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2021 Texas Volleyball


TexasDPT

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10 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Ok I am over Gabriel.  Perfect pass, fucks up the set. Free ball, doesn’t bother going to Butler 

It's gonna be interesting to see if Elliott sticks with her or goes with another setter with a week off and then entering the conference schedule.

I think Gabriel brings the emotional leadership intangible that Shook lacked and most often than not  she knows how to set her hitters.   I just wonder how the players will react if they have to adjust to a new setter. 

But it'd be nice to have a bigger setter block that doesn't get abused. 

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2 minutes ago, TexasDPT said:

It's gonna be interesting to see if Elliott sticks with her or goes with another setter with a week off and then entering the conference schedule.

I think Gabriel brings the emotional leadership intangible that Shook lacked and most often than not  she knows how to set her hitters.   I just wonder how the players will react if they have to adjust to a new setter. 

But it'd be nice to have a bigger setter block that doesn't get abused. 

I know he’ll stick with her but god damn, her actual setting is infuriating. Love her energy and passion but she drives me insane at her choices 

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4 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Hard to tell if she can play all 6 rotations or not 

Yeah, hopefully Devin comes in as a Spring enrollee and starts working at it. She made the USA U18 volleyball roster as a OH and will be competing in Mexico later this month, so if she starts, she'll be playing all the way around. She also plays all 6 rotations at the club level. 

We lose Petersen and possibly Parra next season (Melanie liked a comment when someone asked her if this would be her last year at Texas on IG), but we gain Halter.  So unless Heinrich is strong enough to play back row, Devin will need to play all the way around with Logan, since Halter will most likely be DSing for Skylar.

I honestly haven't seen any film on Kenna Miller so don't really know what her ball control skills are like...what I have read/heard is that she is hidden in serve receive at times, but she has a live arm and good hops for a 6' player. 

I guess Jhenna could be an option as a DS player next season if they want to strictly go with SKT or Cabello at setter, but in a recent interview, she said she hated having that role her freshman year, prior to taking over setting duties from Shook...but she may not have a choice in the matter if she does decide to come back (she already graduated, but will be using her extra Covid year to finish her Master's program).

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Elliot addresses the Saige issue today. She just officially joined the team last week. He tempered expectations on seeing her, she hasn’t practiced much with the team. Only 2 pre-conf matches left so I truly would be surprised if we see her in 2021. 

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28 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

This came up on my google feed regarding Corn: https://nebraska.rivals.com/news/three-takes-from-no-6-nebraska-volleyball-s-3-1-loss-to-no-16-stanford

Sun (and Kubik) apparently hit 0 or close to it against Utah and didn't start against Tree.  Hate to see it.

Wish there was a crying laughing reaction.  

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2 hours ago, Js1 said:

Wish there was a crying laughing reaction.  

Yeah, I wish there was a pic of Papa Sun at the match to see his reaction of Lexi not starting, especially since the match was in Cali. 
 

It’s more of a surprise that Cook actually changed his lineup and went with his Freshmen. He should have done it sooner. Lexi hasn’t progressed at all since she transferred. Sure, she got to play back row, but I think that was a requirement for her and her dad to transfer there.  And they’ve lost more matches because of it IMO.  Sure, she may have played in a National title match 3 years ago, but that had more to do with Foecke carrying that team than anything. Now, Sun isn’t even on the court…

I will say Jerritt has chilled out more with reprimanding players on the sidelines for poor play after she transferred… so I think that helped with team culture. 

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14 hours ago, TexasDPT said:

Yeah, I wish there was a pic of Papa Sun at the match to see his reaction of Lexi not starting, especially since the match was in Cali. 
 

It’s more of a surprise that Cook actually changed his lineup and went with his Freshmen. He should have done it sooner. Lexi hasn’t progressed at all since she transferred. Sure, she got to play back row, but I think that was a requirement for her and her dad to transfer there.  And they’ve lost more matches because of it IMO.  Sure, she may have played in a National title match 3 years ago, but that had more to do with Foecke carrying that team than anything. Now, Sun isn’t even on the court…

I will say Jerritt has chilled out more with reprimanding players on the sidelines for poor play after she transferred… so I think that helped with team culture. 

