Shocker Volleyball Classic

[shocks02]

Quick update from the Tennessee-Colorado State match.

Tennessee leads going into the 4th set; 25-22, 23-25, 27-25

[shocks02]

Tennessee wins in 5

[1972Shocker]

Kind of scratching my head after that one. At times the Shocks played very poorly and seemingly had no answer for BYU's 6/7" Jennifer Hamson. BYU definitely plays power volleyball.

Shocks were horrible in Set 1, seemingly incapable of making a pass in the vicinity of Chelsea. Then the look very good in Set 2 until late in the set and then have to hold on for dear life to win as their passing disappeared again. That continued into Set 3 as BYU built a big lead and coasted to the win. The Shocks sold some great competitiveness in Set 4 and looked like they were going to pull an unlikely upset as they lead 13-10 in Set 5 but could not put the match away as BYU ralled for a 18-16 win in the final set.

Kudos to Jackie Church for her play late in Set 4. She really laid it all on the line. Emily and Ashley were about the only Shocker hitters that could fire away with the Cougars. Ashlyn Driskill struggled mightily and did not play in the 5th set. Mash and Katie though were in the thick of things in the final set but that may have been too much to ask for from such inexperienced freshman. Not sure about the lineup we had in the game down the stretch in the 5th.

Somehow we have to find some help for Jackie but I don't think that is going to appear magically. Still too many service errors for my tastes BWDIK.

I guess the positive is that we didn't really play all that well IMHO and we somehow still could of and probably should of won the match. I think that may say something good about the competitive spirit of this group of young ladies.

[WuDrWu]

I can't believe how volleyball has lost it's following here.....amazing.

Well, for those of you not in attendance tonight, you missed an incredible match. Our ladies lost a heartbreaker at the hands of an outstanding BYU team, 25-15, 24-26, 25-21, 24-26 & 18-16. The Shocks actually had a match point at 16-15 but couldn't get the ball down. BYU is really good and had not 1 (6'7" Jr. All America Jennifer Hamson), not 2 (6'2" Fr. phenom Alexa Gray) but 3 front row players that could hit over any block we could put up.

WSU got big play out of Mary Ashton Floyd and Katie Reilly late in the match but as hard as they tried just couldn't get the one point they needed to pull off what would have been a fantastic upset.

I thought WSU played well, and no doubt BYU's A game beats our A game. Not sure how the girls will react, but they have nothing to be ashamed of...they left it all on the court tonight.

[1972Shocker]

[WuDrWu]

I have to respectfully disagree '72....I thought we played pretty darned well. If they set Hamson clean, it's over. There is NO answer for that. None.

I love our fire and competitiveness, I am right there with you on that.

[1972Shocker]

I agree that the Lady Shocks left it on the court last night. But at times our passing was just not very good and we continue to struggle with service errors. Although, I can understand that there is a lot of pressure to serve on the edges against a team as powerful as BYU.

Yes, BYU's A game beats our A game. However, I didn't think we consistently had our A game last night in terms of technique. Yet, still we put ourselves in a great position to win this match. I think we did that primarily with heart and effort which I hope becomes a characteristic of this team as they have shown that in spades a couple of times.

[1972Shocker]

I can't believe how volleyball has lost it's following here.....amazing.

2,387 in attendance last night was dissappointing for this quality of an opponent. But I don't think we generally draw real well on Friday's. High School football night impacts that perhaps. Growth in volleyball attendance appears to have reach a plateau a few years back, then pulled back a little with the economy and we are just kind of coasting along here, although at a relatively decent level of attendance.

Doc, can you imagine what the reaction would be if 3G somehow put together a Men's basketball tournament of this quality in Koch Arena. Incontinence would be rampant. Coldblooded would have to change his name to Hotblooded. The Arkansas River would start flowing to the North.

I am glad the Shocks have a day to rest after their battles with CSU and especially with BYU. Hard for me to believe that Tennessee will be much, if any, better than BYU was last night.

Two very good matches today. BYU vs CSU at Noon and then TN vs BYU at 7. I, unfortunately, am unable to attend these matches but I did find a couple of high school volleyball players that were excited to use my tickets.

Looking forward to another very tough match on Sunday with the Lady Vols.

[SpanglerFan316]

We can't control how the team plays. (In my opinion, the Shocks left it on the court and came up a bit short; they never gave up and fought to the end.) What we can control is our support for the team, represented by our attendance at matches (+ financial support, etc.) We can be there at 1pm on Sunday, cheering for the Shocks.

[1972Shocker]

BYU knocks of CSU this afternoon. After falling to the Rams 21-25 in Set 1 the Cougars came roaring back to take the next three sets 12, 21 and 16.

CSU heads home with 3 losses in the tournament and not doubt will fall out of the Top 25. Still they are a quality club and the Shocks win over them will look good on their resume come season end. Just shows you how tough a tournament this is.

While CSU will fall out of the Top 25, BYU may very well move into the Top 25 especially if they knock off #14 Tennessee this evening. At this point BYU may very well be the best team in this tournament. Tonight should be a very good match.

[1972Shocker]

BYU is, in fact, the best team in this tournament and will move into the Top 25 next week after taking down Tennessee 3-1.

After losing the first set 17-25 the Cougars swept the next 3 sets 20, 21 and 17. This despite Jennifer Hamson getting only 9 kills on 43 attacks.

Tennessee will no doubt be ready to go tomorrow as they certainly don't want to leave town with another loss.

Another great opportunity in front of the Shocks tomorrow afternoon (1:00 pm start time).

[The Mad Hatter]

BYU has played very, very well in the tournament. It should be noted, however, that DeeDee Harrison, Tennessee's 6'4" All-SEC middle blocker, injured herself in their match with CSU, so UT isn't at full strength.

[1972Shocker]

Thanks TMH, that would indeed be big loss and adjustment for Tennessee.

[SubGod22]

Unless something big comes up, I'll be there this afternoon

[1972Shocker]

Unless something big comes up, I'll be there this afternoon

Hope you were able to make it Sub. If so, you were treated to another very entertaining, competitive, high level college volleyball match, even with the Shocks losing in 5 sets.
Scores were 19-25, 26-28, 25-22, 26-24 and 9-15.

Coming into the tournament I was thinking that if the Shocks could take 1 set from each of these 3 teams, compete and battle and not get blown out then it would be a successful weekend. Well IMHO the Shocks did much better than that winning a total of 7 sets and losing 7 sets while going 1-2 against a very high quality field indeed. Compete and battle? Yes, the Shocks really did give it everything they had. In the C&B category I have to give special kudos to Jackie Church. She played at a very high level this weekend and played very hard.

Yes, the Shocks have a few holes to plug and some things to work on but the fact of the matter is they were really not that far way from winning this tournament. They had BYU on the ropes in Set 5 on Friday and they were ever so close to winning the 2nd set against Tennessee today.

Congrats to Ashley Andrade for making the All-Tournament team. There are at least two All-Americans joining Ashely on that team in Jennifer Hamson of BYU and Kelsey Robinson of Tennessee.

I am feeling much better about this Shocker team after their performances this weekend.

Shocker fans get a C for supporting this tournament in what is average numbers for us. 2,567 fans today although I thought today's crowd was the most energetic of the 3 Shocker crowds. Of course, this match had a lot to get energized about.