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TexasDPT

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Posts posted by TexasDPT

  1. I don't understand why Phillips keeps getting penciled in as the starter at Opp when there are better options. She's only effective with a quick, in-system set. Out-of-system (high ball to the right pin) she is terrible and she isn't terminal on the left pin (typically where the Opp hits when receiving serve in rotation 1). Granted passing was a mess in the regional final match against Nebraska, but Phillips had 13 attempts and only earned 1 kill....That's not going to cut it against elite teams.  And to make a deep run in the tournament, the right pin hitter has to be just as effective as the left pin hitters. I do think Molly has a quick arm swing and knows how to hit angles, that's why I think she is more suitable at the MB2 position. 

    Devin and Madi are better options at Opp, with Madi being more terminal...but I'm pretty sure Madi is intent on being a 6-rotation left side hitter. Both can hit in- and out-of-sytem and have a wider range of shots than what Molly can produce. 

    If Bella does end up starting at MB with Asjia, then I can see Phillips being the starter in the beginning of the season for her experience then Devin taking over as she acclimates to the speed of the college game.  

    Backrow defense should be stout with Fleck, Akana, Halter, and even Heinrich. I hope Elliott takes a cue from Nebraska and subs the back row with the BEST defensive players on the team (sorry, but Parra is mediocre at best as a DS). The back row floor defense is what's going to keep us in games. Texas should have more than enough fire power in the front row to make up for possible back row attack options. 

    My ideal line-up:

    • Lib - Fleck
    • Setter - SKT or Ewert
    • OH1 - Logan
    • OH2 - Madi
    • MB1 - Asjia
    • MB2 - Molly or Bella
    • Opp - Devin
    • DS for Opp - Akana
    • DS for OH2 (if needed) - Emma

     

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  2. 2 hours ago, Js1 said:

    Parra - Sophomore
    O'Neal - RS JR
    SKT - Senior
    Phillips - JR
    Eggleston - SR
    Fleck - Grad Transfer
    Skinner - SO
    Bergmark - RS JR
    Ewert - Grad Transfer

    That's sick.

    I'm counting 17 players on the roster for the Fall..probably the largest roster Elliott has ever had.

    He can actually create 2 full teams that can challenge each other. The biggest thing this squad needs to run the table is for the "B" team to constantly challenge the "A" team every single practice, especially during conference play since the other Big 12 programs really don't prepare us for the tournament IMO.

    I really hope to see another top program in the preseason. It'd be nice if they would schedule a top-tier program towards the end of conference play, like they did several years ago with Florida...but I guess KU, Baylor, and @WVU will have to do...

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  3. 13 hours ago, SL Xpress said:

    I don’t think they’re married to it. Mike Roach of Horns247.com mentioned it in his latest update, but he didn’t state it as if it was an end all be all. They’ve just discussed how fun it would be to go to the same school and possibly do something like that. 

    I did notice, too, that all three paid coaches on the women’s volleyball team are now going to be white dudes. It’s been nice having Salima Rockwell and Tonya Johnson on the staff all these years. 

    Also, I wonder if Jordan will be limited in off campus recruiting as the volunteer coach? 

    I'm pretty sure volunteer coaches cannot do any off-campus recruiting like at high school or club volleyball tournaments.  But she will be able to meet recruits on official/unofficial on campus visits. 

  4. I'm interested to know how the coaching responsibilities are going to be delegated.

    I just want to see Jordan Larson being in charge of training proper back row defensive ball-control and serve-receive passing to all the pin hitters and Liberos/DS's. That should be our #1 priority, along with teaching them how to read opposing hitters. I really hope that Logan, Madi, Melanie, and Devin receive excellent training technique from Larson and develop into complete 6-rotation pin hitters. I think Fleck will only get better under Larson's tutelage, and hopefully Keonilei Akana decides to transfer in and take over the libero position for the following season.  If not, Emma Halter will need to develop or Elliott can of course just go back into the transfer portal.

    David Hunt will probably be handling the offensive schemes, which I think he will do fine with considering all the athletes on the fall roster.  I just want the starting setter (Saige or new Jenna) to be able to run the offense at a consistently high level and be able to locate sets to any hitter on the floor. Better ball-control should definitely help them in doing so.

    I'm assuming Erik Sullivan will continue being in charge of the defensive schemes and scouting reports. Texas has traditionally been decent at blocking so Erik can continue on focusing on the first-line of defense, while Larson trains the second-line (back row floor defense). 

    The only downside I see with this coaching staff is not having a female coach of color representing the type of players Texas has been known to attract...I guess time will tell with the 2024 recruiting classes and beyond...

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  5. Nalani Iosia is officially in the transfer portal.  I guess she saw the writing on the wall with Fleck coming in and taking her spot in the Spring matches...but was it really a surprise? Iosia played just as poorly as Petersen did when she was the libero. I just wish she had made her decision earlier to give Reilly Heinrich more playing opportunities in these Spring matches. 

    I'm glad we have Fleck as our starting libero and hopefully incoming Freshman Emma Halter will come in and compete with Heinrich for Petersen's spot in right back.

