(VB) Ongoing Volleyball Thread

Another great move by the coach...obviously the problem was rothe being as her setter doesn't give her any looks

 

You want predictable, watch where almost every set goes when Parks is flat footed

 

Mary doesn't look happy
We were blasting this team

 

Thank goodness...closed this one out
3 sets to 1

 

Hope AC doesn't miss much time, but the experience for Lauren makes UF a better team, deeper. Good win, 9 in a row.

 

Yeah, with all the adversity this year, bottom line is all that matters to me now.
20-5, 11-3.

 

Mary is getting good defense from Parks, balls Alexis can’t get. AU did a god job attacking our S on service.

 

Our block seemed lost for a good chunk of the third and fourth. Not sure what that was all about.

 

We have not been a good blocking team for too long imo. Auguste worked hard in set 4 and it paid off.

 

I agree, was just musing that in set 3 we had zero blocks and forced a grand total of 1 attack error. They still didn’t have an attack error midway through the 4th set. It was just kinda bizarre. You would think you could luck into something at some point.
But they found a way, and like I said right now it’s any port in storm. A win is a win. Take the W and move on to UCF.

 

Look I get that everyone wants Stucky. She was one of the top two setters I saw last year imo, before the injury. Stucky now is limited on getting to tough balls she would’ve gotten to last year. The opposition knows this and worked her hard. Parks, who at 6’ is capable at the block albeit not as well as Stucky, but Parks gets to a lot of tough balls defensively. Texas tried a 6-2 and lost 3 straight home matches so they went back to the 5-1. If there’s a weakness on the court, a good team will exploit them. Every time. You can hide someone on SR but not in the normal flow of the game. Parks probably set to Martin a ton because she’s our offense. Who can blame her? We lose and we don’t host in the tournament. The saga of our OH’s this year is difficult to understand.

 

Speaking of Texas and that three game losing streak, I think I heard on the broadcast that it’s their first one since 2006.
Welcome to the sec, and we aren't even a great volleyball conference. Though way better than we have been.

 

The SEC has become a very deep and competitive conference with a lot of really good teams. Texas has been elite with 2 staight national titles, but the ACC and Big 10 have most of the truly elite teams. That's just the way it is. I'm really proud of this year's Gator team with the way they have battled and come together after all the injuries. On any given day they can beat anybody out there. Mary Wise is an all time great and still motivates her team and they play with passion and fun.

 

On a positive note, I thought mcKissock had a great match, especially that first set.

 

McKissock's effort, digs and incredible hustle has spurred the defensive effort over the last 8-9 games. One of the very best at her position in the nation and a Gator all time great as well, IMO. And while McKissock had 31 of the team's 77 digs, our 2 Martins combined for 21 and our 2 setters combined for 14. That's hustle.
Tonight, I was impressed that they still served aggressively but only had 8 service errors against 6 aces. They didn't play great, but it's always hard beating the same team twice, especially with the 2nd match on their floor. Another solid win.

 

No help tonight. Texas & Missouri won. There is a clear top 4 in the SEC. South Carolina swept at Alabama.

 

Ole Miss almost pulled it off against Missouri. 2-3
19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 16-25, 11-15

 

I love watching these ladies play and I have a question for you people that understand this sport and our talent level better than I. What will next year's starting lineup look like and and are they good enough to make a final four. Would appreciate your thoughts.

 

Can't really predict next year's team until we know who will leave via the portal and who we'll get from the portal.
I think we've only signed 1 high school recruit so far - Middle Blocker, 6'2" De'Andrea McMillian. A key to me is who replaces Ellie McKissock as the Libero. We have several ladies on the roster who can play the position. Emily Canaan is the one with the most experience, freshman Bella Lee was the highest rated recruit who plays Libero. Or will Mary Wise seek out a transfer? Then we have to look at players who have not played much due to injury, but if healthy could be major contributors - Madie Gravlee, Kira Hutson, Trinity Adams and Gabby Essix.
We lose McKissock, Isobel Martin, AC Fitzpatrick and Erin Engel to graduation. So other than Kennedy Martin, Alec Rothe, Jaela Auguste, Taylor Parks and Alexis Stuckey, who the other starters and rotation players will be, I think, is still up in the air.

 

Trinity is a senior, so she will not be back.
There was talk that Gabby would take a redshirt and come back.
She is walking today on Senior Day, but it is not unprecedented for someone to walk and still come back.
We shall see.