Kansas 2024

[friendlybanter]

Kansas wins the first set 25-23. They hit .389 while South Carolina hit .317. As of right now im interested in what they are looking for with having Aiono in there. They aren’t setting her much at all, and she’s not really making a difference in blocking. I think these are one of those things where they eventually transition Burgess into the starting role. Maybe this second set Aiono will be better. Onobanjo looks niceeee though. She’s thumping some balls.

[gatorjay]

the bench is having a lot of fun lol

[bluepenquin]

Aug 30, 2024 15:05:39 GMT -5 friendlybanter said:

Kansas wins the first set 25-23. They hit .389 while South Carolina hit .317. As of right now im interested in what they are looking for with having Aiono in there. They aren’t setting her much at all, and she’s not really making a difference in blocking. I think these are one of those things where they eventually transition Burgess into the starting role. Maybe this second set Aiono will be better. Onobanjo looks niceeee though. She’s thumping some balls.

Are you able to watch?  Hard for me to follow from the stats.

How does the serve receive look?  Are they always going with the same 3 - or is McGehe reveiving on any rotations?  Looks like errors from NC State and Bien hitting well is allowing KU to cruise to the set 2 win.

The 2 middles combined for 6 kills on 6 attempts.  I would certainly take that even w/o the blocks.  But now Aiono with 2 errors on 3 swings in the 2nd set doesn't work.

[bluepenquin]

460 K% for the first two sets with only 6 attack errors is really good. H% .365. Also a 70% side out %. This tells me that they are terminating at a good clip w/o making a lot of errors. 4 Blocks in the 2nd set was also a nice improvement. Looks like Bien and Onabanjo are having themselves a good day.

For me - the concern for this team coming into the season, is can they terminate (looking for a high K% with the loss of Cooper) and can they either get the middles much more involved in the offense (or be outstanding blocking).

[friendlybanter]

Its on ACC Network so im able to watch on my ESPN app. Im at work so I was able to watch the first set completely, but ive been in and out ever since. The thing about Kansas is they don’t make many mistakes and they capitalize on opponents mistakes. In the first set, Carolina hit .317 and then in the second set they hit .000. Kansas is also serving much tougher than they did last year, 5 aces to 4 errors, but they themselves have not committed a reception error. In set two they had south carolina out of sorts and it allowed Aiono to show why she’s in the lineup as she had 4 blocks just in that set alone. Kansas currently has 9 blocks on the match.

[gatorjay]

Burgess is in!

[bluepenquin]

Well - that ended up being a beatdown. -23, -13, -10.

Looks like Kansas played very well in all 3 sets (maybe sloppy at the beginning of the 3rd set). South Carolina played well in the 1st set, but was horrible in the next 2. A Ton of errors - was this South Carolina being bad or did Kansas have anything to do with this?

Caroline Bien put up all-American numbers in the game, very impressive. 11 blocks for the team in the last 2 sets. Nelson and Burgess got their first kills in 3rd set mop-up action (that rules out any redshirt for Nelson). No Dalton or Kirsch - who both played a lot last season.

[friendlybanter]

My takeaways from the match is that Kansas controlled the serve and serve receive. After the first set where Kansas lost the lead once, Kansas never trailed for the rest of the game. Once again Kansas dominated in serve receive with only 1 reception error the entire game. They also really tired out South Carolina’s outsides. Kansas was picking up a ton of balls and then the block really started to get hot. This caused South Carolina to have a lot errors. Kansas may not be the most feared offensive attack, but they were very efficient. 40 kills to only 7 errors for Kansas hitting .375 as a team whereas South Carolina had 32 kills to 23 errors.

Kansas was already returning great serve receive and great floor defense, but they were also able to serve way tougher than they did last year and the block made its mark in the last two sets. 11 of 12 blocks in the game came in the last two sets.

Efficient offense + elite defense = sweep

[buttery]

Caught Set 1 and Set 2 live, but rewatched the whole game.

