The mu womens volleyball team swept Louisville 3-0 this evening in the first round of the ncaa. Freshmen niemann and bailey dominated. They meet morehead state or Illinois tomorrow night. That's 15 straight match wins and 21 of the last 22
That's terrific
I got to see a little of it...they looked really strong. Hopefully they'll beat Illinois tomorrow night.
Now maybe Crean will donate a volleyball facility too.
MU lost to Illinois 3-1 tonight. But still an amazing season for a very young team. Looking forward to next year
Speaking of volleyball, Loyola Chicago HOSTS BYU, USC, and UC-Irvine on January 2, 3, and 4, respectively, to open up their season at their new volleyball facility. Any volleyball fans who have not seen a men's division 1 level or higher should make every effort to make at least 1 of these matches, as BYU and UC-Irvine played each other in the National Championship last year, so these are some of the top teams in the country. Should be some good volleyball.
Quote from: wadesworld on December 08, 2013, 12:20:48 AM
Speaking of volleyball, Loyola Chicago HOSTS BYU, USC, and UC-Irvine on January 2, 3, and 4, respectively, to open up their season at their new volleyball facility. Any volleyball fans who have not seen a men's division 1 level or higher should make every effort to make at least 1 of these matches, as BYU and UC-Irvine played each other in the National Championship last year, so these are some of the top teams in the country. Should be some good volleyball.
Shoot. I will be home for break. Any good matches set for later in the season?
Quote from: melissasmooth on December 08, 2013, 06:12:40 PM
Shoot. I will be home for break. Any good matches set for later in the season?
Ehh the MIVA (midwest...Ohio State, Loyola, Lewis, Quincy, etc.) is kind of second tier and not quite the same as the MPSF (west...UCI, UCLA, Stanford, BYU, USC, Long Beach, etc.). The Final Four will be at Loyola this year though.
Quote from: wadesworld on December 08, 2013, 06:15:33 PM
Ehh the MIVA (midwest...Ohio State, Loyola, Lewis, Quincy, etc.) is kind of second tier and not quite the same as the MPSF (west...UCI, UCLA, Stanford, BYU, USC, Long Beach, etc.). The Final Four will be at Loyola this year though.
Yeah that conference is not as strong but was hoping maybe another good non conference match up later. Too bad we don't have a men's team
Match Ups for this Weeks Sweet 16
(1) Texas-American
(9) San Diego-(8) Nebraska
Florida St- (12) Wisconsin
(13) Illinois-Purdue
(3) Washington-(14) Kansas
BYU-(6) USC
(7) Stanford -(10) Minnesota
(2) Penn St-Michigan St
All the games are on Friday night on ESPN3
The Regional finals are Saturday night all on ESPU
A lot of great volleyball to watch tonight
7 Big 10 teams in the sweet 16. Thats nuts.
Quote from: esard2011 on December 13, 2013, 12:25:03 PM
7 Big 10 teams in the sweet 16. Thats nuts.
And only three Pac-12
Quote from: melissasmooth on December 09, 2013, 10:34:57 AM
Match Ups for this Weeks Sweet 16
(1) Texas-American
(9) San Diego-(8) Nebraska
Florida St- (12) Wisconsin
(13) Illinois-Purdue
(3) Washington-(14) Kansas
BYU-(6) USC
(7) Stanford -(10) Minnesota
(2) Penn St-Michigan St
ROOTING FOR UNIV. OF SAN DIEGO AS TWO OF MY CHILDREN WENT THERE. BEEN FOLLOWIG THEIR PROGRESS IN LOCAL PAPER
All the games are on Friday night on ESPN3
The Regional finals are Saturday night all on ESPU
so far all the seeds have won tonight except Illinois. BYU-USC still in progress
Wow what a first set for BYU-USC. USC wins 32-30. Huge hitting on both sides, both over 300 and Bricio had 9 kills.
Hittin' the old bottle again tonight?
Quote from: 4everwarriors on December 13, 2013, 10:38:12 PM
Hittin' the old bottle again tonight?
nope back home for break
Not pontificatin', go for it. Nothin' better than drinkin' with the home team, doe.
Great match. USC won 3-1. They hit 400 for the match. Bricio had 22 kills
Best match for Saturday night should be the USC Washington match. It's at USC but Washington is the only team to beat USC at home this year. Should be good
Thanks for the updates. Are the games tonight on TV, or are they on ESPN3 again?
