Shocker Volleyball Classic

[WuDrWu]

Well maybe everyone was watching the RNC........

Color this Shocker fan surprised. This is a talented team. A 3-1, fairly convincing win over a VERY solid Colorado State team that came in ranked #24.

The Lady Shockers handled the serve and receive game far better than last week and it showed in the results. That was a very enjoyable college volleyball match.

FYI - Ashlyn Driskoll is the REAL DEAL.

[SpanglerFan316]

Great Victory for the Shocks. 25-12, 20-25, 25-20, 25-19

[SpanglerFan316]

This is an interesting Tennessee fan site: http://tennesseevolleyball.net/

[PointShockers]

Very impressive debut for Shocker freshman, Dr. Kill!

[RoyalShock]

Very impressed with Driskill tonight. Great power game and if she can polish that topspin serve will rack up a lot of aces. Could she be the Shocks the best server since Stockman? And Yunes before her?

That first set was brutal for CSU. I was wondering what all the fuss was about. Some of the worst defense and passing I'd seen in awhile. But they got that fixed quickly in the 2nd and made it an entertaining match.

Boxscore says 2800+ were there. I would have guessed 2200-ish but with it spread out it's hard to gauge. But not bad for a weeknight. Will be interesting to see Sunday's numbers. We might have to drive in again for that one.

[1972Shocker]

You can brush me with the same color as @WuDrWu. Oh what a difference a week makes.

Excluding the 1st 7 points of Set 2 the Shocks simply outplayed a very solid, big, athletic volleyball team. And they did this without a big contribution from Emily Adney until the 4th set.

Our passing was so much better tonight and with the exception of the big run CSU put together at the beginning of Set 2 the Shocks kept the Lady Rams well under control.

Our littles were much better than last week and as others have pointed out Dr. Skill came roaring back after stumbling in her Shocker debut last weekend.

We certainly looked like a deep and talented team tonight. Let's hope we can keep that going but, with a lot of youth and inexperience we may be in for a little bit of a roller coaster ride. But tonight was an early high point on the ride.

Would have liked to see a little more lively crowd but kudos to 2,800 Shocker fans showing up on a Thursday night. We were all very well rewarded for showing up.

Go Shocks!

[1972Shocker]

Write up from the Colorado State web site: http://www.csurams.com/sports/w-voll...083012aaa.html

Best quote of CSU Coach Tom Hilbert:

"We were always on our heels," Hilbert said, "which limits our swings and puts our sets out of system. Wichita State is good, and they exposed that we can't play very fast."

[dregn]

Most high powered, fastest offense that I've seen at WSU, but we have a lot of room for improvement, especially on defense and blocking.

[1972Shocker]

Most high powered, fastest offense that I've seen at WSU, but we have a lot of room for improvement, especially on defense and blocking.

Don't disagree but the promising thing is how much improvement we showed from week 1 in just about all phases including defense and blocking.

[1972Shocker]

Article from the Ft. Collins newspaper: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20...s-young-season

“They’re better than us in every facet of the game,” CSU coach Tom Hilbert said. “I’ve been telling everybody how good they are, but nobody wants to hear it because they play in the Missouri Valley (Conference).

“We have bigger kids, but that’s not a skill. They’re a good team. They’re better than us.”

Not sure this will prove to be the case over the course of a long season, but it certainly was the case last night.

[WuDrWu]

As a relatively uneducated volleyball fan, I was down and disappointed after watching the matches last week. I just didn't see a whole lot of upside for the season.

I think '72 hit the nail on the head (and may have overheard me at the match last night) when he stated the season is likely to have some ups and downs. It seems to me we may be looking at a preview of men's basketball...really, really good at times when everyone is on the same page, yet surprisingly bad when they aren't.

This is a talented team...not perfect...and not dominating (yet) but when things are clicking, and our littles can defend like they did last night, oh baby these ladies can be as good as any but the most elite teams in the country.

Did I mention how good Ashlyn is??? She has Emily Stockman talent...she's not as good as Emily, yet, but she has all the skills and is going to be a blast to watch for 4 years. Total stud!

Great evening of volleyball and a great start to a fun weekend.

[1972Shocker]

Did I mention how good Ashlyn is??? She has Emily Stockman talent...she's not as good as Emily, yet, but she has all the skills and is going to be a blast to watch for 4 years. Total stud!

Doc, you may have overheard me last night also. I also made this observation last spring after watching Ashlyn scrimmage against KU. We did not see Emily as a freshman, so not sure it is fair to Ashlyn to make this comparison, but I agree that Ashlyn definitely has the potential to develop into a special player for the Shocks.

The really nice thing though is that she is not the only young player with great potential. The depth the Shockers showed last night was very encouraging to me.

[1972Shocker]

CSU Coach Tom Hilbert said

We have bigger kids, but that’s not a skill.

That statement will certainly be put to the test tonight against BYU as they will present a unique challenge to the Shocks with 6'7" OH Jennifer Hamson on the floor.

[Wuzee]

Doc, you may have overheard me last night also. I also made this observation last spring after watching Ashlyn scrimmage against KU. We did not see Emily as a freshman, so not sure it is fair to Ashlyn to make this comparison, but I agree that Ashlyn definitely has the potential to develop into a special player for the Shocks.

The really nice thing though is that she is not the only young player with great potential. The depth the Shockers showed last night was very encouraging to me.

Impressive debut -- and how great for her, a local kid, to have that type of performance her first time out on the Koch Arena floor. You just know she's been dreaming about last night for years growing up and she was crucial (especially given Adney's struggles last night) to the victory. That first jump serve was about the most filthy bender I've seen since Younes.

[1972Shocker]

That first jump serve was about the most filthy bender I've seen since Younes.

It was, but right now it looks like we may have a bit of a Nuke Laloosh on our hands with Ashlyn's serve but she will now doubt get more consistency as she matures physically and with practice.

Chelsey has a very nice serve also, especially for a non-jump serve but she to needs to improve her consistency and accuracy.