That Kansas block that I’ve come to know and love seems like it’s back after a hiatus last year. I felt like Onabanjo was “solid” last year, but had the potential to become elite and Aiono is a complete force - I’m still wondering how she’s listed at only 6’3” because she seems much taller. Improved blocking to go along with already elite floor defense is scary stuff.

Bien was so crafty - her numbers underscore how well she hit as SC scrambled to get a free ball over the net on 3 or 4 of her attempts that didn’t result in a kill. She likes that sharp cross, but she was mixing up her shots well, tooling blocks, and the off speed stuff was very good today too.

When McGehe, KU completely hid Elnady in serve receive. The one service reception error was Elnady getting aced as a live attacker - next point KU adjusted to Bien and Burns in a two-person reception like they’ve done before. It appeared like South Carolina had done their homework - they served Bien only when she was a live hitter (which *knocks on wood* didn’t work like teams had success doing in 2022), rarely served Burns, had no success with McGehe, and any opportunity they had to serve Elnady (or Swanson for the few points she was in) they did. If Bien is able to find success receiving serve and terminating, there are really no weaknesses to exploit.

Since Bien and Elnady are going all the way around, I can’t help but compare this team to 2022. Obviously that team wasn’t that bad, but there are several reasons why I think this team will be significantly better. 1. Davis is way more terminal now than Szabo ever was; 2. Serve receive with Burns instead of Farris is night and day. If KU stays in-system, any pin will have success with Turner setting.

[bluepenquin]

Aug 31, 2024 1:10:59 GMT -5 buttery said:

Caught Set 1 and Set 2 live, but rewatched the whole game.

That Kansas block that I’ve come to know and love seems like it’s back after a hiatus last year. I felt like Onabanjo was “solid” last year, but had the potential to become elite and Aiono is a complete force - I’m still wondering how she’s listed at only 6’3” because she seems much taller. Improved blocking to go along with already elite floor defense is scary stuff.

Bien was so crafty - her numbers underscore how well she hit as SC scrambled to get a free ball over the net on 3 or 4 of her attempts that didn’t result in a kill. She likes that sharp cross, but she was mixing up her shots well, tooling blocks, and the off speed stuff was very good today too.

When McGehe, KU completely hid Elnady in serve receive. The one service reception error was Elnady getting aced as a live attacker - next point KU adjusted to Bien and Burns in a two-person reception like they’ve done before. It appeared like South Carolina had done their homework - they served Bien only when she was a live hitter (which *knocks on wood* didn’t work like teams had success doing in 2022), rarely served Burns, had no success with McGehe, and any opportunity they had to serve Elnady (or Swanson for the few points she was in) they did. If Bien is able to find success receiving serve and terminating, there are really no weaknesses to exploit.

Since Bien and Elnady are going all the way around, I can’t help but compare this team to 2022. Obviously that team wasn’t that bad, but there are several reasons why I think this team will be significantly better. 1. Davis is way more terminal now than Szabo ever was; 2. Serve receive with Burns instead of Farris is night and day. If KU stays in-system, any pin will have success with Turner setting.

Aiono - she is like Fletch, 6-7 with the hair.

re 2022:  I thought Faris played very well in 2022, but I do like Burns better.  I believe Langs played injured all season (and missed some games), Bien had an unacceptable H%.  Elnady was good in 2022, but she was 15-25% better in 2023, improving every aspect of her game.  This team has way more depth at OH with Swanson/Nelson than the 2022 team - and Elnady and Bien are likely to be significantly better than 2 years ago.

I don't know that Davis is much of an upgrade over Szabo - and Davis as a backup was pretty strong.  Depth at MB was abysmal in 2022 - and it ended up biting them for a couple games.  Plus they were dealing with Langs being less than 100%.

I think the big difference between 24 and 22 (in theory) - is significant improvement in OH play (which plays a part in being near elite in 1st contact) along with significantly better depth at OH and MB.  Then add a top notch Libero.  And it is possible that this team figured out that serving can be really important.  