    We also have Devin K. coming in who could possibly play in the back row if she doesn't earn playing time in the front row. 

    I just really want our back row players to actually develop because the trend with developing recent past players has been piss poor (Rounsaville, Hahn, Petersen and Iosia). I was hoping Jordan Larson would help with that aspect of the program but there are rumors she continues to receive offers to play professionally and is considering going that route after her current stint in Italy ends. 

     

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  6. Kaitlyn Hord announced she is transferring to Nebraska.

    While Hord would have been nice to have on the team, she was more of a luxury than a need and I really think Molly will do well at MB.

    At least we know that the open scholarship will be going to a setter, which we will definitely need if SKT were to be injured. 

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  7. 10 minutes ago, Js1 said:

    I wonder if we can find an international setter who wants a college degree.  Play behind SKT in 2022 to acclimate to the college game and then compete with Swindle in 2023.  Here's hoping Swindle decides to come in early and not in the summer - I think that was one of the big downfalls of Shook's setting career at Texas, she wanted to finish with her club and didn't come in until the summer and missed an entire spring to start gaining chemistry with her hitters. 

    Otherwise, can we find another Gabriel who will walk-on as a DS/setter? 

    Whoever they get, hopefully she’ll be able to legitimately play and contribute at this level. Whenever back-up Riley Fisbeck came in as setter, she was tuuuurible.

  8. 26 minutes ago, texasstrong12 said:

    Yeah, I forgot about that. There is an advantage to adding another good setter so they have a year in the system in case Swindle isn't ready the following year.

    I get the idea Elliott probably had some tough conversations with certain players but that's just a reality of the business. If Elliott made it known that SKT was going to start next year it probably played a role in Jhenna stepping away. As a player, I would prefer that honesty from a coach. 

     

    Yeah, I wonder if that conversation happened. If so, I can see why it would affect her decision to step away.  She's too competitive to be relegated to a bench player after being a starter for 4 years. But in reality, her serving or passing skills would not have put her ahead of others players to be on the court. 

    She performed well with the inconsistent passing/ball control issues and had set the team for 4 years. She already had an established connection with all the hitters and I understand why she was starting over of SKT. But her height was always the issue and we just don't have stellar back row defense to counter that.

    I'm just excited to see how this team performs in the fall with all the recent changes that have happened.

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  9. 6 minutes ago, texasstrong12 said:

    Loved the grit that Gabriel brought but this needed to happen. 

    It will be interesting to see what Elliott does in regards to the back up. 

    Thankful for Jhenna's time at Texas, especially when it was evident Shook wasn't cutting it as the starting setter. Jhenna really turned that TCU match around her freshman year when Elliott inserted her into the match and she never looked backed and became an All-American setter. 

    I'm excited to see SKT develop her timing with all the hitters on the Spring roster as all of them are starters for the fall season as of now. Out of the incoming freshmen class, I can see Devin earning playing time and if we end up getting Kaitlyn Hord from PSU even better. 

    Honestly, I trust Elliott with whoever he brings in as a back-up setter...He's already made a splash hire with Jordan Larson and brought in the the #1 Libero and OH transfers.

    Hopefully, he can find a setter with collegiate experience who can take over in 2023 as Swindle acclimates to the collegiate game....I wonder if Cabello is now regretting her decision to transfer...

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  10. 31 minutes ago, Js1 said:

    Larson is one of the best passing outsides and Fleck does her own libero camps. Kind of good?

    Larson is considered one of the best passing and attacking (because she see's the court so well and has wide array of shots) OHs in the world...this only bodes well for our OH development which should include our ball control and back row defense.  

    Plus, Fleck is going to be covering a lot of real estate in serve-receive and back row defense which will help keep us in-system more. If anything, it should light a fire under Erik's ass to step up his coaching or maybe Jerritt just hands over all ball-control coaching to Larson instead...

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  11. 1 minute ago, Js1 said:

    To add - her Alma mater literally had an opening after Hildebrand went to LBSU and she still ended up at Texas. Guess Cook forgot her number 

    I'm sure it's a stepping stone before she heads back over to Nebraska to take over the program....but at least we'll have her for 3-4 years.

  12. I think Molly is going to surprise a lot of people next season...She has a quick arm swing and can move the ball around because she sees the court well. The problem she had playing Opposite is that she isn't a terminal hitter with a well-formed double block on her. She may not have the lateral movement Butler had, but she can still put up a formidable block in the middle. 

     

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  13. 16 minutes ago, Js1 said:

    She's a gamer and whatnot, which is great, but she's still a 5'8  blocking liability and somehow had some pretty bad chemistry with hitters she's been setting for since she took over the job.  Some of her sets to Butler were ugly. 

    SKT was getting more rhythm and chemistry with the hitters, she's a better block and that was with no offseason to train with the team. 

    She also had 17 kills in 58 sets versus Jhenna's 19 in 98 sets.  Gabriel's serving was also pretty bad - 47 errors and only 22 aces.  If you're going to have high errors, you better have high aces (Parra: 60/85; O'Neal 31/36; Iosia 29/49 and Logan 44/46).  

