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SL Xpress

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Everything posted by SL Xpress

  1. I'm no fan of Plonsky, but that's not completely a fair comparison. They changed the rules or else it's doubtful Stanford's reign would have come to an end. It went from all sports counting, to only the top 20 results counting. That's a big difference, especially when Stanford fields 36 teams, many of which don't have all that many competitors. Often very west coast centric. There's a part of me that feels like we should be incentivizing schools to field more sports, but it's certainly galvanized how competitive it is doing it this way, and it's without a doubt been in our favor. Which is not to say Plonsky did a great job, or that we're not better off with Del Conte. She did not, and we are. But the Director's Cup comparison is not a good one. Also, can we go ahead and hire a new soccer coach. Please.
  2. The SEC Cari Spears of the Week award, given to the most outstanding freshman, was given to Cari Spears this week. Her fifth time this season.
  3. Is that what Chance Mock is?
  4. He's 87. I think he's a lot more interested in Oregon winning a national championship at this stage of his life versus being a cool brand ambassador than he was when he was younger.
  5. "They'll be reminded of the near loss last season." I find this narrative so irritating. It was going to take a miracle by Vanderbilt to even up that game. They didn't get that miracle. And then the rest of the season all I heard was that Texas almost lost that game. No, that is not true. Great post. I needed that. Not sure I quite believe in this team the way I wanted to right now, but I'm more excited about Saturday's game than I was before I read this post, so well done. I always enjoy these. It's funny to see this become a meme around the internet.
  6. ESPN just upgraded the match on Friday night to SECN, which is awesome! It was a minor irritation to me it was going to be streamed.
  7. I don't think it's bad for the team. It gives them a chance to figure out what their routine would look like for Thurs/Sat Fri/Sun regionals. I think it's good. I think it's terrible for me as a fan. The two most anticipated matches of conference play are back to back. I would have preferred to spread them out a bit.
  8. I want to find out how good this team is. We saw they were better prepared than the tough early season schedule they faced...but not by a lot. Came back from 5 points down in the 5th set against both Stanford and Louisville, both quality Elite Eight type of teams. I think Louisville has the potential to make it to the Final Four, depending on their bracket and how they do in the regional finals. They won't be a regional host at this point, but they'll likely be seeded somewhere #7 through #10. Coming back from 5 points down late in a set is extremely difficult in volleyball. At the same time, Texas has weaknesses. Our serving isn't overly impressive (it's not bad, per se, but there are several servers in the rotation who do not put consistent pressure on the defense). Our middle production is practically nonexistent, especially when you compare it to past teams. But we're trying to get better. We're running the slide more right now than we did last year (that's where the middle blocker moves from her middle of the net position to run to the right and attack the ball at the right pin). We don't look particularly smooth with any of the middle blockers, but Ames is getting a fair amount of swings on the play. Harvey and Swindle have a terrible connection, to the point where Swindle doesn't even set her all that much when she's on the floor. Which is a shame, because that's Harvey's strength right now. We have good to excellent pin hitters at all 3 positions. Stafford is a national player of the year candidate. Probably needs Pitt to not make the Final Four, or it's going to former teammate Babcock, but she might be second in line. Spears is a legitimate national freshman of the year, a force of nature at times out of the backrow. Very few players in the country regardless of classification are as intimidating with their back row attack as she is. Of course, we do take her off the court for the double sub, but that's been effective, too. I feel like Vander Wal is coming into her own, lately. We have a never say die back row defense, with Gary a living breathing Sportscenter highlight reel. We're better with our tip coverage than I can remember. It's not 100%, but it's pretty good. Especially on resets where our hitter hits it softly off the opponent block to reset the possession. Everyone seems bought in, including players like Harvey and Bunton, who are having to alternate starting, and Kahahawai, who is playing part time her senior season. Swindle has had some rough sets in setting the ball, including those first two sets at LSU, but she came on in the 3rd set, and Binney produced the vast majority of her assists in the 2nd set, so it all worked out for the win. I don't know if we'll win either match this weekend, but both of them will be great tests. Let's find out what we have at this point in the season. I have a lot of belief in this team. I never feel like we're going to lose a set, no matter how far behind we are, and the team seems to feel the same way. At the same time, I always feel confident we're going to lose at least ONE set, or go extended points at some point, because that's how we do things this year.