[buttery]

Aug 31, 2024 8:33:01 GMT -5 bluepenquin said:

Aug 31, 2024 1:10:59 GMT -5 buttery said:

Caught Set 1 and Set 2 live, but rewatched the whole game.

That Kansas block that I’ve come to know and love seems like it’s back after a hiatus last year. I felt like Onabanjo was “solid” last year, but had the potential to become elite and Aiono is a complete force - I’m still wondering how she’s listed at only 6’3” because she seems much taller. Improved blocking to go along with already elite floor defense is scary stuff.

Bien was so crafty - her numbers underscore how well she hit as SC scrambled to get a free ball over the net on 3 or 4 of her attempts that didn’t result in a kill. She likes that sharp cross, but she was mixing up her shots well, tooling blocks, and the off speed stuff was very good today too.

When McGehe, KU completely hid Elnady in serve receive. The one service reception error was Elnady getting aced as a live attacker - next point KU adjusted to Bien and Burns in a two-person reception like they’ve done before. It appeared like South Carolina had done their homework - they served Bien only when she was a live hitter (which *knocks on wood* didn’t work like teams had success doing in 2022), rarely served Burns, had no success with McGehe, and any opportunity they had to serve Elnady (or Swanson for the few points she was in) they did. If Bien is able to find success receiving serve and terminating, there are really no weaknesses to exploit.

Since Bien and Elnady are going all the way around, I can’t help but compare this team to 2022. Obviously that team wasn’t that bad, but there are several reasons why I think this team will be significantly better. 1. Davis is way more terminal now than Szabo ever was; 2. Serve receive with Burns instead of Farris is night and day. If KU stays in-system, any pin will have success with Turner setting.

Aiono - she is like Fletch, 6-7 with the hair.

re 2022:  I thought Faris played very well in 2022, but I do like Burns better.  I believe Langs played injured all season (and missed some games), Bien had an unacceptable H%.  Elnady was good in 2022, but she was 15-25% better in 2023, improving every aspect of her game.  This team has way more depth at OH with Swanson/Nelson than the 2022 team - and Elnady and Bien are likely to be significantly better than 2 years ago.

I don't know that Davis is much of an upgrade over Szabo - and Davis as a backup was pretty strong.  Depth at MB was abysmal in 2022 - and it ended up biting them for a couple games.  Plus they were dealing with Langs being less than 100%.

I think the big difference between 24 and 22 (in theory) - is significant improvement in OH play (which plays a part in being near elite in 1st contact) along with significantly better depth at OH and MB.  Then add a top notch Libero.  And it is possible that this team figured out that serving can be really important.  

Fair re: Szabo/Davis - I had no idea Szabo hit .295 her senior year. Obviously she was much more of a blocking force as well.

[buttery]

Pretty routine win vs. Colgate, who hopefully will have similar success in their conference as last year. Davis and Elnady were great today whereas they ranged from average to poor from an offensive standpoint in the games before. Bien wasn’t great - but overall a good weekend for her.

Some observations from the weekend
- McGehe was the DS for Davis and I thought she played really well all 3 matches. Very solid on serve receive - only 1 RE I think and she might’ve received that in a ball today that her and Bien both went for in a seam. Defensively she was locked in too. I’m glad she got the opportunity in that position and I hope she stays there assuming Dalton is redshirting (really hoping she does).

- Not the best competition I imagine to judge, but Kansas is causing way more problems for opponents from the service line. Elnady’s and McGehe’s serve in particular consistently got teams OOS. I’m good with that approach vs. going riskier for aces (Elnady comes to mind) because this team is so good at digging balls in-system for Turner. The improved block is a good combo with this as well.