 

The biggest thing was Eggleston coming in and developing into one of the best 6 rotation players in the country. It's completely erased any kind of negative narrative Texas/Elliot could have acquired. And while Fields isn't quite there, yet, she's also developing in that aspect. While it's obviously best for the program, I think it would have been better for Fields if Eggleston had ended up choosing to leave after this year simply because it creates a vacuum that she's the natural person to fill. All is well, though.

I have to admit, Sun transferring and Shook not being who I thought she would be rattled (shook?) me a bit. Not that I lost confidence in Elliot as a coach and the head of the program, because I never have. I find that ridiculous. But I thought those two would be the heart of some great championship runs. I've never wished Lexi Sun ill will, but it wouldn't have done Texas any favors, especially when going up against Nebraska in recruiting, if she had thrived at Nebraska. 

As it is, she's never been a dominant force. She doesn't seem to seek out and thrive in clutch situations. She's not a commanding leader. To put it bluntly, it's been addition by subtraction. She did the program and the coaching staff a favor by transferring to Nebraska, when at the time it seemed like a disaster from a PR perspective.

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3 hours ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

The obsession with Lexi on this site is sad. Get the fuck over it, for the the love of fuck. 

Follow sports the way you want, and I'll follow it the way I want. Get the fuck over people not getting the fuck over it, for the love of fuck. 

It's shit like this that makes sports fun. I enjoy rooting against Nebraska in volleyball (well...in all sports) and this just adds another dynamic to it. It made the Elite Eight win even sweeter last year. If you're completely indifferent to it, good on you. As far as it making anyone anything, the most it makes us is human. We're instinctually driven towards drama. You are, too. If this particular piece of drama isn't your cup of tea, casting judgement on those who find it compelling isn't going to change anyone's behavior, and it just makes you look like an asshole. Which you're likely okay with.

And there were real ramifications at the time of her transfer. She was the #1 player in the country with even more media and volleyball coverage than the average #1. Her transfer after her freshman season was a big deal, especially going to recruiting rival Nebraska - with the reason that got out being that Nebraska/Cook could develop her as a 6 rotation player while Texas/Elliot couldn't. Frankly, it smelled like tampering to me, although that's just the conspiracy element of my brain at work.  As I said above, addition by subtraction, so it's all good. 

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The Sun situation is, at the very least, interesting.

As noted, she was the top-ranked player in the nation and departed for rival Corn for unclear reasons, leading to a lot of speculation in the volleyball world.   And it was interpreted by many as a knock on Elliott's coaching.  The college volleyball world at large tends to dislike Texas (as with most sports) and Elliott in particular.  Corn fans are big offenders in the Eilliott-trashing.  And this is particularly interesting because Elliott's strong suit is front-row bigs, even when they're six-rotation and defense is a big aspect of that.

With this particular example of Lexi Sun vs. Logan Eggleston, Elliott seems to have proven the naysayers wrong.  Logan is a more effective front-row player than Sun and there doesn't seem to be a major tradeoff in back-row play, despite Cook's reputation there.  That may be due more to Logan than the coaching, though, which leads to:

My theory is that Sun just maybe really isn't that into volleyball.  Her social media tended to reflect an interest in "extracurriculars" beyond most other players.  I think Daddy-dearest tried to put the kibosh on that with the move to Corn, or somewhere else, and that failed, because distractions or no, Lexi just isn't that into volleyball, which is fine.

People tend to follow high-proflie transfers away from a program, most especially if they were actually starters, much less number one recruits.  And we haven't really had many of those, in any sport.

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8 minutes ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

SL Express never fucking posts on this thread, never. Now he comes out with essays about a chick that hasn’t been here in FOUR fucking years. This fucking website just can’t get over the past. 

Unless someone stole the username, they post on VolleyTalk quite often 

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