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Post by kiyoat on Aug 10, 2024 13:32:36 GMT -5
Looks like South Dakota just became the 3rd Summit League program to play home matches on a Taraflex floor... I think the players approve... (click for the reveal video) https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-d-gxBMStK Improved performance, impoved safety, improved look. I'm excited to see the first match there!  The team raised over $125k in a coach-initiated campaign this past February to pay for it. This is a big part of what I'd call "program momentum". Great to see that fan/donor support. |
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Post by lovebugsm on Aug 10, 2024 17:34:32 GMT -5
I foresee St. Thomas getting one as soon as basketball leaves the building.
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Post by kiyoat on Aug 10, 2024 18:44:57 GMT -5
I foresee St. Thomas getting one as soon as basketball leaves the building. I was actually going to post the same thing. Was thinking about what program might be next in getting a taraflex floor. ORU - Had one in their weird rec-center court (grandfathered low ceilings), but last year they made the move to the cavernous 10,000 seat Mabee Center built (1972), shared with BB, and went back to taped lines. Denver - currently has had a taraflex floor for the longest. No idea how old the current floor is, but it still looks good. They play in 2500 seat Hamilton Gym (built 1961), shared with BB. Omaha - Has a Taraflex floor over the basketball floor, which is suspended and insulated in some way over the hockey ice in Baxter Arena. (7500 seats, shared with hockey, and BB) opened in 2015. I believe some visiting teams have mentioned it being cool or cold due to the ice? IIRC South Dakota - New floor in 2024! Shared arena with BB at the 6000 seat Sanford Coyote Sports Center (opened 2016) up next?_________________________________________________________________________________________St. Thomas? - BB will move out of the smaller Schoeneker Arena (1800 seats) to a new, larger arena shared with hockey next season. Guessing Volleyball might go with Taraflex then? At minimum, they should have the floor re-painted for volleyball. but since that costs money too, it would be a perfect time to just go ahead with the Taraflex. Kansas City? - Currently the VB team shares the 1500 seat Swinney Center (built in 1941) with BB. According to this article: LINK the BB teams have grown the fan base enough to start looking at a near-campus parcel to build a new 5,000 seat home for BB and VB. Personally, I wonder if remodeling the Swinney for just VB might end up being the better solution... but I'm sure the VB coach would probably rather be part of a new facility (better for recruiting). I know the KC athletics department has had funding issues in the past, but basketball could change that in a big city like KC. You can grow a fan base more quickly in a large metro when you are winning, but it takes time to develop the hardcore fans. SDSU - shares the newly renovated Frost Arena (now First Bank & Trust Arena) with BB. Capacity 5,000. taped lines on BB floor for now. I could see them upgrading to Taraflex to keep up with USD at some point. UND - plays in "The Betty", 3300 seats, built in 2004, shared with BB over taped lines. Guessing they could do Taraflex, too. But I'll wager they wait until the team is on an up-swing, generating some excitement? Just a guess. NDSU - plays in a dedicated gym (the old 1931 BB gym, Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse) with a VB-painted wood sprung floor and 1300 capacity. A nice setup TBH, other than the age of the building. Has a reputation as a tough place to play, due to the fans being close to the court. ORU (again?) they probably couldn't use the previous floor because of the size. Maybe they will get one that fits better in the Mabee Center. |
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Post by murphyjones on Aug 12, 2024 12:35:35 GMT -5
I feel pretty good about the team Kansas City returns. They return the conference's top setter and top libero in Sydney Henry and Leah Green is huge. They did lose MB Carly Gillen but have very capable MBs in Sila Ozyurek and Kimora Whetstone. The main concern is the OHs. While Oddy Warren did not hit at a high %, she was a bit of a volume scorer. I look for Kaia Dunford be the go to hitter and I think transfers Doga Eski and Maria Eduardo Motta will progress nicely with Sydney Henry teeing it up for them. Roo Up!!
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Post by Steve vb on Aug 12, 2024 23:48:11 GMT -5
I feel pretty good about the team Kansas City returns. They return the conference's top setter and top libero in Sydney Henry and Leah Green is huge. They did lose MB Carly Gillen but have very capable MBs in Sila Ozyurek and Kimora Whetstone. The main concern is the OHs. While Oddy Warren did not hit at a high %, she was a bit of a volume scorer. I look for Kaia Dunford be the go to hitter and I think transfers Doga Eski and Maria Eduardo Motta will progress nicely with Sydney Henry teeing it up for them. Roo Up!! It's good to have another Summit League fan here, especially one who's a fan of a team that is not Omaha, South Dakota, or St. Thomas. Kansas City certainly had quite a turnaround last year. |
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Post by kiyoat on Aug 13, 2024 6:29:34 GMT -5
Agreed. And I also agree KC could be excellent again this season. I can easily make an argument for each team in the conference that they should be improved this year over last. And I hope they all do, for RPI reasons.