    SKT was also credited with 1 solo block and 20 block assists in 58 sets.  Jhenna - 0 and 25 in 98 sets. 

    Such a big disparity with the stats...I think it just shows it's time for a change at setter.

    And btw, Jhenna admitted she's only 5'6 in an interview with Out of System...

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  14. 19 minutes ago, Js1 said:

    I really think the Gabriel setting era is over at Texas - 

    Skinner, Eggleston, Parra and Devin K. require a setter who can and will set that backrow attack, whether its the pipe, the BIC or D.  Jhenna just doesn't set this.  

    I really hope so...the past 4 years have shown you can't win with Gabriel in the front row.

    2018 - BYU's Roni Jones-Perry constantly goes over her block and the back row can't pick up any of her shots

    2019 - Don't remember the Louisville match...just that the whole team played like crap

    2020 - Kentucky's Stumler shreds Gabriel's block over and over again

    2021- Backrow and serve-receive were atrocious and Nebraska's Batenhorst abused her block every chance she had

    She's a good setter and can make our hitters look great against mediocre teams but it's quite different going up against elite teams. If Jerritt has her starting again next season, he's an idiot.  He has four years of data to know she isn't going to win the big one for Texas...

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  15. 50 minutes ago, texasstrong12 said:

    Larson would piss off so many Nebraska fans and that would be a good hire too. 

    I'm not sure it addresses the passing issues though. 

    Larson’s husband is head coach at Pepperdine so not sure if the move to Texas would make sense for either of them. 
    Kim Hill would be an interesting choice…she started off as a MB then Opp in college and then transitioned into one of the best passing OHs in the world. 
    Foluke Akinradewo would continue the tradition of having a woman of color on staff for a team that traditionally has a high number of African-American athletes.

    Justine Wong-Orantes would also be great to have on staff as she would improve passing and floor defense. She already has her gold medal and may have accomplished everything she set out for professionally. There were rumors she delayed playing overseas because she didn’t like that lifestyle but had to do it in order to develop her skills to the next level. But having either Larson or JWO would irritate the fuck out of Nebraska fans.

    Jerritt is killing it right now with getting Fleck and Skinner on board and now a recent Olympic player as a AC. He’s giving a middle finger to all his critics (including myself)…and I’m loving it!

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  16. 28 minutes ago, Js1 said:

    Unless we get Hord:

    L1: Skinner
    L2: Eggleston
    M1: O’Neal
    M2: Phillips
    Opp: Devin (DS Iosia)
    S: SKT
    L: Fleck

    I think Elliott is gonna want Parra’s serve in the line-up. She was like top 5 in the country in aces if I’m not mistaken. 

    Another possible line-up could be playing Skinner as a passing Opposite so she can run the D-ball and have Devin on the left-pin for a bigger block and have Parra DS for her….
     

    Or maybe have Mel and Logan on the left and Skinner at Opposite with all of them playing 6 rotations…they would run a true international 5-1.

  17. 4 minutes ago, texasstrong12 said:

    The offseason couldn't be going much better. Now hit on this assistant coach hire. 

    Maybe Elliott  is finally getting serious about defense/ball control. Skinner isn't Fields offensively but she's a better all around player defensively isn't she?

    Yes, Skinner is the better 6 rotation player at the moment…she can pass and play defense in the back row. She was playing all the way around at Kentucky this past season until she was injured with a concussion. 

    She may not be a potent offensive player like Skylar is, but she will get there. She has hops and players definitely develop offensively at Texas. She shredded our defense in the Championship against Kentucky.

    Now if Elliott can bring in a Jamie Morrison-type assistant, I’ll be thoroughly impressed!

  18. 15 hours ago, texfan11 said:

    I feel like a broken record every season, but I agree that it seems we either can’t evaluate DS talent (or maybe we can’t recruit them idk)

    IMO, since Sarah Palmer was libero, I can’t think of a Texas DS/libero that I would rank higher than maybe a 6 or 7 on a scale on 1-10 (not including O’Brien). McCoy and Iosia would probably get the highest rank…but you look at other teams like Purdue, Wisconsin, Nebraska, BYU, pre COVID Stanford, and other non Big 10 teams I am blanking on - and they typically have multiple back-row players on their roster that can consistently out-dig and out-SR us. 

    Can’t forget about Heather Kisner on the 2009 team. She’s up there with Sarah Palmer for me. Heather passed well and dug up some bombs from Megan Hodge in that National Championship match. 

    Other than those two, Texas’ Liberos/DSs have been meh minus transfers O’Brien and Fleck. 

  19. 18 hours ago, Js1 said:

    Also the current VT rumor is Dan Fisher to Penn St. from Pitt

    Def a good hire. 79-9 over the past 3 seasons, ACC titles in 2017-2019, Elite 8 in 2020 and the Final Four this year. 

    He played PSU and got an raise and contract extension instead at Pitt. 

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