Jump to content

TexasDPT

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    592
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by TexasDPT

  1. No hustle in the back court...everyone's a step slow or assuming someone else is gonna get the ball...
  2. Jhenna's connection to Logan to the pins is terrible right now.
  3. Pin hitters look like they are just trying to hit over the block, but Rice defenders know where the balls are going and they are setting up easy transition kills. Texas hitters might need to take some risks and hit off the Rice block b/c tipping isn't working either.
  4. Rice is passing really well and running a pretty quick offense. Texas middles are too slow closing the blocks or just completely whiffing where the ball is going.
  5. All the underclassmen are playing like crap. Even Logan looks pedestrian.
  6. They aren't running a 6-2. Texas just didn't show up. Rice is digging up everything. And now Fisbeck is setting....
  7. Texas is making too many unforced errors....and passing is terrible. And no communication between players. Rice is moving the ball around to all their hitters.
  8. That could work too. Or if Butler does take Molly’s spot at M2 and Skylar continues playing Opp, have Molly come in as a blocking sub for Jhenna and then Claire would be the primary setter since she’s already back there for Skylar... They’d be running a 6-2 and wouldn’t run out of subs since Logan has established herself as a 6 rotation player with Micaya. But I’d only like to see this run situationally if Jhenna’s block is getting abused or can’t get out of that rotation.
  9. I actually like Molly at M2. She's doing a great job blocking, and once teams load up on the pins, she puts down balls with her quick attacks. Asjia is the only middle that can run the slide effectively and she serves tough, getting teams out of system. Both middles are freshmen and will get better with more games under their belt. I think Fields is starting to struggle because teams now have tape on her. She's hit in the .100's the last 2 matches. If she continues to struggle, maybe try Butler at Opposite??? They would just have to set a high ball to her and she would literally be hitting over every block...
  10. First, Iosia is in a different league than Hahn. I only mention that Iosia is able to hand-set to the middles behind the 10' line because she currently does that with her HS/Club squads as the starting libero (since the libero cannot hand-set in front of the 10' line)...in any case, I highly doubt that will ever happen this year with the current players we have on the squad. Second, when the setter is in the front row, the right back player (who becomes the secondary setter on the court) really has only 2 attack options to set if the setter is taken out of play...the OH or MB. 98% of the time, it's going to the left pin as an OOS swing and that's by design...Elliott prefers a high moon-ball be sent to the pin to allow the OH go to work since statistically they will have a better chance putting the ball down...as opposed to running a risky play setting to the middle or even a back-row attack since those sets require a lot of timing. For next year, I think Elliott will have a lot of flexibility to run a different transition system if ball control & floor defense continue to improve with Logan, Petersen, Iosia, and Parra manning the back court.
  11. Asjia runs the slide better than Bri or Molly...plus she serves tough and puts teams out-of-system, so I think Jerritt is going to keep her at M1. I agree that she ha trouble reading the setter (Stanford setter-dumped on her 3 times ), but hopefully that will improve with more playing time experience. If Bri's blocking has improved and her connection with Gabriel is consistent, I think she will get the start over Molly once she is healed. Bri's ability to score points from the middle should open things up for a lot of 1-on-1 opportunities for the pins.
  12. Iosia was a setter before transitioning to a full-time libero. She is currently setting her HS team (ranked #1 in CA) while their starting setting is with the USA YNT. She is able to hand-set with tempo to the pins as well as to the middles from BEHIND the 10' line. Imagine all those balls that get bumped set to the pins being hand-set with better accuracy and tempo so that the hitters can take better rips on the ball...plus she has a Haley Eckerman-esque jump serve that will put a lot of pressure on the opposing team's serve-receive. Next year might be Texas' best serving team in a very long time.
  13. It's going to be interesting to see what Shook does after this season with 6'1 Naomi Cabello (the top-ranked setter for 2020) coming in next year. Right now, I just don't see Shook beating out Gabriel...Jhenna may be a blocking liability for 3 rotations, but she puts the ball where the hitters need it to be for every rotation, whereas Shook puts up a good block but has trouble setting the ball consistently to her players in every rotation. With Logan establishing herself as a 6 rotation player, Elliott can now have the flexibility to possibly run a 'situational' 6-2, so a bigger blocker can play in the front row for Gabriel and have Shook setting from the back row. Who knows...maybe Shook does like her new role and wants to finish her degree at UT?
  14. Butler trained with the US Women's National Team this summer and was a starter for the Pan Am Cup team that won gold. She was playing over Rachael Adams (TexasEx and Olympic Bronze Medalist). I heard she had really improved her blocking and attacking over the summer. So it will be interesting to see how Elliott handles playing time between her and Molly when she is cleared to play.
  15. Stanford just shows how to defend a ball when it gets past the block....even if they are out-of-system, they take good rips on the ball.
  16. Stanford cruising in the 3rd set.
  17. Texas can't stop Plummer right now...she's going over and abusing the block.