Quote from: StillAWarrior on December 14, 2013, 11:44:55 AM
Thanks for the updates. Are the games tonight on TV, or are they on ESPN3 again?
All four games are on espu live starting at 3
Stanford penn st 3
Purdue wis 530
Nebraska Texas 8
USC wash 1030
All times central
Pretty awesome night. Beats men's basketball tonight
Penn St beat Stanford 3-2. Great Match - Final Four caliber. Penn St is one of the best blocking teams I've seen this year. Wisconsin against Purdue right now for a spot in the Final Four
Quote from: melissasmooth on December 14, 2013, 06:11:04 PM
Penn St beat Stanford 3-2. Great Match - Final Four caliber. Penn St is one of the best blocking teams I've seen this year. Wisconsin against Purdue right now for a spot in the Final Four
Most unimportant aspect of women's volleyball. Even very unimportant on the men's side. Oregon was the worst blocking team in the PAC 12 last year and lost in the National Championship.
Quote from: wadesworld on December 14, 2013, 06:22:15 PM
Most unimportant aspect of women's volleyball. Even very unimportant on the men's side. Oregon was the worst blocking team in the PAC 12 last year and lost in the National Championship.
Penn state brick walled Stanford in the final set and shut down Stanford offensively. Stanford didnt have enough weapons. Penn st seniors showed up big time
Quote from: melissasmooth on December 14, 2013, 06:30:55 PM
Penn state brick walled Stanford in the final set and shut down Stanford offensively. Stanford didnt have enough weapons. Penn st seniors showed up big time
It's a serve and pass game. I didn't get to see the match, but my guess is Penn State served pretty tough and took Stanford out of system offensively, giving them only one offensive option and making it pretty easy for the Penn State blockers.
Quote from: wadesworld on December 14, 2013, 06:40:11 PM
It's a serve and pass game. I didn't get to see the match, but my guess is Penn State served pretty tough and took Stanford out of system offensively, giving them only one offensive option and making it pretty easy for the Penn State blockers.
Yeah. I agree with you on the serve and pass game definitely. But penn state dominated at the net and were great in transitioning from defense to offense in the last set. Great match to watch.
Quote from: melissasmooth on December 14, 2013, 12:00:48 PM
All four games are on espu live starting at 3
Stanford penn st 3
Purdue wis 530
Nebraska Texas 8
USC wash 1030
All times central
Pretty awesome night. Beats men's basketball tonight
Saturday night at the Smooth Residence
(http://www.mediterraneandiet.com/Images/obese-woman.jpg)
well, not while i'm at home for xmas break
Quote from: melissasmooth on December 14, 2013, 07:09:03 PM
well, not while i'm at home for xmas break
Home for the holidays??
(http://forum.sensiseeds.com/images/users/a_snoopy85/bong_smoking_woman.jpg)
DVRed the next round so caught the end of the Penn State match. Both teams have some girls who are not hard to look at...
Looking forward to the final two matches tonight. Nebraska-Texas and USC-washington
Crap ton of runs in the Wisconsin vs. Purdue match. First ball side out and side out efficiency both really low for both teams. Don't think either of these teams would've been overly competitive with either Penn State or Stanford.
Quote from: wadesworld on December 14, 2013, 08:04:37 PM
Crap ton of runs in the Wisconsin vs. Purdue match. First ball side out and side out efficiency both really low for both teams. Don't think either of these teams would've been overly competitive with either Penn State or Stanford.
Some horrendous passing
Crazy that none of the pin blockers swing block. Hard to believe these teams struggle to terminate the ball given that fact.
Edit: Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Which makes it even crazier in my opinion.
Quote from: wadesworld on December 14, 2013, 08:13:46 PM
Crazy that none of the pin blockers swing block. Hard to believe these teams struggle to terminate the ball given that fact.
Edit: Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Which makes it even crazier in my opinion.
That was some ugly volleyball after watching the first match and a few of the ones last night. Wisconsin has a 5-7 outside hitter
Quote from: melissasmooth on December 14, 2013, 08:19:41 PM
That was some ugly volleyball after watching the first match and a few of the ones last night. Wisconsin has a 5-7 outside hitter
Good little ball control L2. Uses the block a ton compared to the girls game. Rarely see it in women's volleyball but you should. Hitters that use the outside of the block are a ton more effective and if you're short you have to figure out how to stay tall and do just that. The block is your friend. Many players don't realize it.
