It has been awhile since I have seen Logan this flustered by a block, I am hoping she settles down soon and plays her game.
definitely surprised about how well Skinner is playing!
Im sure there will be some internal competition for libero next year, but right now it’s looking like Halter may wear black next year (I guess unless we get a someone better as a transfer).
Noticed poor Caffey never had a jersey with her name on the back…wonder what happened. I know we talked about it early in the season bc Bella and Caffey both were so late, but kinda sucks for her it lasted all season.
Me earlier: Stanford’s ball control was not great against Houston
Stanford today: passing nails
IMO Paul had been kinda obvious about seeming to have a Stanford bias during his coverage. He cannot stop talking about how much he basically loves Stanford’s entire team (tbh we probably can’t complain with our team but still I’m annoyed)
I honestly feel like there have been so many bad calls that have gone against Pitt this match - I think Elliott would have gotten a red card by now if we were in this position
Eggleston is just so much better than Skinner is when she is the only option and handcuffed in front of the block - I am hoping it is something that Skinner can get better at in the future. Right now Skinner it seems either gives up easy tips/rolls or tips into the block hoping to reset.
I was an SD skeptic, but after watching both Stanford regionals yesterday, I agree with you on SD over Tree. Stanford’s ball control was lacking and their hitters weren’t as terminal as I thought they needed to be. Plus, the home court advantage may not be as big a factor because it looked a little sparse last night.
I can’t believe Shanel Bramschreiber basically doesn’t get any playing time at Wisconsin. I know she was suspended for a lot of the season and they have a really good freshman libero, but still surprising to me.
I hope Caffey isn’t hurt (commentators said she was talking to the trainer), and I think she is the better attacker…but I don’t think I am going to panic if we are stuck with Bergmark for the rest of the tournament - she puts up a good block, and I think we can still win it all
It’s weird, I never thought Logan did anything to lose the 6 rotations. I also think she provides strong leadership being on the court the whole match. I originally thought Logan may have a slight injury or something, but I’m still confused why Elliott doesn’t try again.
We also had a reverse sweep against Kansas last year in Lawrence when we were all shocked Caroline Bien went unrecruited.
Kansas had a pretty weak non-conference SOS, but I definitely see them moving up the rankings throughout the season.
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.
I kinda wish we could’ve stolen Kansas 6 rotation OH Caroline Bien. She was a pretty big weapon all season for Kansas, and had a pretty decent match against us too.
It will be interesting to see if Fields ends up being able to handle 6 rotations, or if she never really gets there (kinda like Lexi).
I’m really surprised how often Purdue is getting beat on block after playing in the Big-10. But I can still see them pulling off an upset if they have any gas left after their last two 5 set wins.
I kinda like Pitts 5-2 - they have one setter that plays all the way around (setting in the back and hitting in the front), and the other setter only sets in the back. Interesting option since they always have 3 hitters, but the front row setter can step in to set. IIRC, Penn State had a pretty successful system like this somewhat recently.