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Post by nyline on Sept 10, 2016 11:03:26 GMT -5
For fans of the Penn State Women’s Volleyball team, who had feasted for eight years on a diet of six National Championships (plus a freshman-laden Sweet 16 team in 2011 and a Final Four squad that came oh-so-close in 2012), the 2015 season was a very unsatisfying meal, ending with a tough loss to Hawaii in the Sweet 16 in straight sets. And through the first five matches this season, it looked like it might be more of the same: straight set wins in the first two matches (Georgia Southern and West Virginia), followed by consecutive five-set losses to North Carolina (in Rec Hall) and Colorado (in Boulder), and a straight set loss to Stanford (also in Boulder). In any event, the disappointing 2015 season, coupled with the disappointing start to the 2016 season, led some fans to write-off this year’s team, Head Coach Russ Rose, Associate Head Coach Salima Rockwell, and pretty much everything else about the program. With statements like “the team is a train wreck.” Or “the defense is a train wreck.” Or other criticisms laden with train catastrophe or similar transportation disaster language. We get it. Fans are disappointed. Frustrated. Shocked. Fair enough. Coach Rose has been mightily disappointed with the team at times this season (particularly after the North Carolina match), and at times last season. But keep in mind, the bar has been set impossibly high at Penn State (consider, for a moment, that Penn State won four consecutive National Championships, and that no other women's volleyball team has won more than two in a row). And certainly, Penn State's 28-6 record in 2015 was a step down from the gaudy records in 2007 (34-2), 2008 (38-0), 2009 (38-0), 2010 (32-5), 2013 (34-2) and 2014 (36-3). But to our way of thinking, it's best to offer informed criticism, and we think the "train wreck" critique fails both subjectively (how the game of volleyball is played, and how it differs from other team sports), and objectively (how Penn State performed statistically). We'll start with the subjective, followed by a statistical analysis. You be the judge. For the complete post, Click Here. |
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Post by traveler on Sept 10, 2016 16:48:35 GMT -5
OK. But to make me feel better, I need to hear bad things about Nebraska, not just WI, WV, Stanford, Cal.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2016 20:25:23 GMT -5
So, barring anything unforeseen as the preseason (pre-conference schedule) draws to a close, PSU should finish 8-3. To minimally qualify for the tournament, they need to finish the B1G season with a 8-12 conference record. They could probably be one of the top 16 seeds if they finish 15-5/14-6 in the conference.
Can they do that?
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Post by cross5 on Sept 10, 2016 21:22:49 GMT -5
vs Syracuse tonight. This is what I've been looking for!  TEAM ATTACK BY SET Set K E TA Pct Sideout Pct 1 17 7 40 .250 15-22 68% 2 15 7 44 .182 12-18 66% 3 15 4 30 .367 12-12 100% 39-52 75% |
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Post by Millennium on Sept 10, 2016 21:26:23 GMT -5
So, barring anything unforeseen as the preseason draws to a close, PSU should finish 7-3. To minimally qualify for the tournament, they need to finish the B1G season with a 8-12 conference record. They could probably be one of the top 16 seeds if they finish 15-5/14-6 in the conference. Can they do that? After looking over the B1G schedule. I would have to say that PSU has, at least, 6 conference losses, based on the way they're playing right now. They should finish the preseason 7-3, so with 20 conference matches after that, I figure the best record they'll end up with is 21-9 (if their quality stays stagnant, which I don't think it will). If they can improve as the season progresses, maybe 23-7; I don't see a better record than that. If they regress, then we finish around 19-11. |
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Post by Onthebench on Sept 10, 2016 22:32:32 GMT -5
After tonight, all I can say is they may be not be as bad as their record indicates at the moment; but they are not as good as we all hope they would be. They'll be favorite on about 1/3 of conference games, Underdogs on 1/3 and 1/3 will be considered toss ups.