Quote from: wadesworld on December 14, 2013, 08:52:46 PM
Good little ball control L2. Uses the block a ton compared to the girls game. Rarely see it in women's volleyball but you should. Hitters that use the outside of the block are a ton more effective and if you're short you have to figure out how to stay tall and do just that. The block is your friend. Many players don't realize it.
Helps to have a good vertical leap like she does too. You see that more on the beach. Was Purdue using a 6-2 offense the whole match?
You'll see USC's libero again in Rio...
Quote from: wadesworld on December 14, 2013, 08:52:46 PM
Good little ball control L2. Uses the block a ton compared to the girls game. Rarely see it in women's volleyball but you should. Hitters that use the outside of the block are a ton more effective and if you're short you have to figure out how to stay tall and do just that. The block is your friend. Many players don't realize it.
The only way I got kills in high school was tooling it off of the OH hands. I was a setter but if we ever ran a 6-2 or the middle had to set me I had to aim high off the hands if I wanted a kill. No way was a 5'9" setter putting it down...
Personally, I much prefer Beach Volleyball as a competitive sport. It has that certain je ne sais quoi that is at once both inviting and enthralling.
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR8DmhP9WtrdZnJdpWEPGsMber34gywmE93B2QkP9b03bMl1iCC)
(http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz244/WAPOL5666/beachvolleyball7.jpg)
(http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/LOCOG+Test+Events+London+2012+VISA+FIVB+Beach+IhuUmFz4GS3l.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u1p4SVFxwJk/UBgek1SylEI/AAAAAAAACP0/5NoroCfYi2s/s1600/german+women's+volleyball+player+she+waxes.jpg)
Quote from: wadesworld on December 15, 2013, 10:52:29 PM
You'll see USC's libero again in Rio...
Hagglund is one of the best
Quote from: keefe on December 16, 2013, 02:33:27 AM
Personally, I much prefer Beach Volleyball as a competitive sport. It has that certain je ne sais quoi that is at once both inviting and enthralling.
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR8DmhP9WtrdZnJdpWEPGsMber34gywmE93B2QkP9b03bMl1iCC)
(http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz244/WAPOL5666/beachvolleyball7.jpg)
(http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/LOCOG+Test+Events+London+2012+VISA+FIVB+Beach+IhuUmFz4GS3l.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u1p4SVFxwJk/UBgek1SylEI/AAAAAAAACP0/5NoroCfYi2s/s1600/german+women's+volleyball+player+she+waxes.jpg)
And the next Olympics is in Rio.................
Quote from: melissasmooth on December 14, 2013, 08:19:41 PM
Wisconsin has a 5-7 outside hitter
I didn't see the match, but I assume you're talking about Deme Morales. She's a "local" girl here in Cleveland. Interestingly enough (to me at least), when my daughter was 12, her club coach was one of Deme's HS coaches. I always assumed they'd transition her to DS at Wisconsin; I didn't realize she was playing OH. Apparently that worked well for them the other night. I never saw her play here, but heard that she was a great talent.
Quote from: keefe on December 16, 2013, 02:33:27 AM
Personally, I much prefer Beach Volleyball as a competitive sport. It has that certain je ne sais quoi that is at once both inviting and enthralling.
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR8DmhP9WtrdZnJdpWEPGsMber34gywmE93B2QkP9b03bMl1iCC)
(http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz244/WAPOL5666/beachvolleyball7.jpg)
(http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/LOCOG+Test+Events+London+2012+VISA+FIVB+Beach+IhuUmFz4GS3l.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u1p4SVFxwJk/UBgek1SylEI/AAAAAAAACP0/5NoroCfYi2s/s1600/german+women's+volleyball+player+she+waxes.jpg)
Many female college athletes in spandex ain't too hard to look at either.
Quote from: keefe on December 16, 2013, 02:33:27 AM
Personally, I much prefer Beach Volleyball as a competitive sport. It has that certain je ne sais quoi that is at once both inviting and enthralling.
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR8DmhP9WtrdZnJdpWEPGsMber34gywmE93B2QkP9b03bMl1iCC)
(http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz244/WAPOL5666/beachvolleyball7.jpg)
(http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/LOCOG+Test+Events+London+2012+VISA+FIVB+Beach+IhuUmFz4GS3l.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u1p4SVFxwJk/UBgek1SylEI/AAAAAAAACP0/5NoroCfYi2s/s1600/german+women's+volleyball+player+she+waxes.jpg)
I'm quoting this just to bring this fantastic collection of fillies up again. Well done, Colonel.