There is some good coaching and talent throughput the league. But somebody’s got to be at the bottom. ORU probably has the lowest ceiling IMHO. St Thomas has some self-imposed talent acquisition handicaps too. And SDSU had some massive roster turnover again.
Who knows
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Post by murphyjones on Aug 13, 2024 10:30:14 GMT -5
I feel pretty good about the team Kansas City returns. They return the conference's top setter and top libero in Sydney Henry and Leah Green is huge. They did lose MB Carly Gillen but have very capable MBs in Sila Ozyurek and Kimora Whetstone. The main concern is the OHs. While Oddy Warren did not hit at a high %, she was a bit of a volume scorer. I look for Kaia Dunford be the go to hitter and I think transfers Doga Eski and Maria Eduardo Motta will progress nicely with Sydney Henry teeing it up for them. Roo Up!! It's good to have another Summit League fan here, especially one who's a fan of a team that is not Omaha, South Dakota, or St. Thomas. Kansas City certainly had quite a turnaround last year. I have been a lurker for quite a while. Hopefully my presence will encourage other KC fans to engage. I am really a fan of three programs. I grew up in Kentucky and am still a fan even though I have no official affiliation with the university. Undergrad at Southern Indiana (new to D-1) and grad school at UMKC. I am looking forward to another very competitive Summit League season. Surely it can't be as tight as last season.... or can it? |
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Post by kiyoat on Aug 13, 2024 10:56:57 GMT -5
It's good to have another Summit League fan here, especially one who's a fan of a team that is not Omaha, South Dakota, or St. Thomas. Kansas City certainly had quite a turnaround last year. I have been a lurker for quite a while. Hopefully my presence will encourage other KC fans to engage. I am really a fan of three programs. I grew up in Kentucky and am still a fan even though I have no official affiliation with the university. Undergrad at Southern Indiana (new to D-1) and grad school at UMKC. I am looking forward to another very competitive Summit League season. Surely it can't be as tight as last season.... or can it?I mean, probably not a "4-co-champion" type season! But I think all 4 of those teams (KC, Omaha, USD, Denver) will still be good again. Just a question of HOW good. NDSU brings back their all-summit OH as a 5th year, but not their Setter of the Year. Same situation at SDSU, but with tons of roster turnover. I have a lot of respect for Coaches Lopez (NDSU), Georgalas (SDSU), Pham (St Thomas) and Tupac (UND), so improvement from any of those schools would not surprise me either. They just have to overcome some holes in their respective rosters. ORU, surprisingly, did not lose much to the transfer portal. I'd still pick them last, but clearly that (new) coach has them believing in something.... I'm really hoping we see some wins in the non-conference season from the whole conference. The goal being to get two teams into the big dance by way of a high RPI.... Welcome to the board! I'll probably be doing some game-day threads, especially involving USD and any front-running teams of interest. If you really want to get crazy, feel free to make some gameday threads for KC. It's actually pretty easy, just copy/paste a template format (from another game thread) using the "BBCode" tab. Once the first post of the thread is made and links updated, you can simply post in there as much or little as you want. It's pretty fun, because it sparks discussion about that game. |
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Post by kiyoat on Aug 15, 2024 9:32:07 GMT -5
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Post by avid 2.0 on Aug 21, 2024 20:33:07 GMT -5
According to ESPN's website, the scrimmage being USD and Northern Iowa will be on ESPN+ on Saturday.
hopefully thats not a mistake lol
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Post by kiyoat on Aug 22, 2024 15:18:51 GMT -5
According to ESPN's website, the scrimmage being USD and Northern Iowa will be on ESPN+ on Saturday. hopefully thats not a mistake lol nice! 2PM Looks like UNI was just picked to win the MVC again this Fall... will be a stiff challenge for the Yotes, with an experienced back-court, but a complete overhaul at middle. I'm not sure if they plan on playing a full normal match, but Massey predicts a 3-1 Panthers win. |
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Post by avid 2.0 on Aug 24, 2024 13:46:05 GMT -5
According to ESPN's website, the scrimmage being USD and Northern Iowa will be on ESPN+ on Saturday. hopefully thats not a mistake lol update: it was. pain. |
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vballfreak808
Hawaiian Ohana 
2020 All-VolleyTalk 1st Team, All-VolleyTalk 2nd Team (2023, 2022, 2017, 2016), All-VolleyTalk HM (2021, 2019, 2018), 2017 Fantasy League 1st Runner-up, 2016 Fantasy League Champion
#GoBows
Posts: 13,627
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Post by vballfreak808 on Aug 24, 2024 14:01:47 GMT -5
According to ESPN's website, the scrimmage being USD and Northern Iowa will be on ESPN+ on Saturday. hopefully thats not a mistake lol update: it was. pain. Saw that too. What a tease... |
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Post by kiyoat on Aug 25, 2024 11:15:04 GMT -5
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Post by volleyballislyf on Aug 25, 2024 17:39:24 GMT -5
Anyone know when the Summit League will come out with their volleyball preseason poll?
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