  18. Our weakest rotations are when Jhenna is in the front row. Teams are hitting over her or abusing her block. But she hustles and actually hand-sets balls that Shook would just bump-set. Plus, she is playing really good defense when she is in the back row. Skylar showed why she is the #1 recruit. She is so great on the right pin because she sees the court well and moves the ball around. At times, I wish she could play all 6 rotations to get her the ball more, but (dare I say it?) we need Claire Hahn in the back row. She has really improved her level play and I hope she maintains/exceeds it over the course of the season. Rounsaville, not so much (still playing at the same level for the past 2 years), but she's going to be needed when Eggleston struggles in the back row. Logan's overall play is much improved. She is serving tough and hitting with authority, even with not-so-ideal sets. Micaya is still trying to play with too much finesse for my liking - she tips way too much when she should be ripping the ball or at least attempting to abuse the block. I've never really understood why Asjia was starting at M1 or believed what Elliott would say about her in practice. But I saw glimpses of her being aggressive with her blocking and hitting with more power in her slide attacks against USC. She just needs to hit at a higher contact point and not into the block so much. Hopefully, she becomes the player that Elliott thinks she will be by the end of the season. Molly is a good, stable player - she puts up a formidable block and hits the quick attack well, but the team needs to play better defense behind her b/c over the weekend her attacks were dug up twice and sent straight back for points. Honestly, I can't wait until Butler returns...I think she is going to add a whole new blocking and attacking dynamic that teams are going to have fits dealing with. Sydney's floor defense, positioning, and hitter-reading has improved as well. She's getting to balls that she flat-out missed last season. As always, passing and floor defense are what needs to get better throughout the season, but they are actually at a good starting point IMO. Blocking numbers are kinda low right now but that's to be expected with 3 Freshmen front row players currently in the line-up.
  19. I hope you're right, but my expectations are tempered after watching the spring matches. Serving will be an adventure again with Micaya's jump serve and now with Logan doing one as well. Autumn's consistently serves into the net, while Claire's make it into the court but are easy to pass. Shook just lollipops her serves over. Sydney serves tough but tends to net just as equally. Jhenna and Asjia are the only players I thought served tough for the most part. Skylar and Molly have good serves, but sometimes those skills regress when they get to college... Texas' first line of defense (blocking) should be improved. Butler's blocking improved towards the end of last season, and the better blocker between Asjia & Molly will win the other MB spot IMO. I think Skylar's blocking will be an upgrade on the right pin. If Jhenna remains the starting setter, her blocking will become a liability against teams with the same caliber hitters as Texas. That's why we need better floor defense behind Jhenna's block but that line-up won't change since Claire will be playing right back (subbed-in for Skylar), Autumn in middle back (subbed in for Logan), and Sydney at left back. I can see Elliott trying to train Sydney to play middle back defense like he did Cat McCoy and then moving Autumn to left back (which I think she looks more comfortable defending). Or he can switch Micaya and Logan in the rotation and have Micaya playing middle back while Jhenna is in the front row, but I wouldn't expect that happening unless Micaya's floor defense makes huge strides over the summer. A transfer Libero/DS over the summer would help the situation, but it would need to be someone with a lot of experience from a power conference...or a foreign transfer. Elliott did bring in Luketic last summer out of nowhere, so it is possible.
  20. Also on the US Women's Junior National Training Team is 2020 commit 6'2 OH Madison Williams. With Elliott being named head coach of the team, it will be interesting to see if he takes all five of his Texas players to the World Championships. The last time Jerritt was head coach of a USA team (2017 US Collegiate National Team), he was heavily criticized for all the Texas players making the roster (Chiaka, Micaya, Yaazie, and Morgan). I think the locks for the 12 player roster are Logan, Skylar, and Molly. Sydney will have a difficult time getting on the roster if she doesn't improve her digging. And Madison does not have the consistent passing/digging skills to make the final roster IMO. On a side note, the competition for the starting MBs will be interesting to watch this fall. Brionne has been training with the Women's Senior National Team and will be one of the starters in the fall. Molly has consistently been making the USA rosters, but Asjia was the #2 recruit in her class and has had a red-shirt year to develop. I wasn't too impressed with Asjia during the spring matches, but I also think a lot of it had to do with the revolving door of setters for each match. I think it will all come down to who is the better blocker.
  21. For me, Logan appeared more focused on the court and played more consistent, even with the usual ups & downs as a freshman...but I think she likes the pressure of important matches and has the ability to carry the team like she did against BYU. The players looked like they genuinely liked each other this year. I'm not so sure that was the case last year with Lexi -- rumors were that she wasn't a very hard worker and always had her helicopter dad around. She also had more distractions living in Austin and was dating Mo Bamba at the time.
  22. During his pre-game match interview, the Illinois coach said he didn't have enough players to scrimmage each other...so all they focused on the spring and summer before his new players arrived were the fundamentals....serving, passing, and playing defense. It'd be nice if Texas would do the same.
  23. I agree...talented as hell...but cracks under pressure...not the player you want leading your team...
×
×
  • Create New...