(08-20-2022 04:08 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(08-20-2022 01:00 PM)dragon2owl Wrote:  Didn't want to start a thread for an exhibition. Anyone at the game?
Starters are Harris (freshman), Kostelecky, Courtley, Adekunle, Maruska, Graham, McCardell (Libero).

Looks like Genny is giving everyone an opportunity. Can't believe Bickelmeyer and Mansfield will not be in our regular starting lineup.

She has historically not done well against Texas. I think that was part of it.

So, did anyone stand out? Has Courtley improved. Did Maruska play as well as she did in the Spring exhibitions? I heard Gabby made one sensational diving dig, but how did she look overall?

From what I can see from Quincy's and then Eggleston's boyfriend's Instagram videos....

Graham and Adekunle are going to continue to be the heart of the team. They should be All-Americans at the end of the year.

Libero - Texas was going after McCardell all game but she was able to meet the challenge. She was digging most things. However, I thought Mansfield put the ball closer to Graham when she got digs. Better accuracy.

Maruska can hit...but just like previous years, she tends to rack up in errors and hits out a lot. Several people were hitting from the back row. Previously only Lennon ever did that so that was good to see. Courtley played well but wasn't dominate.

Middles played well. Kostelecky got some nice blocks. The freshman MB got some reps in and looked good. Hit some balls hard and straight down. Very Adekunle-like.

Foord and Johnson played but didn't stand out. Foord can hit hard, as we've seen, but doesn't always get to floor. Then again, Texas has improved their defense. Johnson was playing when mostly freshman were playing so couldn't get a good read on her.

Harris played DS but also as a setter. When she was on the floor with Graham and Graham couldn't get to the ball, Harris was able to make some nice sets. Looks like Volpe prefers her over Izzy and Jamie as I can't recall Izzy playing in the match (Jamie played a little).

As I mentioned earlier, service continues to be a weak spot. Defense is improved, but it's Texas. There were several long rallies, but Texas seemed to get the upper hand 85% of the time.

Remember, with Lennon last year, the first match was 15-25, 15-25, 15-25. So the fact that we were able to do better than that for the most part means that we should be okay. This Texas team is stacked. Their bench could make the tournament.

(08-20-2022 10:21 PM)dragon2owl Wrote:  From what I can see from Quincy's and then Eggleston's boyfriend's Instagram videos....

Graham and Adekunle are going to continue to be the heart of the team. They should be All-Americans at the end of the year.

Libero - Texas was going after McCardell all game but she was able to meet the challenge. She was digging most things. However, I thought Mansfield put the ball closer to Graham when she got digs. Better accuracy.

Maruska can hit...but just like previous years, she tends to rack up in errors and hits out a lot. Several people were hitting from the back row. Previously only Lennon ever did that so that was good to see. Courtley played well but wasn't dominate.

Middles played well. Kostelecky got some nice blocks. The freshman MB got some reps in and looked good. Hit some balls hard and straight down. Very Adekunle-like.

Foord and Johnson played but didn't stand out. Foord can hit hard, as we've seen, but doesn't always get to floor. Then again, Texas has improved their defense. Johnson was playing when mostly freshman were playing so couldn't get a good read on her.

Harris played DS but also as a setter. When she was on the floor with Graham and Graham couldn't get to the ball, Harris was able to make some nice sets. Looks like Volpe prefers her over Izzy and Jamie as I can't recall Izzy playing in the match (Jamie played a little).

As I mentioned earlier, service continues to be a weak spot. Defense is improved, but it's Texas. There were several long rallies, but Texas seemed to get the upper hand 85% of the time.

Remember, with Lennon last year, the first match was 15-25, 15-25, 15-25. So the fact that we were able to do better than that for the most part means that we should be okay. This Texas team is stacked. Their bench could make the tournament.

Thanks for the observations. Texas is a VERY good serving and blocking team (though they have a tendency to rack up the service errors), and their significant height advantage upfront makes it extremely difficult for our front line. Efficiency should improve markedly against almost anyone else on our schedule. Harris was highly regarded out of high school and will no doubt be our setter after Carly departs. Interesting that Genny had her playing defensive specialist ahead of Mansfield (when Gabby's not playing libero). Did Ellie play at all? Hopefully, she's not injured.

Carly, Anota and Ellie named to CUSA preseason all-conference team, and Rice picked to finish 2nd to WKU in the standings. WKU also got three named to all-conference...

https://riceowls.com/news/2022/8/25/wome...-team.aspx

....strange that the all-conference team doesn't include a single libero and only one defensive specialist, yet includes 5 Middle Blockers (2 from WKU).