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2023 Texas Volleyball - Back to Back!


Js1

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Spring volleyball matches this week Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and Monday.

Thursday at 7pm at Gregory. It will be shown on LHN. Texas State is the opponent.

Friday at 6pm at Gregory. No LHN. A&M-CC is the opponent.

Saturday versus UH. No time and no site announced, which means it will probably be no public invited.

Monday at 7pm in San Antonio versus UTSA.

There's also a trip to Europe for the team later on this semester. 

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Would be much better if the lettering was white and the wide border was burnt orange.  This would provide better and easier clarity for out of bounds and give greater contrast between the playing court and the out of bounds. 🤘🤘🤘

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We'll be better this year than we were last. Super impressed with Singletary tonight. Filling Asjia's shoes will be tough but she'll get there based on what I saw tonight. And having Rutherford at OPP instead of Molly is a cheat code. Then we have Lauenstein, Carlson, and Ames on the bench. We truly don't have a weakness on this team.

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Posted (edited)

Blocking from the middle position is going to be a weakness when they start playing teams with better hitters/offense. There's a reason why they were consistently incorporating triple blocks during the match. 

Bad Jenna started off the match, but Good Jenna showed up pretty quickly once she settled down. I thought she looked all-worldly with Carlson's fast-tempo, well-located sets.

Ella's going to be the starter regardless...her serving and blocking are going to keep her on the floor.

Rutherford will be better offensively from the right pin, but she needs to improve her blocking. Hopefully, Lauenstein can challenge her b/c I didn't see much from Devin or Auburn. 

I'm interested to see where Byrd will fit in when she gets healthy. She, Bunton, and Lauenstein may not get playing reps this spring since all 4 matches are back-to-back....But hopefully they will get healthy enough to play during the Europe trip this summer.

Akana needs to get healthy as well b/c I wasn't impressed with Emerick in the backrow. We've been spoiled for the past 2 years with having 3 elite littles. 

 

 

 

Edited by TexasDPT
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I liked Jenna’s back row attacks. It was the first “match” for a lot of players, so going to take time for players to gel. That applies to Rutherford’s connections with Ella and also the blocking cohesion with Singletary and Ames. 

It was also Emerick’s first collegiate match. Let’s not overreact. I’m excited to see after they have the Europe trip and all summer. 

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Spring exhibition versus Houston today (Saturday, March 2) at 2pm at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Austin. Posts made by the volleyball social media team on Instagram and Facebook and then deleted. I don't think they want anyone there, lol. 

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Hot takes after watching all the spring matches:

I can see Averi being the starting setter in the fall, which I didn't think initially. Her setting tempo and location just puts all the hitters in a better position to attack—that was clearly evident from the end-line view of the court in the IG feed against UTSA. 

Ella provides the better block and setter attack option, but her location was inconsistent...maybe because she's gone back to jump-setting? If so, she should set flat-footed b/c she locates the ball so much better. 

Madi and Jenna will start at OH.  Madi needs to continue to work on her serve-receive and ball control (especially if she wants to succeed at the next level), but her attack window allows her to crush any ball. Jenna's offense was better with Averi's sets, and her all-around game looks good. She may be playing all 6 rotations unless one of the DS's (Reese or Brennan) learn to play middle-back effectively.

OH Depth chart after Madi and Jenna is:  Helmers > Miller >>> Byrd.

It was nice to finally see Helmers on the court after not playing for 1.5 years (concussion, opted out of playing her Sr high school season, and then shoulder surgery). 

I know she has been injured for a while, but Byrd's offense is a fraction of what she showed last spring. It looks like she has focused so much on trying to develop her ball control that she has forgotten how to attack. IMO, she should be training at Opp, especially considering the OHs coming in for 2025. 

I was worried about the MB position, but Singletary and Ames played really well this spring. Both are offensive weapons...just need to continue to get better at reading the setter (especially Mari) which will come with time and playing experience. Nya's knee surgery was last summer - hopefully she's not having any serious lingering effects from it and its all precautionary. It may be imperative to cross-train Byrd at MB if so. 