- Onabanjo has made herself an early notable talking point in opponents scouting report from the weekend she had. The whole offseason we asked for more middle production and she exceeded expectations. She was also a wall at the net. I was sad when Crawford transferred, but if Onabanjo is going to keep this up I will have gotten over it

[buttery]

Great weekend last week for the Hawks - Marquette on the road was definitely a potential landmine that I thought the team handled pretty well after set 1. Western Michigan is a good team too and plays a similar style to Kansas, and I thought the offense stepped up to another level in another impressive sweep - all 3 pins had very good nights and credit to Turner for distributing the ball.

Seeing RPI Futures (Kansas is 3) makes me want to throw up from anticipation because assuming we can take care of Libscomb, the Jayhawks Classic with Purdue/Creighton/Tulsa is as high stakes as it gets (and if Creighton can beat Nebraska tonight…oh boy). I assume that if Creighton or Kansas can go 2-0, they are in the driver’s seat to very much control their own destiny to potentially host a regional - Purdue maybe too but that assumes they don’t get beat up in the Big Ten.

One observation I’ve enjoyed this far is the demeanor of the team - this team has always played with joy over the last 2 years, and this year is no different, but at times last year I felt like they were surprised at their own ability to compete at such a high level. This year - I feel there’s a sense of expectation and urgency from the seniors (and throw Burns in there too) that I hope they can maintain. KU hasn’t had a team with the viability of hosting since 2017, and that team underperformed due to injuries/at times…lack of engagement (I remember a KUSports article quoting Bechard for saying he wanted his players to “take things more seriously”).

[bluepenquin]

Sept 10, 2024 17:32:52 GMT -5 buttery said:

Great weekend last week for the Hawks - Marquette on the road was definitely a potential landmine that I thought the team handled pretty well after set 1. Western Michigan is a good team too and plays a similar style to Kansas, and I thought the offense stepped up to another level in another impressive sweep - all 3 pins had very good nights and credit to Turner for distributing the ball.

Seeing RPI Futures (Kansas is 3) makes me want to throw up from anticipation because assuming we can take care of Libscomb, the Jayhawks Classic with Purdue/Creighton/Tulsa is as high stakes as it gets (and if Creighton can beat Nebraska tonight…oh boy). I assume that if Creighton or Kansas can go 2-0, they are in the driver’s seat to very much control their own destiny to potentially host a regional - Purdue maybe too but that assumes they don’t get beat up in the Big Ten.

One observation I’ve enjoyed this far is the demeanor of the team - this team has always played with joy over the last 2 years, and this year is no different, but at times last year I felt like they were surprised at their own ability to compete at such a high level. This year - I feel there’s a sense of expectation and urgency from the seniors (and throw Burns in there too) that I hope they can maintain. KU hasn’t had a team with the viability of hosting since 2017, and that team underperformed due to injuries/at times…lack of engagement (I remember a KUSports article quoting Bechard for saying he wanted his players to “take things more seriously”).

Pablo certainly sees this team in the same vein as 2015 and 2016.  The 2015 team didn't have the schedule to get a higher seed and the 2016 team started showing some cracks (and injuries) late in the year.

As for Regional seed - if Kansas is really as good as Pablo currently has them, then the major issue other than getting to a 25-3 overall record - is going to be top 25 or even top 10 wins.  This makes beating Creighton (and probably Purdue) so important.  

It would appear that RPI Futures in conjunction with Pablo is picking up one great (relatively easy) schedule going forward - that I am not sure is really the case (I still feel Iowa State and Kansas State are good teams that have underperformed thus far).

Just looking at their schedule - the remaining tough games, they are almost entirely at Home.  We start with the 2X teams of West Virginia, UCF, Kansas State, and Iowa State (none of these teams are near the top in the conference per RPI Futures).  Of the top teams in the conference - they get BYU, Baylor, TCU, Utah (who has been moving up the fastest in the conference), and Houston at home.  The only top team left on their schedule that is on the road is Arizona State.