Quote from: StillAWarrior on December 17, 2013, 03:32:21 PM
I didn't see the match, but I assume you're talking about Deme Morales. She's a "local" girl here in Cleveland. Interestingly enough (to me at least), when my daughter was 12, her club coach was one of Deme's HS coaches. I always assumed they'd transition her to DS at Wisconsin; I didn't realize she was playing OH. Apparently that worked well for them the other night. I never saw her play here, but heard that she was a great talent.
The announcers said she has a 32-inch vertical leap
Would've predicted a Washington win over Texas in the National Championship. I'm going to stick with it, even though Wisconsin has DOMINATED the first two sets against Texas. The intermission really helps Texas here. Wisconsin was owning every single facet of the game (even the block, despite the numbers saying Texas is dominating there, but really while they have more stuff blocks, they are also getting tooled on every other swing Wisconsin has and Wisconsin is not getting stuff blocks but is getting good touches that allows their defense to make an easy dig on every swing really). Now it's like a whole new match, and Texas needs to get a sweep, which is far from out of the question.
I think the winner of Penn State and Washington takes the crown.
I would flip if Wisconsin won it all...Screw them all.
From a more analytical standpoint besides "screw the Badgers" the Texas setter looks like she is really struggling. Lot of height on her sets wither throwing off the timing of her hitters or letting the Wisconsin block get set. Needs to quicken up the sets a bit.
Quote from: esard2011 on December 19, 2013, 08:03:17 PM
From a more analytical standpoint besides "screw the Badgers" the Texas setter looks like she is really struggling. Lot of height on her sets wither throwing off the timing of her hitters or letting the Wisconsin block get set. Needs to quicken up the sets a bit.
That's not on accident. They're letting their tall, athletic pin hitters find the block by setting a high ball and letting them go up and out jump the blockers. The bigger issue is she's not getting the sets out to the pin so the outsides have only 1 shot, cross court. Haven't seen many swings to the right side of Wisconsin's defensive court.
sweeet! can't believe I was cheering for wisconsin. Great to see a big-time upset.
Quote from: melissasmooth on December 19, 2013, 08:46:43 PM
sweeet! can't believe I was cheering for wisconsin. Great to see a big-time upset.
+1 That was a hell of a game! The Big Ten has been pretty loaded in volleyball this year.
Overthought myself. It's a serve and pass game. One team did it well, the other did it horribly.
This just proves that no matter what the sport I cant stand seeing Wisconsin win. Go Penn St.
That Wisconsin-Texas match was a big surprise and a lot of fun to watch. I found myself rooting for Wisconsin in spite of myself. I guess my Texas hatred from my formative years in Colorado is stronger than my Badger hatred acquired at Marquette. Or, maybe I just like underdogs.
I was surprised by how poorly Texas passed. There were often several points in a row where Texas failed to get a good pass up off the Badger serve. It doesn't always translate on TV, but there must have been some nasty float on some of those serves. If it wasn't for a string of unforced errors in the third set, Wisconsin would have swept them (although it's hard to overlook all of Texas's serving errors in that set -- three in a row at one time). And Carlini...wow. Talented kid.
Quote from: wadesworld on December 19, 2013, 07:44:16 PM
Would've predicted a Washington win over Texas in the National Championship. I'm going to stick with it, even though Wisconsin has DOMINATED the first two sets against Texas. The intermission really helps Texas here. Wisconsin was owning every single facet of the game (even the block, despite the numbers saying Texas is dominating there, but really while they have more stuff blocks, they are also getting tooled on every other swing Wisconsin has and Wisconsin is not getting stuff blocks but is getting good touches that allows their defense to make an easy dig on every swing really). Now it's like a whole new match, and Texas needs to get a sweep, which is far from out of the question.
I think the winner of Penn State and Washington takes the crown.
I guess I know nothing about volleyball...
Quote from: StillAWarrior on December 20, 2013, 07:07:28 AM
That Wisconsin-Texas match was a big surprise and a lot of fun to watch. I found myself rooting for Wisconsin in spite of myself. I guess my Texas hatred from my formative years in Colorado is stronger than my Badger hatred acquired at Marquette. Or, maybe I just like underdogs.