  9. Somebody on the Mississippi State team is a pot smoker.
  10. I'm not sure why a family member or a school official would leak it, but someone did. Maybe they have an ax to grind. Maybe they're doing a quid pro quo type of deal regarding information that's not valuable to them but might be to Russini. Maybe they perceive it creates an atmosphere advantageous to their agenda. Who knows? I just felt like you were limiting potential sources unnecessarily.
  11. Or people from the NFL. It's someone The Athletic trusts as an authoritative source. Probably more than one. Doesn't have to be solely the family or a school official.
  12. I'm so happy I like following the volleyball team.
  13. I enjoyed that commercial for University of Arizona during the Texas/Mississippi State game.
  14. The rotations allowed Vander Wal to go against the 5'10 (I'm unconvinced she was actually 5'10, but that was what she was listed at) setter. Stafford was lined up against Placide, their best player. The numbers were still the numbers. I'm glad for Vander Wal and Stafford can do better. But it's not like there wasn't a reason for it. In part because Vander Wal got chewed up by Placide's serve at the end of the 3rd set, Elliott changed the rotation for the 4th set with Vander Wal starting out from the service line. This allowed Stafford to line up over the setter for a couple of rotations, and her numbers improved. Placide played an outstanding match. It will be interesting to see what that bodes for Lednicky versus A&M on Friday. The thing is, Vander Wal is doing a great job of limiting her errors. She's probably doing the best on the team at tooling hits off the block, which is combining nicely with her cross court game. I felt coming in Vander Wal was a better prospect than Spears based on international play. Vander Wal was the best player I saw on the US teams in those competitions. But Spears is so athletically gifted, with height, explosiveness off the floor, a thunderous arm. She comes out of that back row and it reminds me of JR Richard pitching for the Astros in the 70s, when it felt like he was halfway to home plate by the time he released his pitch. We'll see if it continues, but I have high hopes. She'll have to get better at serve receive, though. But we ate up Harper Murray in that 2023 national championship match, when Murray was just a freshman, and she's easily one of the best serve receive outside hitters in the country. The difference is Murray has been a 6 rotation OH since day one. Elliott doesn't like having a bunch of 6 rotation pins. At most he has two pins serving, and sometimes it's only one. Texas is not really the place to go if you want to be trained to be a 6 rotation OH unless you're the chosen one, like Eggleston or Skinner. Right now Stafford is filling that role, and she has another year to go. In any case, I love our 3 freshmen "starters." I'm excited to see all 3 of them develop into the players they were meant to be. I was saddened Harvey didn't get playing time against Ole Miss, but I don't know what the thinking is there. Bunton showed real promise at times. Our blocking is still moribund, though.
  15. 2022 was the last time we hosted a regional. Like Wolf Brand Chili used to tell us, that's too long. But the matches then were crazy. The match against Ohio State in the Elite Eight was packed to the gills. It set the record for Gregory Gym at 5344. I feel confident there were some successful bribes to the fire marshals that day.
  16. Almost certainly at Gregory. I guess I could be surprised. Billy Strings is scheduled for Dec 13, and regionals is held Dec 11-14. All regional hosts are required to install a taraflex court or they can't hold regionals. But I'm assuming they're going to rent a court for Gregory and just hold it there. I could see future regionals being held at Moody, but probably not this year. I know the contract for Moody gives UT access to the building only so many times a year so they can host other events the rest of the year, but I don't know all the logistics around it. It seems like they'd have to organize something in advance, though, and there's definitely been no word on it. It was a big deal to host the Stanford match in there, and tickets sold out remarkably fast for that. There's also the issue of donors having their preferred seats. The selection for seats works differently at Moody, so there would be some upset volleyball fans to deal with. Not that it couldn't be worked around, but the more advance notice probably the better.
  17. I don't get all that concerned about Auburn. Florida plays up and down, but we're decidedly more talented. The Gators do not play up to their potential most matches. A&M is in College Station. That environment is going to be insane. Plus they're good. Lednicky is outstanding. Their middle blocker is outstanding. They have some other nice parts. Kentucky is in Gregory. They're almost certainly going to be a regional host. I'm looking forward to that one, and feel like we can win, but that's a test for how we'll perform in the Elite Eight and beyond. Could easily face them two more times this season. We waxed TCU and Baylor so thoroughly. Probably our peak performances this season.
