Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2015 11:48:53 GMT -5
Editing: Completed.
This is "The Rematch" we've all been waiting for. It's not gonna take much to get us all hyped up for this one.
I think the players feel the same way, probably chomping at the bit to get another shot at NU.
This time it's on our home court, I just hope not everyone left for Thanksgiving break. I mean how could anyone miss volleyball for turkey.
Up to this point PSU's conference record is 14-4 and NU's is 6-12 (although, one of NU's wins was a 5-set victory against PSU back on 10/10/15).
Anyway, I'm going to jump right to my favorite part of every Match Preview -- the STATS.
I worked up a chart comparing the most relevant statistical categories for both teams (conference-play only) and added a twist.
I found the results interesting:
1) PSU leads NU in hitting efficiency differential difference by .137%.
2) PSU leads NU in kills/set differential difference by 1 full kill/set.
3) PSU and NU are about even in aces/set.
4) PSU leads NU in blocks/set differential difference by 2 full blocks/set.
5) PSU leads NU in digs/set differential difference by just over 1 dig/set.
I believe these are significant statistical advantages for PSU. Penn State is predicted to win this match in straight sets, according to Massey, who has the PSU victory at a 99% probability. Of course, we all know the games are not won "on paper," they must be played out on court.
The previous meeting between these teams:
Northwestern has improved significantly this year vs last year. They were able to defeat defending National Champions Penn State in 5 sets on their home court back on Oct. 10, 2015. Certain Penn State hitters, unfortunately, were not very efficient on that night, specifically Ali Frantti, who hit negative -.034% and Megan Courtney hit at a low .167%. PSU, as a team, hit at a .193% clip vs .211% for NU, had 25 attack errors vs 30 for NU, they had 14 blocks vs 8 for NU, had 2 aces and 5 service errors vs 5 aces and 15 service errors for NU. So, all in all, not much difference between the teams. It could have gone either way. Although, NU won a the most important part of the battle (i.e., serve-receive or sideout). Whoever wins the sideout battle in a set wins that set. NU was able to sideout just 1% better than PSU (58.1% vs 57.1%) overall, which was enough to take the match. I have updated the PSU sideout chart showing all 13 matches played since and including the NU match dated 10/10/15. Considering 5 of PSU's last 13 matches were on the road, they did well. Unfortunately, I could not locate any sideout stats for NU to compare, as they do not post them on their website.
Conference play of each team:
Northwestern has put in some surprise performances this year. They were able to take a set from Minnesota and put down 63 kills vs 57 for MN. However, they also had almost double the attack errors 29 vs 17 for MN. In that match, NU had 4 hitters hit double digit kills ,which shows balance in their attack, and makes it harder for blockers to key in on one person.
NU also defeated Michigan State 3-1 on 10/31/15. They hit .310 vs .246 for MSU, they outblocked MSU 14-10, and had 2 more aces.
For the majority of matches, though, NU has tasted defeat a lot. NU has been swept 7 times in the beginning half of conference play. However, in this second half they have taken, at the very least, 1 set from every opponent in their last 7 matches. This shows me that they have built up a fighting mentality and belief in themselves. Their play, in general, has been inconsistent but they can put it all together for a match and play spoiler for teams looking to get better seeding in the tourney.
This is "The Rematch" we've all been waiting for. It's not gonna take much to get us all hyped up for this one.
I think the players feel the same way, probably chomping at the bit to get another shot at NU.
This time it's on our home court, I just hope not everyone left for Thanksgiving break. I mean how could anyone miss volleyball for turkey.
Up to this point PSU's conference record is 14-4 and NU's is 6-12 (although, one of NU's wins was a 5-set victory against PSU back on 10/10/15).
Anyway, I'm going to jump right to my favorite part of every Match Preview -- the STATS.
I worked up a chart comparing the most relevant statistical categories for both teams (conference-play only) and added a twist.
I found the results interesting:
1) PSU leads NU in hitting efficiency differential difference by .137%.
2) PSU leads NU in kills/set differential difference by 1 full kill/set.
3) PSU and NU are about even in aces/set.
4) PSU leads NU in blocks/set differential difference by 2 full blocks/set.
5) PSU leads NU in digs/set differential difference by just over 1 dig/set.
I believe these are significant statistical advantages for PSU. Penn State is predicted to win this match in straight sets, according to Massey, who has the PSU victory at a 99% probability. Of course, we all know the games are not won "on paper," they must be played out on court.
The previous meeting between these teams:
Northwestern has improved significantly this year vs last year. They were able to defeat defending National Champions Penn State in 5 sets on their home court back on Oct. 10, 2015. Certain Penn State hitters, unfortunately, were not very efficient on that night, specifically Ali Frantti, who hit negative -.034% and Megan Courtney hit at a low .167%. PSU, as a team, hit at a .193% clip vs .211% for NU, had 25 attack errors vs 30 for NU, they had 14 blocks vs 8 for NU, had 2 aces and 5 service errors vs 5 aces and 15 service errors for NU. So, all in all, not much difference between the teams. It could have gone either way. Although, NU won a the most important part of the battle (i.e., serve-receive or sideout). Whoever wins the sideout battle in a set wins that set. NU was able to sideout just 1% better than PSU (58.1% vs 57.1%) overall, which was enough to take the match. I have updated the PSU sideout chart showing all 13 matches played since and including the NU match dated 10/10/15. Considering 5 of PSU's last 13 matches were on the road, they did well. Unfortunately, I could not locate any sideout stats for NU to compare, as they do not post them on their website.
Conference play of each team:
Northwestern has put in some surprise performances this year. They were able to take a set from Minnesota and put down 63 kills vs 57 for MN. However, they also had almost double the attack errors 29 vs 17 for MN. In that match, NU had 4 hitters hit double digit kills ,which shows balance in their attack, and makes it harder for blockers to key in on one person.
NU also defeated Michigan State 3-1 on 10/31/15. They hit .310 vs .246 for MSU, they outblocked MSU 14-10, and had 2 more aces.
For the majority of matches, though, NU has tasted defeat a lot. NU has been swept 7 times in the beginning half of conference play. However, in this second half they have taken, at the very least, 1 set from every opponent in their last 7 matches. This shows me that they have built up a fighting mentality and belief in themselves. Their play, in general, has been inconsistent but they can put it all together for a match and play spoiler for teams looking to get better seeding in the tourney.