I was surprised by how poorly Texas passed. There were often several points in a row where Texas failed to get a good pass up off the Badger serve. It doesn't always translate on TV, but there must have been some nasty float on some of those serves. If it wasn't for a string of unforced errors in the third set, Wisconsin would have swept them (although it's hard to overlook all of Texas's serving errors in that set -- three in a row at one time). And Carlini...wow. Talented kid.
Most likely yes. I was shocked that Texas didn't go to a 3 person serve receive more, and that they didn't sub in defensive specialists for their pin hitters in the back row. They didn't set many back row sets and weren't overly effective when they did set them, so why not get some stronger passers on the floor when you're being served off the court, and add a passer so you don't have to pass as much of the court. Thought Texas was far and away outcoached.
Carlini is a stud. It will be fun to watch the setting matchup. Hancock had essentially the same freshman season 2 years ago that Carlini is having now. Freshman of the Year in the Big 10. Carlini is taller but Hancock is a lefty and moves the court a little better. Hancock is definitely the better server and is more experienced. Plus she's better looking and isn't a Badger. So go Hancock/Nittany Lions.
Nice match. Wisconsin fell apart in game 2 and at the end in game 4...I feel bad for them (I'm serious). Some good volleyball
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytCEuuW2_A
I just finished watching the first set on DVR. It amazes me that Carlini has such good location on her sets despite the fact that fundamentally she has some big flaws. Gets the ball too far back on top of her head which usually makes it pretty tough to push sets out to either pin. Still a lot of room for improvement, which is scary for everyone not named Wisconsin.
Quote from: wadesworld on December 21, 2013, 11:04:06 PM
I just finished watching the first set on DVR. It amazes me that Carlini has such good location on her sets despite the fact that fundamentally she has some big flaws. Gets the ball too far back on top of her head which usually makes it pretty tough to push sets out to either pin. Still a lot of room for improvement, which is scary for everyone not named Wisconsin.
It was a fun match. Wisconsin had opportunities, but couldn't capitalize. Those two missed serves at the end of the second set really, really hurt.
And Carlini is really good and fun to watch. But I'm partial to left-handed setters and some of the attack options they present. Hancock is also really fun to watch...and that top-spin serve is pretty impressive when she nails it.
Can't wait for the men's season to start
Quote from: melissasmooth on December 25, 2013, 05:55:12 PM
Can't wait for the men's season to start
I'm hoping keefe doesn't have pics for that.
Quote from: melissasmooth on December 25, 2013, 05:55:12 PM
Can't wait for the men's season to start
Why would we watch that?
Quote from: StillAWarrior on December 23, 2013, 04:02:12 PM
It was a fun match. Wisconsin had opportunities, but couldn't capitalize. Those two missed serves at the end of the second set really, really hurt.
And Carlini is really good and fun to watch. But I'm partial to left-handed setters and some of the attack options they present. Hancock is also really fun to watch...and that top-spin serve is pretty impressive when she nails it.
While those obviously weren't the most opportune times to miss serves, I didn't like Kelly Sheffield's response to the question about the end of the 2nd set when they went into the intermission between sets 2 and 3 about it not being "rocket science" and the two missed serves being more or less killers. If I were him I would've been more concerned about the fact that we (again, putting myself in his shoes) had the advantage of receiving at 24-24 and had 2 in system swings and couldn't put the ball away, and then had another in system swing and couldn't put a ball away down 24-25. Obviously when you miss a serve you don't give yourself the opportunity to get a stop, but Penn State was in rotations 1 and 2, respectively, for those 2 serves and serve received pretty well as a whole throughout the match. Rotation 1 can give teams some problems with the outside having to swing from the right and the right side being out on the left, and with the setter running up from the 1 corner (which is why I don't understand why Wisconsin wasn't serving the front row OH passing out of the right and making the setter set a pass coming from right to left, as she missed her serve short to the left side of the serve receive), but you still have 3 front row hitting options. Rotation 2 is typically a pretty strong rotation for most teams. Obviously I don't have Penn State's season side out efficiency by rotation sitting in front of me, but I would bet they side out between over 60% of the time in those rotations.
Set 4 was the one Wisconsin should be having nightmares about to me. Set 2 Penn State tried to give away, jumping out to a big lead early but letting Wisconsin pull back quickly and then having a back and forth set for the rest of the set. Set 4 Wisconsin had a big lead early but gave it up.