Shocker Volleyball Classic

[xazshox]

Most potent scoring rotation

72, I think Lambo will disagree with you on your subject list. After the game, he said that Mikaela Raudstepp is a key. The whole thing Lambo went thru in the beginning with using Abbie Lehman at ROH while also trying 3 different middles was about trying to find someone to play on the right side. After the debacle at the U of OR, he scrapped that lineup, & put Abbie back in the middle. I noticed in the win over CU that Mikaela & also Alex Koon not only played at ROH but they also played on the left side, too.

[1972Shocker]

72, I think Lambo will disagree with you on your subject list. After the game, he said that Mikaela Raudstepp is a key. The whole thing Lambo went thru in the beginning with using Abbie Lehman at ROH while also trying 3 different middles was about trying to find someone to play on the right side. After the debacle at the U of OR, he scrapped that lineup, & put Abbie back in the middle. I noticed in the win over CU that Mikaela & also Alex Koon not only played at ROH but they also played on the left side, too.

I think any rotation on the floor where Abbie and Mikaela are on the bench is not one our best offensive rotations.

I agree that the overall rotations that Lambo used in this match were effective and an improvement. But I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about the relative strength of the specific rotation (or group of players if you will) that was in the match at the end of the last set. It is just happenstance where the Shocks were in their rotations at that time but I still maintain that that particular rotation that was actually in the game and on the floor at the end of the 4th set was not as strongest.

I also was pointing out that despite not being our strongest rotation grouping that this group did a good job holding off a charging Creighton to finish off the match. And that was really the point of my post and is still my opinion.

I think perhaps we are talking about two different things here and that perhaps, not being a volleyball expert, I simply did not express myself very well or in perfect volleyball terms in my original post.

[ShockTalk]

Went over to the CU board to see their reaction to the weekend. One volleyball post since Thursday.

One.

The Creighton Crickets.

Well, it is college football season. Oh, wait...

[Cdizzle]

35-37 in the 2nd? Woof. That's tough.

[bunck]

35-37 in the 2nd? Woof. That's tough.

Yeah, and we had the majority of the set points.

[1972Shocker]

35-37 in the 2nd? Woof. That's tough.

Had plenty of opportunities but just could not close the deal. The effort by both teams was great though.

[shocksrbest]

Is there a link to watch or listen?

[SHOCKvalue]

Had plenty of opportunities but just could not close the deal. The effort by both teams was great though.

So... they lost the match then?

[flyingMoose]

So... they lost the match then?

21-25, 35-37, 23-25

[1972Shocker]

I don't think it was so much a matter of the Shocks not playing well. I think the Shocks played pretty well. They cerrtainly played hard and battled for all they were worth. I think Iowa State was just a little better today. I thought Iowa State probably won the serve and passing game and they had more overall firepower than the Shocks. I thought both Liberos were outstanding.

So the Shocks finish the non-con at 8-3 with losses to Oregon, Cal Poly and Iowa State with only the Oregon match being one-sided. Both the Cal Poly and Iowa State matches could have gone the other way with just a few breaks.

All-in-all, and considering the Shocks have been in search mode throughout the non-con, I think it was a good non-con for the Shocks that was very close to being an outstanding one.

Time to show our new conference mates what we got.

[boyshocker]

Exciting match, thought ISU's ability to dig everything up was the difference. Their libero was outstanding and a difference maker. Mik had a great match and thought she did very well in the third when she went to playing six rotations. Thought that might have been a difficult spot for Brooke to start and compete against a veteran front line, her time will come soon.
On a different note we had an fun time watching some of the Shocker parents around us. Did not know that we had been seating so near quite a few of them. Jody's parents (we believe) were skyping the game to her and then everyone was passing the phone around to say hi. Fun to see these alumni ladies taking so much pride in being a Shocker. Mary Ashton and Danny were also in attendance.

And if you haven't found Tabitha's dad yet you need to, more energy than you can imagine and fun to watch!!

[flyingMoose]

Quote from a VT poster (who surely understands strategy/tactics better than I do - but then so does my dog):

WSU is a tough team to prepare for. Chris does a great job keeping the opponent guessing by starting sets in different rotations and running a wide variation of plays. This is a very good win for Iowa State.

[flyingMoose]

The link to this week's show - and some stuff I caught from listening to it.

(As part of the discussion about this week's ranking) Oregon most complete, most physical team they have seen. With a bit better libero, they would be a top-tier team. The Nebraska coach agrees with that evaluation.

Easier to stay in a poll once you get in. With a nice conference run, have a chance to stay there.

There was some discussion of Top 25 wins (Creighton) and Top 50 wins (Marquette) which affect the RPI. He expects Lipscomb to be undefeated in their conference and may make the Top 50.

Both coaches (Chris and Iowa State) thought this was the best match their respective teams played this year. The defensive exhortations by Chris bore fruit in this one.

Defense was very good this weekend. The Shockers have a chance to be the best defensive team in the AAC.

In middle of Creighton match, the team realized (a Mikaela post-match comment) they could hang with these guys. Hopefully, that will carry over.

Comments about the blocking of Iowa State (fourteen in three sets) - and their libero covers everything else.

Found some things for Mikaela this weekend. She had some good numbers against quality teams. Her faster approach requires a "horizontal" set, but that makes it harder to control the ball since it is not in the hitting window as long. They have shortened her approach, set the ball in a different place and limited the number of spots for her to hit the ball. All of this clicked with just a couple of days of practice.

Giorgia had some really good dig stats. The time to work on a defensive game plan is helping several players in addition to her - Hannah and Emily were named. Gio is better at playing within a system than when she first arrived. She helps with out-of-system setting, but is a bit high-risk - you live and die with it. She is showing more leadership on the court.

Since this is the first year in the AAC, the season is essentially a whole year of non-conference matches. Thought a lot of point scorers in the AAC but thought the Shockers might have defensive opportunities. Will start looking at Temple tape tomorrow. Although he knows a lot of people, there are a number of AAC coaches that is not aware that he has ever seen. From a competition standpoint, Friday-Sunday is okay. However, he does not really like the Friday-Sunday schedule because the girls do not really have an off day to do stuff - do laundry, do some shopping.

[WuDrWu]

Volunteers?

[1972Shocker]

Volunteers?

For what? Laundry and shopping? No doubt that would get us in hot water with the NCAA for providing extra benefits.

I can see the headliens now: Wichita State Put on 2-Years Probation For Laundering Violations