For Opp, I think either Devin or Reagan could start. Just like Jenna, both looked so much better hitting off of Averi. Reagan is better offensively, but Devin brings in a solid blocking presence. I just don't see Tomkinson logging any meaningful minutes. She and Miller would probably start at a mid-level program.

Lauenstein could be the dark horse for either pin position in the fall. We just don't know the extent of her injury. 

Halter and Akana have their positions locked up; just need Akana to get healthy.

Next up, European trip. Hopefully we get some good videos posted from their matches. They use a different ball over there, so passing/ball control is going to be an adventure for them but will make them better.

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Man, Swindle or Carlson is a hard one.  I really hope we don't bench Swindle.  She's a much better flat-footed setter and her blocking, attacking and serving is so good.  

We don't win the title without her.  Just throwing her aside hurts.

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4 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Man, Swindle or Carlson is a hard one.  I really hope we don't bench Swindle.  She's a much better flat-footed setter and her blocking, attacking and serving is so good.  

We don't win the title without her.  Just throwing her aside hurts.

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out in the fall. I just hope they don't run a true 6-2...maybe use it situationally though.

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This video is a year old, and it's an hour long, so I don't know how much interest there is in it. But if you want to hear some real nuts and bolts about the strategies and philosophies the Texas program employs, and what helps make Texas volleyball different, this is for you.

I watched the interview with Sullivan from a year before, but I never knew about this one. It's even better. Also, I know this is short notice, but today, (March 10) at 7pm central time the same guys/youtube channel are doing a live interview with Sullivan and Hunt. I'm sure they'll post it somewhere on their site after words, so I'll link it after that happens. I'm really excited to hear it!

Anyway, here's the link to last year's show:

 

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Devin transfer rumors heating up from a pic of her at USC and her mom doing the V for victory in front of the USC trojan statue

Also Elliot got a contract extension.  I bet he got a big ole "back to back champs" bump in the salary too

CDC:

Celebrate Make It Rain GIF by Bud Light

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On 3/11/2024 at 3:59 PM, Js1 said:

Devin transfer rumors heating up from a pic of her at USC and her mom doing the V for victory in front of the USC trojan statue

 

 

The official site says she's competing with the beach team this weekend against Long Beach State:

https://texassports.com/news/2024/3/14/beach-volleyball-preview-lbsu-tournament.aspx

"Indoor players Kenna Miller, Auburn Tomkinson, Averi Carlson, Reilly Heinrich and Devin Kahahawi will also compete this weekend."

 

I'm sure she headed out to Los Angeles early and met her Mom out there. I'm also convinced she's entering her name in the portal in the May time frame. But I was surprised she didn't enter in the December portal period, so it won't be shocking. Bringing in Rutherford and Lauenstein pretty much sealed the deal as far as I'm concerned, and I wasn't even clear she should stay before that. 

Having said that, I do think she looked a little better than Rutherford in the spring exhibitions. I don't put much stock into it, because Rutherford is a newcomer to how Texas wants to do things. I've watched Rutherford at Kentucky on many occasions over the last 4 years. She's special. Her defense is absolutely abysmal, however. Like, worse than Fields. But that's okay. She'll be subbed out. It's a shame we won't see her attack from the back row much, but she's a liability out there on defense. 

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On 3/5/2024 at 8:38 AM, Js1 said:

Man, Swindle or Carlson is a hard one.  I really hope we don't bench Swindle.  She's a much better flat-footed setter and her blocking, attacking and serving is so good.  

We don't win the title without her.  Just throwing her aside hurts.

Yeah count me on the team that thinks it'd be hard to bench a NC-winning setter, esp one who played hurt while doing it. I can't help but think it's early and she'll get some jumpsetting accuracy back over time. But who knows. We'll see, I guess. 

Maybe if it comes down to only her overall setting accuracy, then she might go to #2, but the overall package she brings to the table is very strong imho.

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On 4/6/2024 at 11:41 AM, shadow_operative2.0 said:

Watched the 30-minute LHN show on the ‘22 NC team again the other night. Assume we’re not gonna get one for this past season? 