  18. It feels like our seeding is pretty locked in at this point unless we lose a whole lot of matches. We're either going to be #1 or #2, and the only way we get #1 is to go undefeated, and maybe we don't get it even then. I'm fine with that. A #2 overall seed and hosting regionals would be an outstanding result, IMO. I would also like to win the SEC regular season. The tournament is not as important to me, other than we're playing in it, so might as well get a trophy out of it. First thing is next week. This week's matches against Ole Miss and LSU feels like the calm before the storm.
  19. Abby Wonder Wal for the two matches last week: Arkansas - 13 kills 2 errors 28 attacks .393 hitting percentage OU - 15 kills 5 errors 25 attacks .400 hitting percentagentage
  20. Watching the Florida-Kentucky match earlier, Kentucky head coach Craig Skinner finally lost his first challenge in conference play. He's now successfully challenged 8 out of 9 calls I believe, and 15 out of 19 on the season including non conference play.
  21. They recently fell out of the top 25 for the first time since 1991. 1991! Mary Wise is a legitimate legend, who just retired. They've had some tough breaks the last couple of years. Two years ago they looked like a legitimate national championship contender - the year Texas mowed through 3 #1 seeds in a row to win it all - when they're starting stud true freshman setter tore her ACL really bad and was lost for the season. It's funny, because they lost their 1st team All American stud right side attacker to Nebraska in Merritt Beason. Little did any of us know they had true freshman Kennedy Martin waiting in the wings who makes Cari Spears look like a piker. Then Martin transfers to Penn State. Last year they had chemistry issues. Eventually Mary Wise called it quits. Without Martin they don't have a balanced attack. Theis did a really good job at Marquette before taking the Florida gig. He was a former assistant in Gainesville back in 2006-2008 before starting his head coaching career at Ohio. But I am not feeling him at Florida. Kentucky is a relatively new bully on the block for the SEC. Before current head coach Skinner got there, they were nothing. Before that, Florida ruled the roost. There's a famous call/non call in the volleyball world. In the 2015 tournament match in the regional finals in Austin, Florida and Texas were battling in the 5th set. The score was 7-6 in favor of Texas, when Florida's OH hit a ball that landed within a couple of feet of the end line, but the official called it out. Texas would go on to win the 5th set in extended points, 17-15. It was a pivotal moment in adding some kind of challenge system to allow obvious blown calls to be reversed, which eventually evolved to the system we have in place now. They never did win a national championship under Wise, but she coached for 34 seasons, won 1068 games, made it to 8 Final Fours, and won a remarkable 25 SEC conference championships. As a comparison, Elliott has now won 675 matches in 26 years as a head coach.
  22. Florida has all kinds of issues, but they're a talented team overall. Two good to great middles in Auguste and Rothe. One of the best setters in college volleyball in Stucky. Two good but journeymen for a reason outside hitters in Byrd and Madkin. A serviceable at best right side in Serbian Vidacic. For me their biggest issue is this insistence on playing Hutson in the front row for 3 rotations. Florida consistently gets outscored with her up there. Kentucky went on an 8-0 run in the first set, and blew the 4th set open from a 17-17 tie. Theiss is the worst kind of play not to lose head coach. He doesn't put their most aggressive server on the service line for the 5th set because he's scared she's going to hit an error. Meanwhile they get demolished 15-6. He puts Hutson on the front row for her "defense." Dude, you have no out of system options other than the left pin. And now you have a substandard attacker over there. What are you thinking? And he does this regularly. Byrd and Madkin have issues, but they're legitimate attackers who can go get you points. All I know is that I hope he please please please puts Hutson in the front row as much as possible when they play us. Also, Kentucky is great, but they're very pin dependent with Deleye and Hudson. They have a freshman setter in Katy, Texas native Kassie O'Brien. They've got that 6'6 tree in the middle in Carr that leads the SEC in blocks. The Opposite hasn't been a productive position for them all season long. I like their floor defense, but I like ours better.
  23. I had such high expectations for this season. I feel like an idiot. I feel like this Texas team is a Nigerian prince promising to deposit millions in my bank account, but I keep hitting refresh, and my balance keeps showing $0.
  24. I don't know. You guys were pretty successful when Waco became Rapetown. You could want that.
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