Well, there's no O'Neal type in the middle. Also, both of those national championship teams were unreal from the service line during tournament time.
Because of Stafford, this team is better with back row defense. But as good as Halter/Gary are, and they're outstanding, are they that much better than Fleck/Halter, or come tournament time, Halter/Barnes was pretty salty, too (Barnes seemed to take a while to get acclimated during the regular season).
It's still early in the season. What I will say is that the last two years the team started off slow. And then last year they never really got it going. Spears is just so otherworldly on the right side and the back row. But the national championship team with Eggleston/Skinner was pretty loaded. Remember, they only lost the one match against Iowa State all year. I also really liked Ka'aha'aina-Torres as a setter. They had Parra on the bench.
I'll also say the 2021 team that made the national championship match was really loaded, too.
Nonetheless, this team is sure fun to watch. It's been a really impressive early season run, no question. I feel like that's a conversation better left for after the season. Without question, though, this team looks a heck of a lot better in the early going than the last couple of years.