 
        SL Xpress
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	Georgia with 10 blocks to Texas 5. And Texas still sweeps. BTW, I really like Miller as the serving sub over Kujundzic. I hope that continues. She served for 2 points before the service error. It's a high risk high reward top spin serve, so you're going to get some errors.
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	Maybe. I guess to me I'm resigned to our block being closer to above average than elite, and the fact we've played so many matches where we've been out blocked, my expectation is that we're going to get out blocked again. The point of the game isn't to out block the opponent, so again, I'm not terribly concerned. I will say our block has looked fine if we were a normal team. But to be a team from Texas with these blocking numbers is not usual. But if the team serves tough to get the opponent out of system, terminates at a high rate, and has great backcourt defense, it's not something to complain a lot about unless you're someone just looking to complain.
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	Another strong blocking team. 6th in the nation at 3 blocks per set, led by 6'6 middle blocker Kendal Kemp at 1.5 blocks per set. Texas leads in almost every other category, though. Not terribly concerned about the match, but that's probably true for most of the teams in the SEC outside of Kentucky and A&M right now. I could change my mind. We faced them in the tournament a couple of years ago in Gregory. I can't tell how they compare to that Georgia team.
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	It's down to Nebraska and Texas as the only undefeateds. Both of them have looked vulnerable at times, but both of them overall have looked like the best teams so far. I feel like we have our own version of freshman Martin in Spears.
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	Could this be the craziest coaching carousel of all time?SL Xpress replied to GreenspointTexas's topic in Football You say that like it's a bad thing.
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	Singletary averaged more blocks per set in that match than our whole team does on average. It's so bizarre seeing a team go from winning the national championship to falling off a cliff. I mean, it's obvious what the explanation is, but it's still strange to me. I'm shocked Purdue is still able to be competitive after losing so many players from last year's team. You could field a really good team simply from the players that have transferred from Texas and are now starting on other teams. Setter alone you have Carlson, Crownover, and Cabello. I'm not complaining. I really enjoy our team. I don't know how far they go but this season is going to be a lot easier on me than last year.
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	I just watched Olivia Babcock get 13 kills in a single set against SMU and Pitt still lost the set. Up 2-1 currently, though. Both of these teams serve very aggressively.
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	Could this be the craziest coaching carousel of all time?SL Xpress replied to GreenspointTexas's topic in Football What in USC's history makes you think USC doesn't fire a coach unless they have an upgrade in place?
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	Could this be the craziest coaching carousel of all time?SL Xpress replied to GreenspointTexas's topic in Football UNC's appetite for keeping completely ineffective football coaches should not be underestimated.
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	I'm not sure I agree. This looks like classic Aggie roller coaster shit to me. Sometimes the best thing in the world is a happy Aggie, because you know what's coming while they act like a character meant to die a horrific stupid death in a horror movie.
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	I keep thinking they're going to show a replay and it's some kind of ticky tacky foul, that the refs are calling the game too tight. And maybe there's some of that. But like on that last hold against Auburn, it was just blatant. It makes this game a complete grind to watch. My only highlight is all the Aggie fans throwing the Horns down as soon as they figure out they're on camera. Well, and watching mouth breather Mike Elko on the sidelines looking completely confused.
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	Florida looks in free fall. The more compassionate side of me feels bad for Alexis Stucky. The Texas-centric side of me cares a little less. But she came on as such a phenom her true freshman season but her career has felt a little cursed, between injuries, Mary Wise's retirement, her most talented teammates transferring. She should try to transfer to Penn State where Kennedy Martin landed. They could sure use an experienced setter.
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	I don't know what the numbers will say, but I felt like Stafford had her worst performance in backcourt defense since Stanford. I don't feel like I'm really criticizing her, because she has exceeded my expectations, but I will say how she played in receiving and defense was more along the lines of what I expect our outside hitters to do. I'll also say Missouri's middles were way more productive. This was the most lopsided blocking number to date, 12 to 4. 15 to 12 in kills, as well. It's not an anomaly. Against higher ranked foes it's highly likely our middles are going to get outplayed in some respects. My hope is for continued development. I like the future of Harvey a lot. I'm going to be a broken record here, but I do miss Singletary. I like seeing Crownover experience so much success. And Jhenna Gabriel, too. Dawn Sullivan has really impressed me. They recruit the state of Texas hard, with four girls from the state. That's more than anywhere else, including Missouri (3). They play taller than they are. Haith and Ariail, the middle blockers, are listed at 6'2 and 6'1 respectively. Alexander, who gave us so much trouble as the OH, is 6'. This team feels ridiculously clutch in late game situations. I wish we weren't so seemingly attracted to late set drama, but better that than a poor result overall. Abby Gaido looks smoking hot.
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	It's so strange not going to a timeout commercial on the broadcast.
