Kansas? With open dates on Thursday. It could just as likely be Stanford going somewhere else in that area for a road match on Friday and Kansas doing likewise for a road match around Marquette. I just don't see either school playing just 1 match that week as a flyin to Milwaukee. I assumed that they would play Western Michigan the day after playing Marquette, but maybe Stanford sticks around and Kansas plays them before playing Marquette.
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Post by buttery on Jun 17, 2024 17:49:07 GMT -5
Not Stanford coming to Kansas - but Stanford sticking around for a 2nd match on Thursday with Kansas? With open dates on Thursday. It could just as likely be Stanford going somewhere else in that area for a road match on Friday and Kansas doing likewise for a road match around Marquette. I just don't see either school playing just 1 match that week as a flyin to Milwaukee. I assumed that they would play Western Michigan the day after playing Marquette, but maybe Stanford sticks around and Kansas plays them before playing Marquette. Western Michigan was just added on the NCAAVBScores spreadsheet for Sept. 7. I don’t think it’s a hard confirmation, but that seems like the most logical answer. Stanford would have to play KU on the 6th beforehand, because they play UCSB on the 10th and I couldn’t imagine playing a game on the 9th in Milwaukee and then in Santa Barbara on the 10th. Don’t know how much WMU returns, but this schedule is looking fairly hearty for KU. All are very winnable games - enough to position them for a Top 12 seed assuming they only pick-up 1-2 losses and can finish 1st or 2nd in the Big 12 (probably would need to finish 1st).
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Post by vbruh on Jun 18, 2024 11:26:45 GMT -5
Not Stanford coming to Kansas - but Stanford sticking around for a 2nd match on Thursday with Kansas? With open dates on Thursday. It could just as likely be Stanford going somewhere else in that area for a road match on Friday and Kansas doing likewise for a road match around Marquette. I just don't see either school playing just 1 match that week as a flyin to Milwaukee. I assumed that they would play Western Michigan the day after playing Marquette, but maybe Stanford sticks around and Kansas plays them before playing Marquette. Might Kansas be joining Auburn to play the Diet Coke Classic at Minnesota on Sept. 13-15? Fri Sept 13 Auburn-Minn Sat Sept 14 Auburn-Kansas Sun Sept 15 Kansas-Minn
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Post by AmeriCanVBfan on Jun 18, 2024 11:50:56 GMT -5
I assumed that they would play Western Michigan the day after playing Marquette, but maybe Stanford sticks around and Kansas plays them before playing Marquette. Might Kansas be joining Auburn to play the Diet Coke Classic at Minnesota on Sept. 13-15? Fri Sept 13 Auburn-Minn Sat Sept 14 Auburn-Kansas Sun Sept 15 Kansas-Minn It's possible, I suppose. I'm also guessing that Kansas is a desirable opponent RPI-wise and is getting many invitations to come play.
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Post by vball1999 on Jun 18, 2024 12:14:15 GMT -5
I’ve been keeping my eye on the weekend of September 13-15 and I’m really hoping that the Longhorns can go down to Kansas. That would be huge for the Jayhawks.
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Post by buttery on Jun 21, 2024 16:00:24 GMT -5
Texas schedule is out, we can cross that possibility off the list. Still looking for 3-4 games for KU.
I think the thought on the Diet Coke Classic with Minnesota/Auburn is definitely a possibility (and one that I’d like for KU) as Minnesota only has 9 games confirmed and it looks like most Big Ten teams are scheduling 11. Both would be very winnable and the Minnesota one is particularly interesting because the biggest strengths of KU are floor defense and passing, while that was a tremendous weakness for Minnesota (though I imagine they have to have improved from last year). Of all the tournament level teams in the Big Ten, I like KU’s chances vs. them because of the great quality gap in ball control. Maybe Elise McGhie’s floaters are extra spicy against her former team and she serve us off the court though.
Regardless, I’m guessing whatever the 3 games are, it’s a tournament between 9/9 and 9/15 because it’s the only place on the schedule that could fit 3 games in really.
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Post by buttery on Jun 25, 2024 18:43:29 GMT -5
In the spirit of bumping this thread…
Kansas got a 2026 commitment from opposite Taylor Stanley. Local player on Dynasty - definitely looks to have a physical presence.
Another “BOOM” today on KU Volleyball Twitter, so I’m sure we’ll learn who it is shortly.
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Post by devilhorns24 on Jun 25, 2024 20:22:33 GMT -5
I think it's OH Ryan Sadler from A5
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bluepenquin
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Post by bluepenquin on Jun 28, 2024 13:36:17 GMT -5
I think it's OH Ryan Sadler from A5 Color me impressed. It is in fact Ryan Sadler.
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