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Post by nyline on Sept 11, 2016 5:52:45 GMT -5
So, barring anything unforeseen as the preseason draws to a close, PSU should finish 7-3. To minimally qualify for the tournament, they need to finish the B1G season with a 8-12 conference record. They could probably be one of the top 16 seeds if they finish 15-5/14-6 in the conference. Can they do that? They are 5-3 after Syracuse. Three matches next weekend. And (admittedly, this is a nitpick) it's pre-conference, not preseason -- the matches count as part of the regular season final record. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2016 8:09:52 GMT -5
So, barring anything unforeseen as the preseason draws to a close, PSU should finish 7-3. To minimally qualify for the tournament, they need to finish the B1G season with a 8-12 conference record. They could probably be one of the top 16 seeds if they finish 15-5/14-6 in the conference. Can they do that? They are 5-3 after Syracuse. Three matches next weekend. And (admittedly, this is a nitpick) it's pre-conference, not preseason -- the matches count as part of the regular season final record. Thanks for the gentle corrections Nyline. I should have employed better math and more precise language. I know that pre conference games count toward a team's final record, but it wasn't clear from what I wrote. I corrected my original post. My apologies to any who based their posts on what I wrote. |
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Post by traveler on Sept 11, 2016 8:30:36 GMT -5
vs Syracuse tonight. This is what I've been looking for! TEAM ATTACK BY SET Set K E TA Pct Sideout Pct 1 17 7 40 .250 15-22 68% 2 15 7 44 .182 12-18 66% 3 15 4 30 .367 12-12 100% 39-52 75% Nice stat. Is there a shortcut to doing this, or did you have to assemble point by point? |
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Post by nitneliun on Sept 11, 2016 9:25:03 GMT -5
Frankly, the only sure B1G wins are Indiana and Rutgers. We could lose every other B1G match and are almost certain to lose many.
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Post by nyline on Sept 11, 2016 11:59:41 GMT -5
Frankly, the only sure B1G wins are Indiana and Rutgers. We could lose every other B1G match and are almost certain to lose many. I don't know that there are any sure B1G wins (remember, the 2010 NCAA championship team lost at Indiana). And I somewhat agree with your prognosis -- though I fall more into the "several B1G losses" group, with the possibility of "many B1G losses." This team will have a much thinner margin of error than previous squads. But barring injury, they can make some noise. Whether they will is the B1G imponderable. |
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Post by elliotberton on Sept 12, 2016 14:40:17 GMT -5
I appreciated the post, and recognize why it was necessary. Of course as wise volleyball fans, none of us is overreacting or anything....Usually three wins in a single weekend is cause for celebration and cries of "We're no. 1 !!" even if the competition does not merit such confidence.
I have yet to see any of the BIG teams play, so will offer no predictions. Problems notwithstanding, I am sure the team and individual players will continue to improve.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2016 19:22:55 GMT -5
I appreciated the post, and recognize why it was necessary. Of course as wise volleyball fans, none of us is overreacting or anything....Usually three wins in a single weekend is cause for celebration and cries of "We're no. 1 !!" even if the competition does not merit such confidence. I have yet to see any of the BIG teams play, so will offer no predictions. Problems notwithstanding, I am sure the team and individual players will continue to improve. Illinois is about the same level as PSU. They took Stanford to five sets, they also took Colorado to five. They did have really bad lapses in the third set against both teams. Their setter is very good. I wouldn't hazard a guess as to how a PSU-Illinois game would turn out. |
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Post by bob2061 on Sept 14, 2016 23:40:26 GMT -5
Unfortunately I've seen Nebraska play twice and they are very solid. They will lose very few matches this year but we can continue to root our team on in every match. I think we need to stay positive with our comments (me especially) and trust the coaching staff. I over-reacted before but will try to be a better team supporter in the future.
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Post by traveler on Sept 15, 2016 13:40:55 GMT -5
Unfortunately, indeed. Pass the Rolaids, please.
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