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	I can't agree with your main point enough, which is the digs in the backcourt have gone up considerably. The data proves it, but it passes the eye test for me, too. And I agree with your conclusion that it's Stafford's presence that is making the biggest impact. To me it's important to note the evolutions those teams went through, too. In the 2022 tournament the blocking numbers were: Fairleigh Dickinson 2.5 bps Georgia 2.7 bps Marquette 3.75 bps OSU 4 bps San Diego 3 bps Louisville 3 bps I didn't go back and look it up, but I clearly remember being somewhat concerned early on, even while we were going undefeated. Especially since I didn't understand why the blocking numbers were so low. Then somewhere in the middle of conference season they started picking up significantly. I picked out the tournament numbers to limit my effort, but also because I remember the blocking numbers were really good. We all know what that 2023 season was like. It was a different team at the end of the year. Skinner in particular started becoming unhittable out of the back row. She hit over .400 on the season on the BIC that year, which is absurd. I'll never forget her killing a ball over the triple block Nebraska put on her in the championship game. She was playing next level volleyball at the end of the year. And then of course the serving. I remember in both postseasons for 2002 and 2023 feeling like the teams' overall serving was on a different level. Everyone who went up there was an extremely effective server both years. We all remember what happened to Nebraska in 2023, but in both years come tournament time Texas was dominating opponents in a way they hadn't been early in the season. I will say I've liked our serves overall on this team so far. On a personal level, I don't really get Kujundzic out there as a serving sub. I'd rather see Kendra Miller or if Lauenstein is healthy, see what she can do. I know neither one are defensive specialists, but I'd really like to see a more effective serve out of that rotation. I've liked Kahahawai's serves better than Kujundzic's, as well. But Elliott sees more than I do. I'm just watching the matches. To me she stands out as a weak link so far in terms of our serves. I'll also say Vander Wal doesn't frustrate me the way Wenaas always did. I feel like Vander Wal has so much upside. I'm excited to see where her career goes from here. Wenaas always felt like what you see is what you get. And what we got frustrated me to no end, from the time she announced her commitment to Texas out of the portal to the last match against Creighton, with a brief respite during the 2023 tournament.
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	Absolutely. One of the biggest ways to quantify it is by the final score, but that's not ultimately very satisfying. For several years Nebraska wasn't known for their blocking. Part of their overall philosophy was to integrate the blocking scheme with the backcourt, so the libero and DSes could have advantageous positioning to respond when the ball came over, whereas Texas tended to be much more aggressive, encouraging the blockers at the net to put up as intimidating and forceful of a block as possible, then require the backcourt players to read the play accordingly. One system produced more blocks/points. The other produced better backcourt defensive stats. Texas has also been going against several outstanding blocking teams, statistically speaking, so when we're getting out blocked, it's against opponents who feature that as part of their team identity. There's a problem in the official stat sheet in that the only time a block is credited to a player is when it scores. Compare that to basketball, where a block is credited to the defender whether it results in a change of possession or not. There's also no official statistic when a defender puts up an ineffective block that leads to a score. Getting a block touch, or altering the shot of the opposition so their hit is not as effective, is way better than having the shot hit off their hands and go out of bounds, or have it go directly to the floor. But those things aren't measured in the official stat sheets. If our players are doing a good job of not only presenting a block, but presenting a block that's not getting scored on, that has value that's not properly accounted for. It's funny. Our hitting percentage is pretty high nationally, but not all that high by Texas standards. Our block numbers are good, but not super impressive, and certainly not up to the standard of past Texas teams. Watching the team play, I don't get the feeling our block is as effective or intimidating as either past Texas teams, or as good as other teams I watch this year. But overall this Texas team is playing the best in the country, in my opinion, along with Nebraska. I find them very terminal, especially when Spears is effective on the D-ball. Our floor defense with Halter/Gary is outstanding. Our serving is giving teams trouble in getting into their offense. Stafford is one of the best overall players in the country. Vander Wal has looked impressive at times, and I think she's going to continue to improve at a high rate. Plus, they're just so fun to watch. As an eye test I do not believe this middle blocker unit is as oppressive as other middle blocker tandems Texas has fielded, but since I think Texas is arguably the number one program in the country when it comes to its middle blocker units under Elliott, that's not the criticism it might otherwise be. I like the players we have there. I do miss Singletary a bit, but her absence has allowed Harvey to come on, and that delights me. I feel like we can win a national championship with this group, even if they only average around 2.3 blocks per set as a team. And that's what's important.
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	The funny thing is, that was our best blocking performance, with 15 over 5 sets. Creighton, Stanford, Arizona State, TCU, and Baylor also out blocked us, although admittedly it was close in all of those matches. Arizona State was even competing without their star middle blocker.
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	When you say the way we started off are you specifically referring to the 1st set? Because for the Creighton match as a whole Creighton outblocked us. Which is sort of a meme so far this season. But no one is getting extra credit for winning the blocking battle. Which is good, because we're invariably losing them against most of our opponents.
