Spring Volleyball

[1972Shocker]

Shocker Volleyball team putting in some work:

[PointShockers]

Is the match still on for tonight? I haven't seen any publicity. Is it open to the public?

[1972Shocker]

Some spring volleyball information regarding the Shocks.

http://www.kansas.com/2014/04/12/3401236/wsu-notes-emily-hiebert-learns.html

[WuDrWu]

Katie Reilly to the middle comes as a bit of a surprise, but I have to think it's as much returning her to a position where she is more comfortable and effective as it is to make room for at least one of the talented freshmen coming in.

NOT good news with Ashlyn being out...we are going to be young and thin this fall.

[The Mad Hatter]

Katie Reilly to the middle comes as a bit of a surprise, but I have to think it's as much returning her to a position where she is more comfortable and effective as it is to make room for at least one of the talented freshmen coming in.

NOT good news with Ashlyn being out...we are going to be young and thin this fall.

The article didn't make it sound like Ashlyn's injury would necessarily effect her fall availability, any reason to think it is more serious than that (other than knee injuries always being tricky)?

[WuDrWu]

The article didn't make it sound like Ashlyn's injury would necessarily effect her fall availability, any reason to think it is more serious than that (other than knee injuries always being tricky)?

No, it's only my opinion. Knee injuries can be tricky, but Ashlyn especially relies on her athleticism to succeed, and given her limited height, she needs all her athleticism to score successfully. Also, missing these weeks of spring training won't help either. The girls don't go through the rigors of, say, men's basketball during the summer, and yet have to jump in the deep end before September. I'm just saying that's a lot to ask. Certainly I hope for a quick and full recovery because I'm a big fan of the junior to be from Valley Center.

[1972Shocker]

The competition is not the greatest but Saturday will be the last chance to see the Shocks in action this spring.

On Sat., April 19, the Shockers close out the spring schedule at home with scrimmages against Nebraska-Omaha, UMKC and Newman. The scrimmages will be approximately 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the Preferred Health Systems Multi-Purpose Center.

No idea what the schedule is but when the scrimmaged KU last spring in the PHS MPC they did take a lunch break around noon. Not sure about this group since they have multiple teams involved.

I'm thinking I see a Shocker triple-header in my future. Shocker volleyball at 9:00, Shocker softball at noon and Shocker baseball at 2:00. Hopefully, my schedule and the weatherman cooperates on Saturday.

[WuDrWu]

Made it out to the Preferred Health practice gym this morning for just a little bit to see the ladies in what was essentially a glorified practice. I watched mostly the Shocks battle a scrappy UNO team (UMKC, who seemed to be late arriving, and Newman were warming up on Court 2) for about an hour. Don't put a whole lot into my comments. I watched for a limited amount of time, and the conditions were not ideal to draw many conclusions.

First and foremost, redshirt freshman Emily Hiebert is going to step into Chelsey's spot very nicely. As mentioned in the Eagle recently, she's dynamite defensively. More athletic and taller than I expected. She has work to do on the offensive end but she'll be strong from the beginning, and I suspect a star-superstar by the time she graduates. The biggest question mark I think is comfortably answered.

Defensively I suspect we'll be solid if unspectacular. Gabby, Jordan, Dani and Alyssa are all back and will be used to contributing and incoming freshman Hannah Shelton appears to be ready to help right away. I would have assumed she would redshirt, but as much time as she spent in rotation, I don't know. She's FUN to watch and I suspect will be a favorite with the fans when she works her way into the lineup.

Offensively.....this is going to be a transition year, to say the least. We just don't have a lot of scoring options on the outside. MaryAshton Floyd is the obvious #1 right now. She looks good. She's strong and getting better no doubt. But she doesn't possess the combination of size and athleticism that's going to allow her to score against quality competition (IMHO). The pleasant surprise is redshirt frosh Jenny Whitledge. Girl has some mad hops. At just 5'9" she needs it but she flies above Mash (at a solid 6'1") and can pound the ball almost straight down. She's fun to watch too but she needs work and she's really undersized for an OH. Katy Dudzinski and Jaclyn Roddy both took turns at OH and both have a long way to go, if they plan on getting there.

Katie Reilly looks fantastic in taking Elizabeth Field's job. She'll be great in the middle and is excellent running the slide. Other middles .....I just don't know. Kristen Byers needs to keep getting better and Hannah Eakin, while extremely athletic is going to need a lot of reps to be effective and seems to struggle a bit defensively. Redshirt freshman and high school teammate of Emily Hiebert Abbie Lehman was serviceable in the middle. I could see her getting a lot of PT this year.

Ashlyn Driskill was there but not dressed. She did seem to be moving well so that's a big plus. I didn't see Natalie Brisso or Taylor Brownlee play. There seemed to be other girls that didn't play, but I didn't recognize them, and I don't believe any were part of incoming freshman class except possibly Regan Peare, but that's nothing more than a guess on my part.

Conclusion; I think we're going to need some help from the freshmen to be strong again. It's not like we're going to be bad, but we struggled to score on the outside last season, and we're not better, and we don't have any AA in the middle left either.

[1972Shocker]

Great report @WuDrWu:. I was hoping to make it out today but it didn't work out. We probably won't be able to replace the offense of either Chesley or Andrade. And it will certainly be tough to match the power that Ashley and Sam could bring to bear. It will interesting to see if any of the income freshman class will be able to contribute immediately.

I think Hanna Eakin and Jordan Hinkle will be the only seniors on next year's roster. We may see a lot of growing pains next season, but we could be looking at a very interesting run beginning in the 2015 season.

In any case, I'm already looking forward to next fall's Volleyball 101 dinner. It wouldn't bother me a bit to see them raise the ticket prices for the VB101 dinner from $40 to $50 per person. Well worth it.

[WuDrWu]

I'm always looking forward to the 101 Dinner for a whole bunch of reasons. Early August will be an interesting time to be sure. A LOT is demanded of the top tier D1 athlete, and as talented as many of our incoming freshmen are, it's a lot to ask them to step in and contribute right off the bat. But that's precisely what we need at least 1 or 2 to be able to handle.

[xazshox]

Taylor Brownlee

Wu, thx much for your report on the scrimmage. I got there a bit late & stayed until around 15 min's before the WSU Baseball game started. Before I left, I found Ashlyn Driskill & Taylor Brownlee sitting over along the east wall. Taylor had her right arm in a sling so I asked her what happened. She said she had surgery during the spring break for a torn labrum & a torn rotator cuff. I don't remember how long she said her recovery period will be but having had rotator cuff surgery about 4 years ago, I know that the rehab time is pretty long. What makes it harder is that you have to go around with your arm in a sling for 6 weeks or so. I'm sure that Taylor will work hard on her rehab which is a key to shortening the recovery time.