Not to diminish these teams after ASU - but here are the road teams they face on the schedule: Arizona State, Kansas State, Iowa State, UCF, Colorado, Arizona, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, West Virginia.

This is a remaining schedule that is conducive for a top 10 team (in Pablo) to finish the season 25-3 or better with a minimal amount of luck.  They are favored in every game on the schedule - except Arizona State (maybe).  I believe they could be 65%+ favored (per Pablo) in every match except @ Arizona State.  

This would be a really good season to have a great home court advantage and play their best at home.  

[buttery]

Sept 11, 2024 10:12:47 GMT -5 bluepenquin said:

Sept 10, 2024 17:32:52 GMT -5 buttery said:

Great weekend last week for the Hawks - Marquette on the road was definitely a potential landmine that I thought the team handled pretty well after set 1. Western Michigan is a good team too and plays a similar style to Kansas, and I thought the offense stepped up to another level in another impressive sweep - all 3 pins had very good nights and credit to Turner for distributing the ball.

Seeing RPI Futures (Kansas is 3) makes me want to throw up from anticipation because assuming we can take care of Libscomb, the Jayhawks Classic with Purdue/Creighton/Tulsa is as high stakes as it gets (and if Creighton can beat Nebraska tonight…oh boy). I assume that if Creighton or Kansas can go 2-0, they are in the driver’s seat to very much control their own destiny to potentially host a regional - Purdue maybe too but that assumes they don’t get beat up in the Big Ten.

One observation I’ve enjoyed this far is the demeanor of the team - this team has always played with joy over the last 2 years, and this year is no different, but at times last year I felt like they were surprised at their own ability to compete at such a high level. This year - I feel there’s a sense of expectation and urgency from the seniors (and throw Burns in there too) that I hope they can maintain. KU hasn’t had a team with the viability of hosting since 2017, and that team underperformed due to injuries/at times…lack of engagement (I remember a KUSports article quoting Bechard for saying he wanted his players to “take things more seriously”).

Pablo certainly sees this team in the same vein as 2015 and 2016.  The 2015 team didn't have the schedule to get a higher seed and the 2016 team started showing some cracks (and injuries) late in the year.

As for Regional seed - if Kansas is really as good as Pablo currently has them, then the major issue other than getting to a 25-3 overall record - is going to be top 25 or even top 10 wins.  This makes beating Creighton (and probably Purdue) so important.  

It would appear that RPI Futures in conjunction with Pablo is picking up one great (relatively easy) schedule going forward - that I am not sure is really the case (I still feel Iowa State and Kansas State are good teams that have underperformed thus far).

Just looking at their schedule - the remaining tough games, they are almost entirely at Home.  We start with the 2X teams of West Virginia, UCF, Kansas State, and Iowa State (none of these teams are near the top in the conference per RPI Futures).  Of the top teams in the conference - they get BYU, Baylor, TCU, Utah (who has been moving up the fastest in the conference), and Houston at home.  The only top team left on their schedule that is on the road is Arizona State.

Not to diminish these teams after ASU - but here are the road teams they face on the schedule: Arizona State, Kansas State, Iowa State, UCF, Colorado, Arizona, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, West Virginia.

This is a remaining schedule that is conducive for a top 10 team (in Pablo) to finish the season 25-3 or better with a minimal amount of luck.  They are favored in every game on the schedule - except Arizona State (maybe).  I believe they could be 65%+ favored (per Pablo) in every match except @ Arizona State.  

This would be a really good season to have a great home court advantage and play their best at home.  

Appreciate the analysis here - I actually think besides Creighton and Purdue (which I’m calling “opportunities”) and obviously ASU, I’m most concerned about K-State and Iowa State on the road and what it could do to KU’s RPI to lose even 1 of those. Those are tough places for anyone to play and KU’s first time playing at the new gym in Manhattan scares the hell out of me, despite K-State appearing to be worse this year than last…we can expect the environment to be super hostile, especially if KU could potentially be a Top 10 team by then.