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	It seems clear to me Bunton started the season as the #2 middle blocker but now the #2 middle blocker is Harvey. It also looks to me like Harvey could potentially become the #1 middle blocker, at least in terms of performance. She has a different level of twitchiness than Ames or Bunton. She simply explodes off the floor and stays up there for a while. And her lateral quickness is on a different level, too. She just needs reps, but it's not like Ames or Bunton have years of experience on her. There's a feature I saw somewhere where Elliott talks about needing to play all 3 middle blockers, so I'm sure we'll see a lot of combinations druing conference play including all 3 players. He specifically mentioned the importance of depth for the new SEC tournament. I'll also say I don't think this is going to be one of Texas' better blocking teams. I don't think we're going to be bad, per se, but the bar is pretty high at Texas. I remember the national championship season in 2022 when it felt like it took forever for the block to get going. But by the time the tournament rolled around Texas was blocking as well as anyone in the country. 2023 the season didn't start off great, but I felt like the block was in pretty good shape and stayed that way. Last year I don't like to talk about a whole lot. The strengths of this team are going to be being so terminal, and the backcourt defense. I don't think the block is going to be as critical for this team to do well in the post season. It's interesting to me that we went years redshirting every middle blocker that came through the program, and now it's two years in a row with Ames and Harvey playing significant minutes. I think even if Singletary had stuck around Harvey might have found her way on the court. She looks special out there.
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	Plus we needed Binney as an attacker out of the right side.
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	Texas Football 2025 - Seven Win Steve Rides AgainSL Xpress replied to closetojumping's topic in Football C'mon, man. Consider the source. You've been trolled. It was a really good response by HJ, too, not that that's surprising.
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	Texas Football 2025 - Seven Win Steve Rides AgainSL Xpress replied to closetojumping's topic in Football " Sooners is the name given to settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands illegally in what is now the state of Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush of 1889. The Unassigned Lands were a part of Indian Territory that, after a lobbying campaign, were to be opened to American settlement in 1889. President Benjamin Harrison officially proclaimed the Unassigned Lands open to settlement on April 22, 1889. As people lined up around the borders of the Oklahoma District, they waited for the official opening. It was not until noon that it officially was opened to settlement. The name derived from the "sooner clause" of Proclamation 288 — Opening to Settlement Certain Lands in the Indian Territory, which stated that anyone who entered and occupied the land prior to the opening time would be denied the right to claim land.[1] The designation "Sooner" had a very negative connotation.[2] While "Boomers" were merely expressing "pioneer spirit" in their desire to take and settle former Indian territory, Sooners were essentially stealing from other white settlers by cheating on the claim requirements to get better land.
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	Texas Football 2025 - Seven Win Steve Rides AgainSL Xpress replied to closetojumping's topic in Football He's thrown bad balls to a number of receivers. He's also missed even seeing wide open receivers. If he keeps playing like he did against Sam Houston State we won't have to overthink it so much. If his play against Ohio State, San Jose State for most of 3 quarters, and UTEP shows up again, then we can once again parse his throws as to what is going on. I can tell you what is going on. He's pressing, he's overthinking things, the game is moving too fast for him still, and his mistakes then compound into more mistakes. He's hardly the first person to have this happen to him. The only cure for it is to execute when the moment matters. You do that enough then you earn the confidence to go out and do it again. It's the same in pretty much any avenue of life. Wingo also needs to catch the catchable balls thrown his way. Same type of concept.
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	Texas Football 2025 - Seven Win Steve Rides AgainSL Xpress replied to closetojumping's topic in Football I don't understand the question. I responded to the post.
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	Texas Football 2025 - Seven Win Steve Rides AgainSL Xpress replied to closetojumping's topic in Football I don't really get how you can overthink this so much. When the quarterback is missing as often as Manning was the first three games - inexplicably so - it's not because of the system. It's because of what's been going on between his ears. It ends up affecting the performance of everyone on offense. Everyone else starts playing tense as well, feeling like they need to be perfect or the offense is going to stall again, and even if they do play perfect, the QB may throw the ball into the stands. Livingstone it can be as simple as they practiced together a ton as the twos last year. As a tight end, Endries routes are different. Maybe there's something to it, but I think it's more about Manning pressing and getting out of rhythm than it is something remarkably complicated about the offense Texas runs, or Manning being some kind of racist QB who loves his white targets. Wadlington and Moore from Inside Texas had a film study of a few plays for Sam Houston State where they focused on a simple 9 yard gain to Wingo that's an easy pass and catch. They rightly emphasized it because it's the exact kind of throw Manning has been skipping to his receiver or throwing it over their head. I do not believe Manning is suddenly "cured" but I do know how he performed against Sam Houston - regardless of the level of competition they represented - was a step in the right direction. Now we have to see if he can duplicate it to some degree against a Florida team that is very close to quitting on their season.
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