Just saw the commercial for it. One More Time. Sunday at 3

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Jerritt Elliott's new contract.

https://volleyballmag.com/texas-nebraska-volleyball-notes-041124/

Quote

Elliott, who won his first NCAA title at Texas in 2012, signed a new contract extension to keep him guiding the Longhorns through 2029. His total compensation of $800,000, excluding performance bonuses, makes him the highest-paid college volleyball coach. Previously, Nebraska coach John Cook was at the top of the sport with a base pay of $750,000 for 2024.

Elliott signed his contract, obtained through an open records request, on February 26 and was announced by Texas on March 11.

The new deal lowers his base pay from $557,500 to $500,000. However, Elliott will receive $300,000 in 2024 for “Professional Services Payments.” This includes sublicensing intellectual property as well as for personal and media appearances. These clauses are more common in football and basketball coaching contracts but are a novelty in the volleyball world. The payments increase annually to a maximum of $425,000 in 2029. The base pay does not change during the same time frame.

The contract also contains another wrinkle: The additional payments don’t go directly to Elliott but rather to DREJ, Inc., a corporate entity registered in the State of Texas. (The corporation was formed on February 23, three days before he signed the extension.) Elliott is listed as the corporation’s registered agent.

DREJ, Inc., is set up as an S-Corp, allowing it to pass its taxable income, credits, deductions, and losses directly to its shareholders. While they require more accounting paperwork, S-Corps are often set up as a tax planning vehicle, which allows individuals to lower their tax burden.

With the new contract, Elliott also received a new title of Director of Volleyball in addition to Head Volleyball Coach. Based on the contract language, he will serve as the head coach of Texas’ indoor team and oversee the second-year beach program and coach Stein Metzger.

Elliott will receive bonuses based on each program’s performance. He can receive a maximum performance bonus of 37 percent of his base salary for marks such as conference titles or advancing in the postseason. He can also receive up to a 30 percent increase for metrics met by the beach program. If Elliott were to max out his performance bonuses, he could earn as much as $1.135 million in 2024.

The contract also contains non-monetary compensation, such as a percentage of the net proceeds from camps, club membership and spouse travel. The extension added that the university will provide him with a car.

 

 

On 4/10/2024 at 6:23 PM, Js1 said:

Just saw the commercial for it. One More Time. Sunday at 3

Appropriately titled for a Longhorn Network show.

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On 4/6/2024 at 10:50 AM, Js1 said:

https://www.huskersillustrated.com/volleyball/stories/husker-volleyball-player-harper-murray-cited-for-dui/article_f4814322-f3b8-11ee-ba58-f7f2e085226b.html

Murray was cited for a DUI, careless driving, minor in possession, acts declared unlawful, and obstructing a peace officer.

Oh boy... Not a good look.

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4 minutes ago, chiu1040 said:

Worse look if she gets a light punishment from the school.

Nebraska doesn't care.  Lauren Cook 2011. Jazz Sweet 2020.

It's part of the program.  Slap on the wrist, she sits out any spring matches and maybe, god forbid, doesn't get to play against Omaha or some shit program in August/September. 

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1 hour ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

Anyone that had their DVR set for the 3 airing, gonna have to hit record on one of the others thanks to softball running way long. 

11pm 

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Posted (edited)

Had no idea Madi was sick during the matches against Tenn and Stanford 

26 kills hitting .328, 5 digs, 5 blocks, 2 aces against Tenn

24 kills hitting .383, 6 digs, 1 block, 2 aces against Stanford 

WHILE SICK. And she didn’t get NPOY. Asshole voters 

Edited by Js1
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21 hours ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

There’s no nice way to say this, but the entire first segment should not have been about Asjia.

Give her a 30-minute show, then give the ‘23 season a true full episode. 

Agree. They should have cut Asjia’s segment and focused more on Madi’s journey to Texas, Ella taking over for SKT and Halter for Fleck and Jenna’s journey back to the state. Kind of glossed over that. 

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